Bunny tolerated his paramours, even inviting one mistress to join them at their Antigua estate. WARRENTON, Va. Rachel "Bunny" Mellon left a small island to the Massachusetts Audubon Society, a library to an unspecified charity, jewelry to a former first daughter, and $20 million in cash along with artwork and real estate to Stacy B. Lloyd III, her son by her first marriage. ", The centenarian's friends view her tolerant attitude to John Edwards's affair as an outgrowth of her own marital experiences. "It was just terrible because I trusted him, and we're in sort of a hole because of that, and it hasn't been returned," admits Mellon, who is in danger of losing another $6 million in investments made by Starr that are now underwater. She had not given an extended interview in more than a quarter century. [10] In 2004, she expressed interest in presidential candidate John Edwards because he reminded her of President Kennedy, but when she called his campaign office with an offer to help, her name was not recognized and the call went unreturned. Daughter of the president of the Gillette Safety Razor Co. and granddaughter of the inventor of Listerine, Rachel (Bunny) Lambert was born into money and groomed for social success. Cristofaro Munari, attrib. JFK had just published Profiles in Courage, a volume of studies of senatorial political bravery that had won the 1957 Pulitzer Prize and would help him in his run for the presidency.They met in 1958 when Adele Astaire Douglass, an old friend of Bunny and Pauls and then a Virginia neighbor, brought her guest Jackie to Oak Spring for tea not long after the birth of her daughter, Caroline. that & her sense of humor.. Late heiress Rachel Bunny Mellon s Antigua property is up for sale for $25 million, making it one of the most expensive pieces of land in the Caribbean. . Raphael, Sandra, Heins, Greg, Tomasi, Lucia Tongiorgi, and Willis, Tony. According to the indictment, Edwards and his aide Andrew Young asked her for personal cash for the senator. Mellon's family and her longtime personal attorney said she died of natural causes at her beloved 4,000-acre Oak Spring Farms in Virginia's horse country, where she She also said that she ran interference with the Kennedys regarding Onassis before Jackies 1968 marriage to him. Until she neared 100 she practiced pilates daily, which she learned from the master Joseph Pilates in the 1950s. Until recently the philanthropist, whose net worth exceeds $400 million, was primarily known as a passionate gardener and discreet woman with a discerning eye. Lloyd, who was questioned by the grand jury about whether she was coerced, says with a laugh, "You can't tell my grandmother what to do. Outspoken: Bunny Mellon (left) is seen here with her stepdaughter Eliza Lloyd in 1964. He warned her that she should shun celebrity and stick to becoming a myth. Starr. Mellon believed a ladys name should only appear in the newspaper three times: for her debut, her marriage and her obituary, Huffman said. In this impressive portrait of Bunny Mellon, Mac Griswold, who knew the landscape architect and designer personally, makes the argument that Mellon aspired to create an American pastoral for the 20th century, rooted in the promise of prosperity, civic order, and domestic bliss. Bunny Mellon has outlived most of her intimates. She was 103. On November 25, 1932, Lambert married Stacy Barcroft Lloyd Jr. of Ardmore, Pennsylvania, at Trinity Church, Princeton. With only a high school education, she frequently had to play catch-up in the sophisticated circles in which she moved, often cultivating powerful men to achieve her goals. Bunny poured her nesting urge into the creation of many perfect houses for Paul and the children. The two shared a childlike imagination and enthusiasm that, as Jackie herself said, seems to flicker out in so many adults. J. Thanks for contacting us. Most of her modern-art collection will be sold, along with three quarters of the acreage of the farm. Shortly thereafter, in May 2000, her daughter Eliza was hit by a truck while crossing a Manhattan street, causing a severe brain injury and full-body paralysis. As her lawyer Alex Forger puts it, "She's well off, but her assets are not liquid. "We have no idea at the moment what exposure she has to this," said lawyer Alexander Forger, who represents Mellon's family office, Oak Spring Farms. Breaking New Ground in Womens Paths to Fulfillment: A Conversation with Ruthellen Josselson. Mellon's lawyer Alex Forger elaborates further on his client's attitude: "She was not enamored of his wife and didn't want his wife to know that he was getting money. Jackies wardrobe of state clothing, as she called it, was like that of Queen Elizabeth II in its clear, solid colors and off-the-face hats but modernized with cleaner lines and greater ease of movement. She was 103 years old. I want to live again. Situated on over 7 acres, it is also known as one of Cape Cods original homes. She quickly divorced her husband, and in May 1948 she and Mellon wed. Forever blonde, tall, and slender, she greets visitors in cotton shirts or cashmere twin sets, accented with pearls and Schlumberger bracelets. Ironically, Bunnys own interiors and her landscapes, public as well as private, were purposefully designed not to draw attention to themselves. Courtesy Oak Spring Garden Library. Thats the antithesis of what her style would be, he said. Zenas Crocker of Robet Paul Properties held the listing. Her social climbing didnt always follow an easy path. In going through her papers in the months after her death, I found that she had wrapped many important keepsakes, such as gifts from her Grandpa Lowe, in white paper and tied them up with a blue ribbon, using the two colors as signals to show how precious the things were to her. For Jackie, too, white was the most ceremonial color; her strapless inaugural ball gown was white, with a small white ribbon cockade at the waisthomage to the France she loved. They often painted together on Cape Cod: in the Garden Library at the bottom of stairs to Bunnys study hangs a summery watercolor of a pale blue hydrangea in a pot. One small but bracing example that Bunny related to me was about the renowned poet Robert Lowell, who ran into the two women one afternoon Bunny didnt say whereand asked, Could I have dinner with you girls? clearly imagining that of course they would want to do so, as almost anyone else might have. [4][29] Caroline Kennedy, daughter of Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, sat beside Mrs. Mellon during the funeral. From left: Jacqueline Kennedy with Rachel "Bunny" Mellon in Boston in 1961.; Bunny Mellon (left) with stepdaughter Eliza Lloyd (center) and husband, Paul Mellon, in 1964.; Senator John Edwards in at a rally in Iowa in 2007. 20 (Yellow Expanse), completed in 1955 was considered one of the largest Rothko works in private hands. The doyenne of high society is the widow of Paul Mellon, a billionaire art patron and racehorse breeder. She was also a great landscape and interior designer at the intersection of history and style. We've received your submission. Bunny Mellon, ne Rachel Lowe Lambert, was not just a social figure. The two women took to one another at once. Hearst Magazine Media, Inc. All Rights Reserved. B. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); Thanks for contacting us. In May 2000, Bunny's daughter from her first marriage, Eliza Lloyd, was crossing the street in Manhattan when she was hit by a truck, suffering a severe brain injury. Mellon has not been accused of wrongdoing (she even paid gift taxes), but Edwards was indicted in June for violating campaign-finance laws. Robert Isabell, the talented New York floral designer who worked on Caroline Kennedy's 1984 wedding, became an integral part of Mellon's life. Then her daughter was fatally hit in a car accident, and she threw herself even deeper into her career. All rights reserved. During World War II, Lloyd and Mellon roomed together in London, where both worked for the Office of Strategic Services, the predecessor to the CIA. Los Angeles Review of Books 6671 Sunset Blvd., Ste 1521 Los Angeles, CA 90028, GENERAL INQUIRIES [emailprotected]MEMBERSHIP INQUIRIES [emailprotected]EDITORIAL INQUIRIES [emailprotected]PRESS INQUIRIES [emailprotected]ADVERTISING INQUIRIES [emailprotected]PURCHASE INQUIRIES [emailprotected], IN MY CLOSET is a black gabardine raincoat with a mink collar that flips up like Garbos in. She is without the trappings someone would associate with an heiress.. "I don't know what I've done that has made people so interested in me, more than anyone else." Mellon was the second wife of philanthropist and horse breeder Paul Mellon. Jackie took it all inthe relaxed style, the magnificent art, and the stale candies in the antique jarsas she told Bunny in a phone call the next day. But Mellon was back in the news on Thursday thanks to the alleged financial misdeeds of her long-time financier, Kenneth Starr. Her death was confirmed by Alexander Forger, her personal attorney for the past 40 years, and her grandson Thomas Lloyd. A 350 year old house, the main property consists of seven bedrooms and five full baths with270 degrees of water views, the listing states. The historian William Seale, a longtime observer of Executive Mansion occupants in his post at the White House Historical Association, remarked, Jackie didnt have money. "Bunny gave him validation, after all those ass-kissing socialites who mistreated him. Little did she suspect that the money would later allegedly be used to fund Edwards increasingly tawdry exploits with his mistress, the Daily Beast said. Mellons attorney said she had no idea the money was going to hide a mistress. But Mellon struck up new life-affirming friendships with much younger, artistic men. According to the criminal complaint, Starr siphoned at least $5.75 million from Oak Spring Farms LLC to his own personal account to pay for a $7.5 million Upper East Side apartment between April 13 - April 16. "I may not be here a year from now," she tells me. Crocker would not reveal who the buyers were, only that they hadseveral other Cape properties and are extremely private. Joseph Campbell, the 20th-century writer on myth best known for The Hero with a Thousand Faces, saw what he thought might be the dangers of Jackies life after JFKs assassination. Ill Build a Stairway to Paradise spans the full 103 years of Bunny Mellons life. Small wonder that Bunny and Jackie Kennedy, introduced in 1957, would become confidantes. We've received your submission. She was involved in the business of nature and beauty, design and implementation, Forger said. As Jackie Kennedy's closest confidante, she helped decorate the White House, redesigned the Rose Garden, presided over the floral arrangements for JFK's bier, and remained an intimate to the first lady until Jackie's death. [10][17], As most of her assets were invested in trusts, it was difficult to estimate Mellon's wealth, but her family and husband's fortune and fixed assets suggest she was exceptionally wealthy. She had political and social power but not financial power. Although Jackies friendship with Bunny ran deeper than access to Mellon money, once Jackie was no longer in the White House, she became aware of the ease that assets like Bunnys offeredsuch as the peace and privacy of the Mellons house on Antigua, where they retreated in the first traumatic days of January 1964. A giver of parties and designer of landscapes brimming with imagination and magic, she herself tended to the expressionless and forbidding, a society figure with an almost pathological dislike for publicity, who loved coming home from galas to water the plants at night. We talked for hourson nothing and never gossipped [sic]. She lives in Phoenixville, Pennsylvania. Be kind. she told a friend after the visit from the feds, Daily Beast reported. Hidden from view is a separate library for her collection of 10,000 volumes on horticulture, a pool house designed by I. M. Pei, and the home that Bunny built 60 years ago. Later that same first year of the Kennedy administration she sat at the presidents table at a state dinner for Puerto Ricos governor, and when the cellist Pablo Casals played after dinner, she knew she was witnessing a powerful blend of political power and high culture. While .css-gegin5{-webkit-text-decoration:underline;text-decoration:underline;text-decoration-thickness:0.0625rem;text-decoration-color:inherit;text-underline-offset:0.25rem;color:#9a0500;-webkit-transition:all 0.3s ease-in-out;transition:all 0.3s ease-in-out;}.css-gegin5:hover{color:#595959;text-decoration-color:border-link-body-hover;}Bunny was coming to grips with the changes in her marriage, she met the woman who would become her best friend, Jackie Kennedy, wife of the dashing junior senator from Massachusetts. [4][14], On March 17, 2014, Mellon died at her Upperville, Virginia, home of natural causes. Just plain bad." A well-groomed young woman is trailing her, but Mellon seems miraculously able for a 99-year-old. [11] Her work was strongly influenced by French gardeners Andr Le Ntre and Jean-Baptiste de La Quintinie. Susan Zakin was born in New York City, where she attended the Brearley School and Columbia Universitys Graduate School of Journalism. After Gerard B.s death in 1967, they prospected on Nantucket, where Bunny bought two hundred acres of coastal heathland and old pasture with the money her father had left her. Paul Mellon, a renowned art collector, philanthropist and thoroughbred breeder, died in 1999 at age 91. As far as we know, their intention is to keep it as the historic property it is and has always been, Crocker told the Cape Cod Times. The 35-year-old Lloyd, a Washington investment adviser, adds, "As I explained to the jury, imagine a very handsome man who is well liked and respected, and there are two women vying for his affections.". A self-taught botanist, Mellon was tapped by her friend Jacqueline Kennedy to design the White House Rose Garden. The Los Angeles Review of Books is a nonprofit organization dedicated to promoting and disseminating rigorous, incisive, and engaging writing on every aspect of literature, culture, and the arts. In 1932, she married Stacy Barcroft Lloyd Jr., a businessman and horse breeder. They had two children: Stacy Barcroft Lloyd III, and Eliza Winn Lloyd. Mellon's second husband, Paul Mellon, died in 1999, aged 91. I remember my earliest summer memories swimming off the dock of the house. Mac Griswold says, "I think her view is that he's a cute guy and he's allowed to fool around if he likes. Mellons family and her longtime personal attorney said she died of natural causes at her beloved 4,000-acre Oak Spring Farms in Virginias horse country, where she entertained royalty, stars and politicians but from which she rarely ventured. My grandmother began a multi-year renovation of the main house beginning in 1978, Lloyd told House Beautiful. Style included a great deal more than the cut of clothing or a period of interior decoration. Rachel "Bunny" Lambert Mellon 29, one of Foxcrofts oldest and most illustrious alumnae, died Monday (March 17) at her home in Fauquier County, VA. She One weekend in June, she beamed as her 3-year-old great-granddaughter, Fiona, put stickers all over her arms. "[32] The funds were secretly used to support Rielle Hunter, a campaign videographer with whom Edwards had an extra-marital affair and child. Both she and Jackie were crowded by more people than they had time for. Bunny Lloyd made a condolence call; Mellon wrote that she was "very kind and understanding over my distress." The estate, known as Scallop Path, includes three separate structures, including the main property, the guest house and a chimney house. We may earn commission on some of the items you choose to buy. Mellon died of natural causes at her 4,000-acre estate in Upperville, Va., her lawyer told The New York Times. Rachel Lambert Mellon (August 9, 1910 March 17, 2014), often known as Bunny Mellon, was an American horticulturalist, gardener, philanthropist, and art collector. Like her billionaire philanthropist husband, Paul Mellon, and John Edwards turned away from Bunny Mellon's memorial by her family | Daily Mail Online. It is a way to help our friend without government restrictions. Copyright 2022 by Mac Griswold. Mellon was not accused of breaking any laws. [4][30]:158, At the request of campaign operative Andrew Young, the commitment morphed to include underwriting Edwards' personal expenses. Prosecutors have charged that she gave $725,000 to former presidential candidate John Edwards in 2007 and 2008, which he used to conceal his extramarital affair with Rielle Hunter and the existence of their child. . In October 1946, as the Mellons were riding home together after fox hunting, Paul's wife, Mary, suffered a severe asthma attack, dying hours later. She had been an admirer from afar, buying an ad in her local newspaper three years earlier trumpeting Edwards's candidacy. Through it all, she never sought publicity. [8] He served in the Office of Strategic Services during World War II. I don't like complicated people." We may earn commission on some of the items you choose to buy. Mellon spent some of her childhood at Carter Hall, an 18th century mansion in Virginias Shenandoah Valley. She wanted visitors to her own gardens and the gardens she designed for others to feel transported to another world. Bunnys presents were more extravagant than Jackies and often featured a surprise. Bunny had the Pittsburgh Mellons to deal with; Jackie had the football-playing Kennedys and their constant togetherness in Hyannis Port, which she often found trying. (Italian, 1667 1720) A quince, an apple, two lemons, and three blue and white cups], ca. Jackie did neither. Mellon eventually gave Edwards more than $6 million, Young said. Sandra Lees Revenge Romance Takes a Twist, Mugrabi Divorce Settled: "She Asked for $100 Million", Gianna Reisen is Transforming the NYCB, One Step at a Time, Kai Thomass Debut Novel is Historical Fiction at its Best, Janet Malcolm Finally Covers the One Subject She Avoided: Herself. ", Bunny Mellon's health has deteriorated due to a bad fall, a bout with cancer, and the onset of macular degeneration. [31] During this period Mellon wrote a note to Young stating: "from now on, all haircuts, etc. According to Crocker, Lloyd was thrilled the buyers were interested in preserving the home as it is. Bunny Mellon is aristocratic American history personified, a woman who has entertained two generations of British royalty (Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip in 1957 and, three decades later, Charles and Di), lent her jet and accompanied Jackie Kennedy to Martin Luther King Jr.'s funeral, gardened in clothes designed by Givenchy, and searched the world for art treasures with an open checkbook and an astute eye. "I'm going along on very weak wheels." Some may find the pacing too leisurely, and the book is at its best when Mellons curious personality comes out in full. [37], "Rachel 'Bunny' Mellon, Banking Heiress And Jacqueline Kennedy Friend, Dies At 103", "Rachel Mellon, Heiress Known for Garden Designs, Is Dead at 103", "Rachel 'Bunny' Mellon, arts patron and confidante of Jackie Kennedy, dies at 103", "Edwards Case Casts Spotlight on a Long Reclusive Donor", "The House in the Virginia Hunt Country That Is Home to the Paul Mellons", "The Private World of a Great Gardener: Rachel Lambert Mellon", "How Bunny Mellon Re-invented the White House Rose Garden", "Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy: A Reminiscence", "President Kennedy's Garden: Rachel Lambert Mellon's Redesign of the White House Rose Garden", "The Money Behind John Edwards: Heiress Rachel 'Bunny' Mellon, Age 100", "Mellon Estate in Antigua Goes on the Market for $14.5 Million", "Bunny Mellon's $250 Million Rothkos Sold in Private Sale", "Property from the Collection of Mrs. Paul Mellon: Masterworks", "Sotheby's to auction Paul and Bunny Mellon estate", "Liaison Says Heiress Rued Edwards Donations", "Donor's family testifies in Edwards probe", "John Edwards Meets Privately with Bunny Mellon, Potential Witness in Cover Up Case", "Arts patron, heiress Rachel 'Bunny' Mellon dead", "At Bunny Mellon's funeral, music from Bette Midler and a John Edwards appearance", Grayson-Jockey Club Research Foundation, Inc. website, Wine & Country Life Magazine, "Discover Bunny Mellon's Oak Spring Garden", Wine & Country Life Magazine, "The Allee, Greenhouse and Topiaries at Oak Spring Farm", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Rachel_Lambert_Mellon&oldid=1122910202, Pages using infobox person with multiple spouses, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, Horticulturalist, art collector, philanthropist. Like Bunny Mellons daughter, I spent much of my life estranged from my mother. Bunny considered white to be the most significant color. She says she was drawn to him by "his very deep intelligence. [10][24] The painting measured 10 by 15 feet. According to Griswold, Paul Mellons very public affair with Dorcas Hardin, for one, caused his wife such pain she distracted herself with increasingly bigger and bolder projects the expansion of the National Gallery of Art, the flourish of the Kennedys White House Rose Garden. Once the war ended, as Paul Mellon wrote in his autobiography, Reflections in a Silver Spoon, both men found it difficult to resume married life. Then she adds, "I'm very busy. the fact that you are splashed in the Daily News, she wrote to accompany a piece about RFKs funeral that she mailed to Bunny. "She called and invited me to lunch.". I want to come back. Another note from Jackie that Bunny inserted into one of her little blue daily datebooks went the other way, with Jackie comforting her friend about some problem and telling her, Dont worry, we will just beat the world back again., When in 1989 Jackie looked back at their years as friends, she wrote, Ever since Ive known you (33 years ago this spring) you have meant as much to me as any person in my life. Thanking Bunny for her love and care, her wise and strong support, and for all she had meant to the Kennedy children, Jackie closed with, I want you to be as happy as you make me.. Indeed. MANHATTAN Listerine heiress and philanthropist Rachel 'Bunny' Mellon has preferred to shun the media spotlight since long before her financial largesse became According to Bunny, Jackie said coolly, Absolutely not. Lowell then said, Well, what are you going to do? Jackie answered him by saying, Well, weve got it all planned, and that was that.. Her grandfather, Jordan W. Lambert, created Listerine. She was a poor Bouvier, by the standards of the society in which she moved. All Rights Reserved. "I had a serious operation a little while ago, and ever since then I've been very, very weak," Mellon says. The life she's led was all about that kind of thing. Ted Kennedy with Bunny Mellon in Cambridge, Mass. "It's a crush." Gordon, a veteran journalist, is the author ofMrs. She minded her own life and she felt deeply . She was born into a well-to-do Princeton family. Jackie Kennedys home on martha's vineyard, known as red gate farm, would benefit from the guidance and expert gardening of bunny mellon. Jackie honored her friends creative achievementssomething that Bunny welcomed. "[14] Although this remark was made in reference to garden design, it has frequently been taken to encapsulate her attitude toward personal privacy and lifestyle choices. [7] Her parents divorced in 1933, and both subsequently remarried. The indictment quotes a note from Mellon: "I was sitting alone in a grim mood, furious that the press attacked Senator Edwards on the price of a haircut. Mrs. Mellon had exquisite taste, and what Jackie admired most of all was the way she taught other people.". The gardens carefully designed by the late Mellon, include flower gardens, herb and vegetable gardens. "I don't think she's been gullible." Her friend Bette Midler performed her hit song The Rose. Huffman, who introduced Mellon to Edwards, said the former presidential candidate reminded her of John Kennedy. Mellon, now blind, lives in luxurious seclusion on her 2,000-acre Virginia farm, cosseted by a staff of 120 loyal retainers. [17] Mellon amassed a large collection of horticultural books and was regarded as an authority on American horticulture. After prosecutors learned that Edwards had visited Mellon on May 26even as his lawyers were conducting unsuccessful plea-bargain negotiations prior to the indictmenthe was banned from contacting his benefactor. Forger, then at the white- shoe law firm of Milbank, Tweed, eventually worked exclusively for Bunny, who set up an elegant office for him and his staff on West 57th Street in New York City.
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