Virginia Portia Royall Inness-Brown (1901–1990), also known as Virginia Inness-Brown was a proponent of the arts and first recipient of the

Handel Medallion The Handel Medallion is an American award presented by the City of New York. It is the city's highest award given to individuals for their contribution to the city's intellectual and cultural life. Establishment The award was first issued in 19 ...

of New York City, in 1959.

Biography

Virginia Portia Royall was born in

Medford, Massachusetts Medford is a city northwest of downtown Boston on the Mystic River in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. At the time of the 2020 U.S. Census, Medford's population was 59,659. It is home to Tufts University, which has its campus alo ...

on May 4, 1901, the daughter of John Allen Crosskeys Royall and Agatha Caroline Freeman. She married New York publisher Hugh Alwyn Inness-Brown Sr. on March 26, 1921, in Lillington, North Carolina. They lived in Plandome Manor, Nassau County, New York and had four children: Page Inness-Brown (Tharpe), Hugh Alwyn Inness-Brown Jr, Virginia Inness-Brown (Conn), and Constance Inness-Brown Von Valkenburg. Her granddaughter Elizabeth Inness-Brown is a novelist and educator. Virginia's husband, Hugh, died of a heart attack in their

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

home in 1972. Virginia died of congestive heart failure in Damariscotta, Maine on August 8, 1990.

Cultural activities

Inness-Brown was a philanthropist listed in the social register. She was also a member and officer of the

American National Theatre and Academy The American National Theatre and Academy (ANTA) is a non-profit theatre producer and training organization that was established in 1935 to be the official United States national theatre that would be an alternative to the for-profit Broadway houses ...

(ANTA). She served as the vice-chairman of the International Cultural Exchange of ANTA, 1954–63, national vice-president, 1963–66, vice-chairman, Performing Arts Program "Salute to France", 1954–55, and was chairman of the Drama, Dance, and Theatre Panels of ANTA. She was the international delegate of ANTA to Poland in 1963. In 1966, Inness-Brown was the president and chairman of the American corporation for the first Festival of Negro Arts, also known as the World Festival of Black Arts, held in Dakar, Senegal, a role controversial in the international community.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Inness-Brown, Virginia Portia Royall Commanders Crosses of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany 1901 births 1990 deaths People from Medford, New York People from Plandome Manor, New York