Mellon was the second wife of philanthropist and horse breeder Paul Mellon. Her art collection included a Rothko reportedly worth $125 million. Indeed. Even as a child, Bunny had depicted her surroundings in sketches and paintings. Robert Isabell, the talented New York floral designer who worked on Caroline Kennedy's 1984 wedding, became an integral part of Mellon's life. "It's been like falling down the rabbit hole with Alice in Wonderland," says Huffman, who rues introducing the heiress to the senator. When she was around 5 years old, her father let her have a little garden at home, planting the seed for her lifelong love of horticulture, he said. Like Bunny Mellons daughter, I spent much of my life estranged from my mother. Her death was confirmed by Alexander Forger, her personal attorney for the past 40 years, and her grandson Thomas Lloyd. Jackie did neither. The voice on the phone was frail but clear, with a hint of Southern gentility. During Camelot, Mellon was ever-present at the White House, quietly underwriting Jackie's extravagant entertaining. [4][30]:158, At the request of campaign operative Andrew Young, the commitment morphed to include underwriting Edwards' personal expenses. Ironically, Bunnys own interiors and her landscapes, public as well as private, were purposefully designed not to draw attention to themselves. Stepping up to the polls with Paul, Bunny said, she found she didnt have anything to write with. Mellon was a legend in design and gardening circles who had a low-key style that was eloquent but unpretentious, Huffman said. .css-1du65oy{color:#323232;display:block;font-family:NewParis,Georgia,Times,serif;font-weight:normal;margin-bottom:0.3125rem;margin-top:0;-webkit-text-decoration:none;text-decoration:none;-webkit-font-smoothing:auto;}@media (any-hover: hover){.css-1du65oy:hover{color:link-hover;}}@media(max-width: 48rem){.css-1du65oy{font-size:1.0625rem;line-height:1.2;}}@media(min-width: 40.625rem){.css-1du65oy{font-size:1.0625rem;line-height:1.2;}}@media(min-width: 64rem){.css-1du65oy{font-size:1.3125rem;line-height:1.2;}}Jackie Kennedy and Queen Elizabeth's Relationship, Julianne Moore's Kennedy-Inspired Met Gala Gown, See a Vintage Photo of Jackie and the Queen, Lee Radziwill's Doomed Dreams of Movie Stardom, JFK & Jackie Kennedy's Wedding Day, in Photos, Meet Jackie Kennedy's Unexpected Honeymoon Guest, Inside The Home Where Jackie O First Rode Horses, Jackie Kennedy's Role in Barbra Streisand's Memoir, Jackie Kennedy's Visit to the Nixon White House. I never wore it again. [7][36] Her funeral was held at Trinity Episcopal Church in Upperville, which the Mellons had gifted to the community in 1960. Scarred by his parents' acrimonious divorce, Paul proved to be an emotionally remote husband with a wandering eye. [4][14], On March 17, 2014, Mellon died at her Upperville, Virginia, home of natural causes. and the Environmental Movement, is required reading at a number of universities. 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. But there was more to the story: her gardens were an escape. Sometimes Jackie became Bunnys advisor. We talked for hourson nothing and never gossipped [sic]. UPPERVILLE, Va. Rachel Bunny Mellon, a wealthy arts and fashion patron, friend of first lady Jacqueline Kennedy and political benefactor who funneled hundreds of thousands of dollars to former presidential candidate John Edwards that was used to hide his mistress, died Monday. Jackie Kennedy excitedly attends the Princeton Librarys 1989 opening of. 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. [27], Mellon's second husband, Paul Mellon, died in 1999, aged 91. The two women took art lessons from Oliver Smith, the scenic designer for American Ballet Theatre who was most famous for his magical Broadway productions: West Side Story, Brigadoon, and in 1960, Camelot, the basis of Jackies enduring reimagining of her husbands brief presidency. Novelist Jane Stanton Hitchcock, who with her mother, Joan Alexander, alerted authorities to Starr's scam, explains, "The Mellons were the gold standard of integrity, and my parents felt that Ken would live up to their trust. On June 3, 2011, Edwards was indicted on using campaign funds to help cover up an affair and pregnancy during the 2008 presidential campaign. He warned her that she should shun celebrity and stick to becoming a myth. Every item on this page was chosen by a Town & Country editor. Jackie Kennedy and Bunny Mellon in Paris together in the 1960s. She goes over daily to inquire about construction, a woman caught between present and past. She kept her gift private from the world and so have you. [21], After Jacqueline Kennedy left the White House, Mellon was asked to design landscapes for Kennedy's home in Martha's Vineyard, the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library, and River Farm, the headquarters of the American Horticultural Society. He claims, "Bunny and I were the last people on earth who knew about the girlfriend and the baby. She'd long since given up being upset. Bunny said that Jackie was always telling me what to dolike a nanny& I didnt always listenShe would sayall your ducks are swansyou should not believe some people!, In 1995, George Trescher, New Yorks top event planner, sent a note to Bunny along with a clipping from his interview with W magazine. She is not afraid to face the future. She quickly divorced her husband, and in May 1948 she and Mellon wed. 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. A donation from Mellon in 1977 helped make the home the headquarters for Project Hope, the worldwide medical outreach organization. She was eulogized by her friend Frank Langella, who described himself as "a rough Jersey kid" whom Mellon taught "how to listen, dress, never be vulgar, respect all people, be humble, avoid hubris, write thank-you notes, never boast, be curious and 'above all, be loyal'". Starr. Her father did not believe that a young woman of her generation was worth sending to college; she would spend eternity proving him wrong. According to the indictment, Edwards and his aide Andrew Young asked her for personal cash for the senator. Gordon, a veteran journalist, is the author ofMrs. She often developed her garden designs on paper, with particular attention to scale. [15][16], Although she had no formal training, Mellon read widely in horticulture and made contributions to several landmark gardens. Mellon, who passed away in 2014 at 103, was famously known for her significantly designed gardens, including her most heralded 1962 creation of the White 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. 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. The daughter was married to former U.S. Sen. John Warner. Mac Griswold's new book I'll Build a Stairway to Paradise offers rare insight into one of history's most compelling pairings. Although charming, its hardly a match for the other treasures on those walls, but it was painted by Jackie and was therefore another precious reminder of their times together. 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. Style included a great deal more than the cut of clothing or a period of interior decoration. As her lawyer Alex Forger puts it, "She's well off, but her assets are not liquid. Even before she married Paul Mellon a philanthropist, The guest house comes with two separate bedrooms and bathrooms, a kitchen and a laundry room. And what a past it was. [22], She maintained homes in Antigua, Nantucket and Oyster Harbors, Cape Cod, two apartments in Paris, and a townhouse in New York City. She has received a Guggenheim Fellowship and has written for The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, and Travel + Leisure. Jackie Onassis, 19 years her junior, died in 1994; Paul Mellon died five years later after a lingering illness. It is a way to help our friend without government restrictions.'?" Lloyd reiterates that John Edwards remains in his grandmother's good graces. She minded her own life and she felt deeply . The two women managed to make light of the issues in their own difficult marriages: Pauls relationship with Dorcas Hardin, and JFKs omnivorous promiscuity. Cristofaro Munari, attrib. 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. 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. In turn, after 1979, when Jackie bought Red Gate Farm on over three hundred acres on Marthas Vineyard, Bunny cleaned up and edited the straggling old farm-scape without overmanaging it and guided Jackie to the well-known architect Hugh Newell Jacobsen, who designed a plain, cedar-shingled Cape Cod house. Paul Mellon, a renowned art collector, philanthropist and thoroughbred breeder, died in 1999 at age 91. The two women took to one another at once. While Mellon is leaving bequests to her family, the bulk of her estate will go to a foundation, financing a library and school for arborists. Mellon was not accused of breaking any laws. On November 25, 1932, Lambert married Stacy Barcroft Lloyd Jr. of Ardmore, Pennsylvania, at Trinity Church, Princeton. "He would have been a great president," insists Mellon, who has been interviewed by the FBI but is not expected to testify. [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. Although she grew up in a world where horses were thoroughbreds, society was glittering, and marriage was eventually to Paul Mellon, as fellow decorator Bunny Williams put it, she was no Brooke Astor, entertaining twenty-four for dinner three nights a week, but, rather, a sculptor, sculpting space She created an American vision of English country house style.. One day these gems may turn up, but my take is that the fantastical yet practical Bunny might just as likely have given Jackie a solid gold Schlumberger box of real paints. 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. B. Letitia Baldrige, Jackie's White House social secretary, recalls, "They were very close. The Mellons gave Jackie a birthday party in 1966, three years after the assassination, at their home in Oyster Harbors. This story has been shared 209,091 times. I want to come back to see you, and be near you again. Bunny was a society figure with an almost pathological dislike for publicity, a trait she shared with her husband. Then her daughter was fatally hit in a car accident, and she threw herself even deeper into her career. Bunny Mellon, in her Oak Spring Garden Library. Eliza spent the remaining eight years of her life under round-the-clock care at Oak Spring Farms, and died in 2008. She had been raised in a family that believed a woman should not advertise herself, and yet its clear that she wanted some sort of recognition for the importance of her work, especially for the Rose Garden. Her close friendship with Bunny would give her the privacy, affection, and depth of understanding to help bear the weight of that armor. "She is just shocked.". "That's why I want to do this story now," I reply. One soon realized that her social graces masked tremendous awareness, an all-seeing eye, ruthless judgment, and a steely purpose., The two women enjoyed dismissing people who thought they had the right to intrude on their friendship and privacy. I know the coats history, so much larger than onewomans, and I can give it a proper send-off. 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. She was forced to give up gardening by 2011, although she continued to swim, do Pilates, and give the rare interview. As an adult, her fluency with pencil and ink led her to illustrate her letters, underlining the emotions they expressed. In a 2010 interview, she spoke of having purchased a total of thirteen works by Rothko. Bunny Mellon, peerless stylemaker, noted art collector, and philanthropist, lived a life of privilege mixed with sadness, as presented in Meryl Gordons biography, Even though her closets contained racks of magnificent Givenchy and Balenciaga couture, she wanted to be buried wearing the simple college graduation gown that she had worn to receive an honorary degree from the Rhode Island School of Design. One weekend in June, she beamed as her 3-year-old great-granddaughter, Fiona, put stickers all over her arms. Sometimes Bunny felt very alone in her effort to maintain this balance. Thanks for contacting us. 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. Write it nice, friendly, nongossipy. 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. She was 103 years old. Edwards aide Andrew Young, who wrote about Mellon and Edwards relationship in his tell-all book The Politician, said Mellon became so distraught when the media attacked Edwards over a $400 haircut that she sent him a letter offering to help. She's a classic, the epitome of a society that is no longer with us.". . 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. Her recent collection isWaiting for Charlie: Mercenary Soldiers, Failed States, and the Love That Means More Than Money. When Mellon became aware of the use of her funds for this purpose, she reportedly came to regret the donations, but maintained that Edwards "would have been a great president. For a woman who spurns publicity, this has been a rough year. She described that trip to a friend, who told me: "Paul and Bunny slept apartShe was very funny about it. 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