A portrait of Stanley Marcus that once hung at the downtown Neiman Marcus store has become an unlikely symbol of the fight over the flagship location after a Dallas developer has twice publicly called for its return.
The portrait was removed earlier this year after the acquisition of the luxury retailer by Saks Global, the parent company of Saks Fifth Avenue, according to a company spokesperson.
“While touring vacant Downtown Dallas offices, Saks Global Executive Chairman Richard Baker discovered a portrait of Stanley Marcus. As a longtime admirer of Mr. Marcus and his enduring influence on luxury retail, Richard saw an opportunity to honor Neiman Marcus’ history as Saks Global looks to the future,” the spokesperson wrote in a Monday email.
“He thoughtfully arranged for the portrait to be shipped to the Saks Global corporate offices in New York, ensuring that Mr. Marcus’ legacy inspires Saks Global’s go-forward culture.”
The spokesperson noted that other portraits of Marcus remain in the downtown flagship, which is slated to close its doors on March 31.
Developer Shawn Todd addressed the painting’s removal in a Feb. 25 press conference in front of the downtown Neiman Marcus, where city leaders had gathered to advocate for the store’s continued presence.
“I want to put it right here,” he said, referring to the portrait and gesturing to the storefront. “Right here so that it can stand for another 117 years just like this building is standing.”
In another press conference on Tuesday, after Saks Global announced its decision to close the store as final, Todd reiterated his desire for the painting to be displayed in the store’s front window.
Marcus, who died in 2002, was a longtime executive of the company founded by his father and aunt in 1907. The portrait shows him standing in a navy suit with a globe and religious figurine in the background.
It was painted by William A. Foley Jr., according to his daughter Irene Zitzner and his widow, Nadia, both of whom viewed an image of the work and their relative’s faint signature in its bottom right corner.
At the time of its creation, apparently sometime in the ‘80s, based on the year written on it, Foley was working as a freelance painter.
Nadia Foley visited the downtown store years ago with her husband, who died in 2020, to see the painting. It was in a dark area near an escalator, she recalled in a Monday interview.
“It’s a portrait of Stanley Marcus. I think it should stay with Neiman’s, even now that Saks is merged with Neiman. It’s still part of the history of the downtown store,” she said.
“I love Saks. It’s a great company,” added Foley, who said she worked in the handbag department of the now-closed Saks Fifth Avenue location in the Galleria between 1999 and 2013. She went on to work for Neiman Marcus at NorthPark Center until 2017.
“Still, I feel the portrait belongs here. I don’t know who is this gentleman, but I agree with him,” she said, referring to Todd.
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