Nancy Lee Bass (1917–2013) was an American philanthropist. She was known as the " First Lady of

Fort Worth, Texas Fort Worth is the fifth-largest city in the U.S. state of Texas and the 13th-largest city in the United States. It is the county seat of Tarrant County, covering nearly into four other counties: Denton, Johnson, Parker, and Wise. Accord ...

."Steve Campbell
Nancy Lee Bass was the "first lady of Fort Worth"
''

Fort Worth Star-Telegram The ''Fort Worth Star-Telegram'' is an American daily newspaper serving Fort Worth and Tarrant County, the western half of the North Texas area known as the Metroplex. It is owned by The McClatchy Company. History In May 1905, Amon G. Carter ...

'', March 1, 2013

Early life

Nancy Lee Muse was born on March 7, 1917, in

.Nancy Lee Bass, 95, eulogized as philanthropic 'queen' of Fort Worth
''Fort Worth Star-Telegram'', March 16, 2013Alan Peppard
Obituary: Nancy Lee Bass, Fort Worth matriarch, dies at 95
''

The Dallas Morning News ''The Dallas Morning News'' is a daily newspaper serving the Dallas–Fort Worth area of Texas, with an average print circulation of 65,369. It was founded on October 1, 1885 by Alfred Horatio Belo as a satellite publication of the '' Galvest ...

'', March 1, 2013 Her father was Ewell H. Muse and her mother, Roberta Maddox Muse. She grew up in Fort Worth, where she learned to play the piano from a young age.Texas Trail of Fame: Perry and Nancy Lee Bass
/ref> She was educated at Central High School, later known as

Paschal High School R. L. Paschal High School is a secondary school in Fort Worth, Texas, United States. It is part of the Fort Worth Independent School District, and the oldest and largest high school in Fort Worth ISD. The school is ranked 322nd in Texas and 3,892 ...

, in Fort Worth. She graduated from the

University of Texas at Austin The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin, UT, or Texas) is a public research university in Austin, Texas. It was founded in 1883 and is the oldest institution in the University of Texas System. With 40,916 undergraduate students, 11,07 ...

with a Bachelor of Arts degree in English in 1937.Nancy Lee Bass dies at 95
, ''

WFAA WFAA (channel 8) is a television station licensed to Dallas, Texas, United States, serving the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex as an affiliate of ABC. It is owned by Tegna Inc. alongside Decatur-licensed Estrella TV affiliate KMPX (channel 29), ...

'', March 1, 2013

Philanthropy

She donated to the Fort Worth Museum of Science and History, and the

National Cowgirl Museum and Hall of Fame The National Cowgirl Museum and Hall of Fame is located in Fort Worth, Texas, US. Established in 1975, it is dedicated to honoring women of the American West who have displayed extraordinary courage and pioneering fortitude. The museum is an edu ...

, all of which are based in Fort Worth. She served on the Boards of Trustees of the

Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth The Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth (widely referred to as The Modern) is an art museum of post-World War II art in Fort Worth, Texas with a collection of international modern and contemporary art. Founded in 1892, The Modern is located in the c ...

, the University of Texas at Austin and the

Smithsonian Institution The Smithsonian Institution ( ), or simply the Smithsonian, is a group of museums and education and research centers, the largest such complex in the world, created by the U.S. government "for the increase and diffusion of knowledge". Founded ...

. She also served as Vice President of the Sid W. Richardson Foundation, named for her husband's uncle. The Nancy Lee and Perry R. Bass Performance Hall was named after her husband and her, after her friend, pianist

Van Cliburn Harvey Lavan "Van" Cliburn Jr. (; July 12, 1934February 27, 2013) was an American pianist who, at the age of 23, achieved worldwide recognition when he won the inaugural International Tchaikovsky Competition in Moscow in 1958 during the Cold W ...

, suggested it. The Bass Performance Hall held the Van Cliburn International Piano Competition where Bass contributed and took part on the advisory board.Dionne Anglin
Fort Worth's Nancy Lee Bass dies
''Fox 4'', March 2, 2013 Additionally, she was a member of the

Junior League The Association of Junior Leagues International, Inc. (Junior League or JL) is a private, nonprofit educational women's volunteer organization aimed at improving communities and the social, cultural, and political fabric of civil society. With ...

, the Jewel Charity Ball, and the Fort Worth Garden Club. She was also a past President of

The Assembly The Assembly were a British synth-pop project formed in 1983 in Basildon, England, by Vince Clarke (songwriting, keyboards, backing vocals) and Eric Radcliffe (songwriting, production). Feargal Sharkey was hired as a guest vocalist for the ...

. She became a member of the First United Methodist Church of Fort Worth in 1925.First United Methodist Church of Fort Worth Honors Nancy Lee Bass in March 7 Bell Tribute
''Business Wire'', March 5, 2013 In 1993, she donated new church bells, which were placed in the east tower. With her husband, she donated US$1 million to fifty different organizations in 1991, for their fiftieth anniversary.Chris Van Horne

''NBCFW'', March 1, 2013 They also donated US$8 million to the

Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra The Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra (FWSO) is an American symphony orchestra based in Fort Worth, Texas. The orchestra is resident at the Nancy Lee and Perry R. Bass Performance Hall. In addition to its symphonic and pops concert series, the FWSO a ...

. They also donated art to the

Kimbell Art Museum The Kimbell Art Museum in Fort Worth, Texas, hosts an art collection as well as traveling art exhibitions, educational programs and an extensive research library. Its initial artwork came from the private collection of Kay and Velma Kimbell, w ...

in Fort Worth.Kimbell Art Museum: The Collection of Nancy Lee and Perry R. Bass
/ref> The collection includes ''Street in Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer'' and ''Enclosed Field with Plowman'' by

Vincent van Gogh Vincent Willem van Gogh (; 30 March 185329 July 1890) was a Dutch Post-Impressionist painter who posthumously became one of the most famous and influential figures in Western art history. In a decade, he created about 2,100 artworks, inc ...

as well as ''Fruit Dish, Bottle, and Guitar'' by

Pablo Picasso Pablo Ruiz Picasso (25 October 1881 – 8 April 1973) was a Spanish painter, sculptor, printmaker, ceramicist and Scenic design, theatre designer who spent most of his adult life in France. One of the most influential artists of the 20th ce ...

. It also includes paintings by

Claude Monet Oscar-Claude Monet (, , ; 14 November 1840 – 5 December 1926) was a French painter and founder of impressionist painting who is seen as a key precursor to modernism, especially in his attempts to paint nature as he perceived it. Durin ...

, Camille Pissarro, Pierre-Auguste Renoir,

Édouard Vuillard Jean-Édouard Vuillard (; 11 November 186821 June 1940) was a French painter, decorative artist and printmaker. From 1891 through 1900, he was a prominent member of the Nabis, making paintings which assembled areas of pure color, and interior sc ...

, Pierre Bonnard,

Henri Matisse Henri Émile Benoît Matisse (; 31 December 1869 – 3 November 1954) was a French visual artist, known for both his use of colour and his fluid and original draughtsmanship. He was a drawing, draughtsman, printmaking, printmaker, and sculptur ...

, Joan Miró, Fernand Léger, Marc Chagall and

Mark Rothko Mark Rothko (), born Markus Yakovlevich Rothkowitz (russian: Ма́ркус Я́ковлевич Ротко́вич, link=no, lv, Markuss Rotkovičs, link=no; name not Anglicized until 1940; September 25, 1903 – February 25, 1970), was a Lat ...

as well as sculptures by Auguste Rodin,

Aristide Maillol Aristide Joseph Bonaventure Maillol (; December 8, 1861 – September 27, 1944) was a French Sculpture, sculptor, Painting, painter, and printmaking, printmaker.Le Normand-Romain, Antoinette . "Maillol, Aristide". ''Grove Art Online. Oxford ...

and Simon Segal. She was the recipient of the National Cowgirl Museum and Hall of Fame Gloria Lupton Tennison Pioneer Award and the Distinguished Alumnus Award from the University of Texas Ex-Students Association as well as the Golden Deeds Award from the Exchange Club of Fort Worth.

Personal life

She married

Perry Richardson Bass Perry Richardson Bass (November 11, 1914 – June 1, 2006) was an American heir, investor, philanthropist and sailor. Early life Perry Richardson Bass was born on November 11, 1914, in Wichita Falls, Texas.Leslie WaynePerry R. Bass, 91, Patriarch ...

at the First Methodist Church of Fort Worth in 1941.Nancy Lee Bass, 95, matriarch of Fort Worth’s leading philanthropists
, ''

Chicago Sun Times The ''Chicago Sun-Times'' is a daily newspaper published in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Since 2022, it is the flagship paper of Chicago Public Media, and has the second largest circulation among Chicago newspapers, after the ''Chicago T ...

'', March 2, 2013 They had met in a dance hall in Fort Worth. They had four sons: *

Lee Bass Lee Marshall Bass (born 1956) is an American businessman and philanthropist. Early life Lee Bass was born in 1956. His father was Perry Richardson Bass, an investor and philanthropist, and his mother, Nancy Lee Bass, was a philanthropist. His gre ...

. * Ed Bass. *

Robert Bass Robert Muse Bass (born 19 March 1948) is an American billionaire businessman and philanthropist. He was the chairman of Aerion Corporation, an American aerospace firm in Reno, Nevada. In 2018 he had a net worth of $5 billion. Bass has served on ...

. *

Sid Bass Sid Richardson Bass (born April 9, 1942) is an American billionaire investor and philanthropist. Early life Sid Richardson Bass was born on April 9, 1942. His father, Perry Richardson Bass (died 2006), built an oil fortune with uncle, Sid W. ...

. Mrs. Bass also had ten grandchildren and seven great-grandchildren. Throughout her lifetime she was an active citizen to her hometown of Fort Worth, Texas. Governor Rick Perry described her communal services as, "touching the lives of many in Fort Worth, Texas and the country, yet preferring to stay humble rather than in the spotlight. She became a widow upon her spouse's death in 2006.

Death

She died on February 28, 2013, in Fort Worth, Texas. She was ninety-five years old. Her memorial service took place at the Nancy Lee and Perry R. Bass Performance Hall in Fort Worth on March 16, 2013, with musical performance by the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bass, Nancy Lee 1917 births 2013 deaths People from Fort Worth, Texas University of Texas at Austin College of Liberal Arts alumni American art collectors Women art collectors Philanthropists from Texas Bass family American United Methodists