She looks into the camera with a steady gaze and tells the viewers in a soft, low voice that Tom Wolf, our next governor of Pennsylvania, has a close relationship with his two daughters. That she is very proud to be his spouse. That the notion of fairness is very important to him.
It’s not much, but these are glimpses, at least, of Frances Wolf, in ads that aired last year early in her husband’s campaign for governor. She comes across as a woman who is serious, obviously intelligent, somewhat enigmatic.
The new first lady of Pennsylvania will have to remain an enigma until at least Tuesday because she has declined all requests for interviews before the Inaugural.
It’s in keeping with the low profile kept by the 62-year-old mother of two daughters, who has forged her own career as a respected artist and community activist and is, by all accounts, empathic, unassuming, very smart and very private.
Nonetheless, there is this question: Since the Wolfs will continue to live in their home in Mount Wolf (a small town near York named for one of the governor’s ancestors), and that as a painter, Ms. Wolf works in her studio every day, how much time will she spend at the governor’s residence in Harrisburg, hosting teas, greeting volunteers or chairing committees?
As one who never particularly sought the camera — even ducking out of family videos, she told a reporter last year — the transition to this new, public job may be daunting. But Marjorie Rendell, a federal judge who served as the state’s first lady during her husband Ed Rendell’s terms as governor between 2002 and 2010, has no qualms.
“With the gift of graciousness and charm that Frances has, she will be a natural and she will enjoy it,” said Judge Rendell, who is amicably separated from Mr. Rendell.
While fully confident in the courtroom, she said that “I was terrified” when her husband was first elected. But after talking with former first ladies, seeking support from female friends and clarifying the limits imposed on her by her judicial position, Judge Rendell quickly found her rhythm and was pleasantly surprised to see how much she got out of the job.
“I don’t know why, but people love the first lady,” she said. “There is such an opportunity to relate to and affect people, and that’s very satisfying. Of course it’s easier when you know who you are, and I came to it when I was established in my practice and my judicial career.”
So, too, is Ms. Wolf. Her daughters are grown — Sarah, 32, and Katie, 30, live in Brooklyn and San Francisco, respectively. She’ll get to make an impact in the arts statewide — the first lady chairs the governor’s arts awards — and work in any other area that interests her.
Education will also be a priority, her supporters say, as it was a priority for her predecessor, Susan Corbett, whereas Judge Rendell focused on civics — “or rather, teaching teachers how to teach the subject. Given my own position as a judge, it seemed to be a good fit.”
From words come her art
At this point, though, questions about what Ms. Wolf will do seem less interesting than what she is like.
“Down-to-earth” is one description frequently offered up by supporters, and she is almost certainly worldly — the daughter of a U.S. diplomat, Ms. Wolf lived overseas in her youth, eventually graduating from the University of London with an undergraduate degree in South Asian history. It’s where she met her husband, who was pursuing a master’s in philosophy.
After they married and moved back to York so he could join his family’s business, The Wolf Organization, the largest kitchen cabinet company in the country, Ms. Wolf went back to school. She received a second undergraduate degree in studio art and art history from Franklin & Marshall College, followed by a master’s in art history from Bryn Mawr College, where her thesis was on three paintings by Diego Velazquez.
Her work — carefully composed, dreamlike still-lifes, landscapes and human figures — has been shown in art galleries and museums and can be found in numerous corporate and private collections.
“Her art is intriguing and mysterious,” said Jane Holahan, who wrote a long profile last year about Ms. Wolf’s work for LancasterOnline.com. “She is technically very skilled, very thoughtful,” and over the past 15 years has had shows in many local galleries.
“She told me it was important that she try to paint every day, even if it’s only for 15 minutes,” Ms. Holahan added.
Words are what inspire her art, Ms. Wolf says on her website, francesdonnellywolf.com.
“I begin with words,” she writes. “I collect phrases and segments of sentences from both poetry and prose as points of reference for my paintings,” which she goes on to describe as “semantic spaces where I can capture what I sense of each subject’s character, its ineffable quality that distinguishes it from others.”
Despite a clear intellectual bent, this is a woman who isn’t just in the world but of the world: a key player, along with her husband, in York’s rejuvenation over the years. Once an economically depressed urban area, it now has a lively arts scene, increased retail and restaurants and strong community housing and economic development programs for longtime residents.
Ms. Wolf has served on a variety of boards, from Franklin & Marshall, her alma mater, to the York County Community Foundation, a private nonprofit that has helped fund the city’s revival.
But “she’s never been one who’s out there demanding things. She was always quietly involved,” said Auditor General Eugene DePasquale, a Pittsburgh native who moved to York decades ago after his wife was hired to be a York County schoolteacher.
“She’s humble but very strategic in her thinking and good at asking the right questions,” added William Hartman, chair of York’s community foundation, where Ms. Wolf served on the board from 2005 to 2010. “She was always easygoing but professional.”
‘Quickness and presence’
Terry Madonna, a nationally known pollster and director of Franklin & Marshall’s Center for Politics and Public Affairs, has met her a few times when she came for meetings or campus events.
“Everybody here has a very high regard for her,” Mr. Madonna said, noting that while being first lady isn’t an easy job, “I think Pennsylvania has been really fortunate to have some wonderful first ladies who got into a specific project or two and worked hard to draw attention to it and I have no doubt she will follow suit and carry it out superbly.”
The rough and tumble of the campaign didn’t seem to throw Ms. Wolf. She is human, though, and after Mr. Wolf was attacked by one of his primary opponents, Rob McCord, at a debate last spring for allegedly supporting a longtime York official accused of being racist, she cut Mr. McCord dead when he approached her after the debate, Philadelphia Daily News columnist John Baer said.
Mr. McCord “then said something to Wolf like, ‘I guess she’s never going to forgive me’ and Wolf readily agreed,” recalled Mr. Baer, noting that he had been impressed by her “quickness and presence” when speaking to her.
Once, “as we stood in a hallway while Wolf was getting makeup, she passed on the opportunity to offer some suck-up PR about how great her husband is, and instead asked me, ‘So, as a writer, what do you read?’ ”
Being herself and keeping a certain perspective while her husband spars with recalcitrant legislators or media critics will serve Ms. Wolf well during the next four years, if Judge Rendell’s experience is any indication.
Asked about the downside of being a first lady, her response was immediate: “Watching the agonies your husband goes through,” she said with a laugh, noting that wives of successful men by definition have learned to roll with the punches.
“On day one, you don’t really know what you’ll be like” as first lady, she added.
“It’s your first day on the job, you’re not sure of anything and it will take some time to figure out,” she said. “And she will.”
Mackenzie Carpenter: mcarpenter@post-gazette.com, 412- 263-1949. On Twitter @MackenziePG.
First Published: January 18, 2015, 5:00 a.m.
