Rita Paul: key obituary facts
Is Rita Paul dead? Yes. Rita Paul died on November 9, 2026, at age 99.
Cause of death: Rita Paul's cause of death has not been publicly confirmed.
What was Rita Paul known for?
She was an American visual artist and hotel owner.
More about Rita Paul
Gender: female.
Rita Paul, an American visual artist and hotel owner who served as owner and artistic director of the Washington Square Hotel, died November 9, 2026, aged 99.
Born Rita Puchalski in Berlin in 1927, she moved to Paris in 1933 and fled France aboard the SS De Grasse in 1940. She graduated from Hunter College in 1947 and married Daniel in 1949.
Together, they owned the then Hotel Earle from 1973 to 2025. Paul moved into the hotel in 1980 and became closely involved in its design, serving as its artistic director and designing many aspects of the property. Her work at the hotel brought together her roles as an artist, owner and designer. The couple’s ownership lasted for more than five decades, while Paul’s residence there began in 1980 and continued as part of her long association with the property. Her life included a childhood move from Berlin to Paris, flight from France during the war and a college education in New York before her decades of work with the hotel.