Blanchette Ferry Rockefeller (née Hooker; October 2, 1909 – November 29, 1992) was an American art sponsor, twice president of the Museum of Modern Art, and wife of

John D. Rockefeller III John Davison Rockefeller III (March 21, 1906 – July 10, 1978) was an American philanthropist. Rockefeller was the eldest son and second child of John D. Rockefeller Jr. and Abby Aldrich Rockefeller as well as a grandson of Standard Oil co-found ...

and mother of Jay Rockefeller.

Biography

Blanchette Ferry Hooker was born in Manhattan in New York City on October 2, 1909. She was the daughter of

Elon Huntington Hooker Elon Huntington Hooker (December 23, 1869 – May 10, 1938) was the founder of Hooker Chemical Company, Hooker Electrochemical Company. Biography From a New England family, Elon Hooker obtained degrees in civil engineering from the Universit ...

, founder of Hooker Chemical Company, and his wife, Blanche Ferry. She graduated from

Miss Chapin's School Chapin School is an all-girls independent day school in New York City's Upper East Side neighborhood in Manhattan. History Maria Bowen Chapin opened "Miss Chapin's School for Girls and Kindergarten for Boys and Girls" in 1901. The school origin ...

in 1927, where she was president of the student government. She graduated from Vassar College in 1931 with a B.A. in music. On November 11, 1932, she married John D. Rockefeller III, a scion of the prominent Rockefeller family, at Riverside Church in New York City. They had four children: * John Davison "Jay" Rockefeller IV *

Hope Aldrich Rockefeller Hope Aldrich Rockefeller (born May 17, 1938) is a retired American newspaper publisher and businesswoman. Rockefeller was born on May 17, 1938, the eldest daughter of philanthropist John Davison Rockefeller III and his wife Blanchette Ferry Hook ...

*Sandra Ferry Rockefeller * Alida Ferry Rockefeller Blanchette devoted her time to community service, education, and the arts - in particular the collection of Asian and American art. "She had been active in the affairs of the Museum of Modern Art since 1949 and was elected a member of the Board of Trustees in December 1952. In 1958, at a time when many Americans derided modern art or thought it communist and subversive, Rockefeller lent her support to the International Program that helped send ''The New American Painting'', the first major exhibition of

Abstract Expressionism Abstract expressionism is a post–World War II art movement in American painting, developed in New York City in the 1940s. It was the first specifically American movement to achieve international influence and put New York at the center of the ...

, to eight European cities." Blanchette Hooker Rockefeller Guest House, NYC, NY

In 1948, Blanchette Rockefeller commissioned the Rockefeller Guest House by architect Philip Johnson. Located at 242 East

52nd Street 52nd Street is a -long one-way street traveling west to east across Midtown Manhattan, New York City. A short section of it was known as the city's center of jazz performance from the 1930s to the 1950s. Jazz center Following the repeal of ...

next to the Turtle Bay Music School, it was one of the first residential buildings in New York City to reflect the influence of the Modern movement. The 1950 guest house was a place in which she could display her modern art collection and entertain friends. The Rockefellers donated the house (historically landmarked in 2000) to the Museum of Modern Art in 1955. "Blanchette Rockefeller provided enlightened leadership to MoMA as president of the museum from 1972 through 1985. Two of her most important gifts were Willem de Kooning’s ''Woman II'' (1952) and Clyfford Still’s ''Painting'' (1951), an Abstract-Expressionist landscape. The Abstract Expressionist galleries on the second floor are named in her honor. In 1979 Rockefeller accepted an Oscar on behalf of MoMA’s work in film."Taken in whole or part from The Rockefellers maintained homes in New York City and at "Fieldwood Farm" in the expansive Rockefeller family estate of Pocantico (see Kykuit in Westchester County, New York. She died in her home near Briarcliff Manor, New York, of pneumonia, a complication of

Alzheimer's disease Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a neurodegeneration, neurodegenerative disease that usually starts slowly and progressively worsens. It is the cause of 60–70% of cases of dementia. The most common early symptom is difficulty in short-term me ...

, on November 29, 1992, at the age of 83. Blanchette was buried at the Rockefeller Family Cemetery,

Sleepy Hollow, New York Sleepy Hollow is a village in the town of Mount Pleasant, in Westchester County, New York, United States. The village is located on the east bank of the Hudson River, about north of New York City, and is served by the Philipse Manor stop on ...

. The Blanchette Rockefeller Neurosciences Institute (BRNI) at West Virginia University in

Morgantown, West Virginia Morgantown is a city in and the county seat of Monongalia County, West Virginia, Monongalia County, West Virginia, United States, situated along the Monongahela River. The largest city in North-Central West Virginia, Morgantown is best known as th ...

is named in her honor.

References

External links

Blanchette H. Rockefeller Archives
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rockefeller, Blanchette Ferry Rockefeller family Philanthropists from New York (state) 1909 births 1992 deaths American socialites Vassar College alumni People from Briarcliff Manor, New York

Biography

See also

References

External links