Abby Aldrich Rockefeller
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Abigail Greene Aldrich Rockefeller (October 26, 1874 – April 5, 1948) was an American
socialite A socialite is a person from a wealthy and (possibly) aristocratic background, who is prominent in high society. A socialite generally spends a significant amount of time attending various fashionable social gatherings, instead of having traditio ...
and
philanthropist Philanthropy is a form of altruism that consists of "private initiatives, for the Public good (economics), public good, focusing on quality of life". Philanthropy contrasts with business initiatives, which are private initiatives for private goo ...
. She was a prominent member of the
Rockefeller family The Rockefeller family () is an American industrial, political, and banking family that owns one of the world's largest fortunes. The fortune was made in the American petroleum industry during the late 19th and early 20th centuries by brothe ...
through her marriage to financier and philanthropist
John D. Rockefeller Jr. John Davison Rockefeller Jr. (January 29, 1874 – May 11, 1960) was an American financier and philanthropist, and the only son of Standard Oil co-founder John D. Rockefeller. He was involved in the development of the vast office complex in M ...
, the son of
Standard Oil Standard Oil Company, Inc., was an American oil production, transportation, refining, and marketing company that operated from 1870 to 1911. At its height, Standard Oil was the largest petroleum company in the world, and its success made its co-f ...
co-founder
John D. Rockefeller John Davison Rockefeller Sr. (July 8, 1839 – May 23, 1937) was an American business magnate and philanthropist. He has been widely considered the wealthiest American of all time and the richest person in modern history. Rockefeller was ...
. Her father was
Nelson W. Aldrich Nelson Wilmarth Aldrich (/ ˈɑldɹɪt͡ʃ/; November 6, 1841 – April 16, 1915) was a prominent American politician and a leader of the Republican Party in the United States Senate, where he represented Rhode Island from 1881 to 1911. By the 1 ...
who served as the Senator of
Rhode Island Rhode Island (, like ''road'') is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is the List of U.S. states by area, smallest U.S. state by area and the List of states and territories of the United States ...
. Rockefeller was known for being the driving force behind the establishment of the
Museum of Modern Art The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) is an art museum located in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, on 53rd Street between Fifth and Sixth Avenues. It plays a major role in developing and collecting modern art, and is often identified as one of ...
.


Early life

Abigail Greene Aldrich Rockefeller was born in
Providence, Rhode Island Providence is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Rhode Island. One of the oldest cities in New England, it was founded in 1636 by Roger Williams, a Reformed Baptist theologian and religious exile from the Massachusetts Bay ...
, as the fourth child to Senator Nelson Wilmarth Aldrich and Abigail Pearce Truman Chapman. The majority of her childhood was divided between Providence and Warwick Neck in Rhode Island, and Washington, D.C. Owing to her father's prominence as a congressman, Rockefeller was introduced at an early age to elevated political circles. The figures that her parents entertained included Senator William Allison, Senator Eugene Hale, Senator
William P. Frye William Pierce Frye (September 2, 1830 – August 8, 1911) was an American politician from Maine. A member of the Republican Party, Frye spent most of his political career as a legislator, serving in the Maine House of Representatives and the ...
, General
Ambrose Burnside Ambrose Everett Burnside (May 23, 1824 – September 13, 1881) was an American army officer and politician who became a senior Union general in the Civil War and three times Governor of Rhode Island, as well as being a successful inventor ...
, William McKinley, Mary Lee, and
Elizabeth Bacon Custer Elizabeth Bacon Custer (née Bacon; April 8, 1842 – April 4, 1933) was an American author and public speaker, and the wife of Brevet Major General George Armstrong Custer, United States Army. She spent most of their marriage in relative proxi ...
. Her early education came at the hands of
Quaker Quakers are people who belong to a historically Protestant Christian set of Christian denomination, denominations known formally as the Religious Society of Friends. Members of these movements ("theFriends") are generally united by a belie ...
governesses. From 1891 to 1893 she was enrolled at Miss Abbott's School for Young Ladies in Providence, Rhode Island. There she studied English composition and literature, French, German, art history, ancient history, gymnastics, and dancing. In November 1893 she made her social debut at her coming-out party, which sparked her lifelong love of social events. On June 30, 1894, on a trip fostered by her father, Rockefeller sailed to
Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a popul ...
, beginning a lifetime of extensive European and later Asian travel. Her initial four-month sojourn included stops in England, Belgium, the Netherlands, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Italy, and France. This and future trips featured visits to numerous art galleries, informing her future discernment as an art collector.


Marriage to John D. Rockefeller Jr.

In late 1894, she met John Davison Rockefeller Jr., the only son of
Standard Oil Standard Oil Company, Inc., was an American oil production, transportation, refining, and marketing company that operated from 1870 to 1911. At its height, Standard Oil was the largest petroleum company in the world, and its success made its co-f ...
co-founder John Davison Rockefeller Sr. and schoolteacher Laura Celestia "Cettie" Spelman, at a friend's house in Providence. Their long courtship is documented in her engagement books, which were used to formally detail her meetings with potential suitors. In early 1895, they began to share walks together on Sunday afternoons. These meetings progressed further until late August 1901, when they became engaged. They married on October 9, 1901, in the major society wedding of the
Gilded Age In United States history, the Gilded Age was an era extending roughly from 1877 to 1900, which was sandwiched between the Reconstruction era and the Progressive Era. It was a time of rapid economic growth, especially in the Northern and Weste ...
, in front of around a thousand of the elite personages of the time, at her father's summer home, "
Indian Oaks Aldrich Mansion is a late 19th-century property owned by the Roman Catholic Diocese of Providence since 1939. It is located by the scenic Narragansett Bay at 836 Warwick Neck Avenue in Warwick, Rhode Island, south of Providence, Rhode Island. Or ...
", in Warwick Neck,
Kent County, Rhode Island Kent County is a county located in the U.S. state of Rhode Island. As of the 2020 census, the population was 170,363, making it the second-most populous county in Rhode Island. The county was formed in 1750 from the southern third of Providence ...
. The couple settled in 13 West 54th Street in Manhattan from 1901 until 1913, when her husband finished constructing a nine-story mansion at 10 West 54th Street, the largest in New York City at the time. They resided at "Number 10" until 1938 when they moved to a 40-room triplex apartment at
740 Park Avenue 740 Park Avenue is a luxury cooperative apartment building on the west side of Park Avenue between East 71st and 72nd Streets in the Lenox Hill neighborhood of Manhattan, New York City. It was described in ''Business Insider'' in 2011 as "a l ...
. Both of them also owned properties in Pocantico Hills, Seal Harbor, Maine, Williamsburg, and Virginia. They became the parents of six children:
Abby Rockefeller Mauzé Abigail Aldrich Rockefeller (November 9, 1903 – May 27, 1976) was an American philanthropist and the daughter of American financier John D. Rockefeller Jr. and a granddaughter of Standard Oil co-founder John D. Rockefeller. Family backgroun ...
,
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 ...
,
Nelson Rockefeller Nelson Aldrich Rockefeller (July 8, 1908 – January 26, 1979), sometimes referred to by his nickname Rocky, was an American businessman and politician who served as the 41st vice president of the United States from 1974 to 1977. A member of t ...
,
Laurance Rockefeller Laurance Spelman Rockefeller (May 26, 1910 – July 11, 2004) was an American businessman, financier, philanthropist, and conservationist. Rockefeller was the third son and fourth child of John D. Rockefeller Jr. and Abby Aldrich Rockefeller. As ...
,
Winthrop Rockefeller Winthrop Rockefeller (May 1, 1912 – February 22, 1973) was an American politician and philanthropist. Rockefeller was the fourth son and fifth child of American financer John D. Rockefeller Jr. and Abby Aldrich Rockefeller. He is one of the g ...
, and
David Rockefeller David Rockefeller (June 12, 1915 – March 20, 2017) was an American investment banker who served as chairman and chief executive of Chase Manhattan Corporation. He was the oldest living member of the third generation of the Rockefeller family, ...
.


Death

Abby Rockefeller suffered a heart attack and died on April 5, 1948, at the Rockefeller family home at 740 Park Avenue in New York City, at the age of 73. She was cremated and her ashes were spread at a private burial place in Pocantico, New York. A memorial service was held for her at the
Riverside Church Riverside Church is an interdenominational church in the Morningside Heights neighborhood of Manhattan, New York City, on the block bounded by Riverside Drive, Claremont Avenue, 120th Street and 122nd Street near Columbia University's Mornin ...
. Her will was filed for probate on April 22, 1948, and her gross estate was appraised at $1,156,269. As per her final wishes, four major works were bequeathed to the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA): ''Lady With a Parasol'' and ''Seated Woman'', both by
Georges Seurat Georges Pierre Seurat ( , , ; 2 December 1859 – 29 March 1891) was a French post-Impressionist artist. He devised the painting techniques known as chromoluminarism and pointillism and used conté crayon for drawings on paper with a rough su ...
; ''Street at Saintes-Maries'' and ''Corridor at Saint-Remy'' by
Vincent van Gogh Vincent Willem van Gogh (; 30 March 185329 July 1890) was a Dutch Post-Impressionism, 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 ...
. She left her Oriental miniatures to the Fogg Museum. Her residuary estate of $850,848, minus estate taxes of $250,000, was donated to the MoMA. A number of dedications were made in her honor and in remembrance of her commitment as an art collector. One such was the Abby Aldrich Rockefeller Print Room at the MoMA, which with her gift of sixteen hundred prints was opened on May 15, 1949. The Abby Aldrich Rockefeller Folk Art Center was opened in 1957 in Colonial Williamsburg to house her collection of folk art. A number prominent figures paid homage to Rockefeller after her death. Most notably, was a contribution by artist
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 draughtsman, printmaker, and sculptor, but is known prima ...
of a stained glass window for Union Church in Pocantico, New York. In the spring of 1954, at eighty-four years old, the then bedridden Matisse was asked to design a stained glass window for the Union Church as a memorial to Rockefeller. He regretfully refused the commission because his deteriorating health would prevent him from visiting and studying the location. After Alfred Rockefeller sent him a series of photographs of the location, Matisse changed his mind and began to work on the project. On November 1, 1954, he wrote that he had happily completed the work, and he died two days later.


Patronage of modern art and contributions to the Museum of Modern Art


Patron of Modern Art

Abby Rockefeller began collecting paintings, watercolors, and drawings by a number of contemporary American artists in 1925, as well as a number of European modernists: Vincent van Gogh,
Edgar Degas Edgar Degas (, ; born Hilaire-Germain-Edgar De Gas, ; 19 July 183427 September 1917) was a French Impressionist artist famous for his pastel drawings and oil paintings. Degas also produced bronze sculptures, prints and drawings. Degas is es ...
,
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 draughtsman, printmaker, and sculptor, but is known prima ...
,
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 ...
,
Paul Cézanne Paul Cézanne ( , , ; ; 19 January 1839 – 22 October 1906) was a French artist and Post-Impressionism, Post-Impressionist painter whose work laid the foundations of the transition from the 19th-century conception of artistic endeavour to a ...
, and
Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec Comte Henri Marie Raymond de Toulouse-Lautrec-Monfa (24 November 1864 – 9 September 1901) was a French painter, printmaker, draughtsman, caricaturist and illustrator whose immersion in the colourful and theatrical life of Paris in the ...
. She became a prominent patron of modern art. In 1928, she employed
Donald Deskey Donald Sidney Deskey (November 23, 1894 – April 29, 1989) was an American industrial designer. Biography Donald Sidney Deskey was born in Blue Earth, Minnesota. He studied architecture at the University of California, but did not follow th ...
to create a series of furnished rooms, done in the art deco style, for the Rockefeller home. These rooms were dubbed the ''Topside Gallery'', and served as a display area for Rockefeller's growing art collection. The art in the room was regularly cycled, forming curated exhibitions of Rockefeller's modern and folk art collections. Visitors to the gallery rode an elevator to the 7th floor of the Rockefeller home, keeping the gallery separate, though connected, from private family areas. The news of her interests and activities spread quickly from this period, and many subsequent collectors began to follow her lead.


Co-Founder of Museum of Modern Art (MoMA)

Lillie P. Bliss, Mary Quinn Sullivan, and Rockefeller joined to conceptualize what is now known as the
Museum of Modern Art The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) is an art museum located in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, on 53rd Street between Fifth and Sixth Avenues. It plays a major role in developing and collecting modern art, and is often identified as one of ...
(MoMA) in New York. Quickly, they gathered the support of other prominent figures including:
Anson Goodyear Anson Conger Goodyear (June 20, 1877 – April 24, 1964) was an American manufacturer, businessman, author, and philanthropist and member of the Goodyear family. He is best known as one of the founding members and first president of the Museum of ...
, Murray Crane, and Paul J. Sachs. The founding board consisted of seven members, with Goodyear as the president. The first quarters for the museum were rented at 730 Fifth Avenue in New York and Alfred H. Barr Jr. was appointed as the museum's first director. Since her husband only gave her a relatively small allowance, she could not solely rely on him to finance the new museum. His financial support was especially limited due to his personal distaste for modern art. Thus, financing for the museum and acquisition of paintings came from Rockefeller's solicitation of the public, corporations, and prominent New York residents. Rockefeller was elected to MoMA's board of trustees in October 1929 and served as inaugural treasurer from 1929 until 1934. Her other roles included terms as First Vice-president from 1934 until 1936, and First Vice-chairman from 1941 to 1945. Her son
Nelson Rockefeller Nelson Aldrich Rockefeller (July 8, 1908 – January 26, 1979), sometimes referred to by his nickname Rocky, was an American businessman and politician who served as the 41st vice president of the United States from 1974 to 1977. A member of t ...
was involved in the museum alongside her, starting out as chairman of the junior advisory committee and rising to president. Chief among Rockefeller's concerns at the new museum was the strength of the permanent collection. She often privately gave her own money to the museum for the purchase of new acquisitions. In 1938, she granted the museum its first purchase fund, which was handsomely increased by Nelson Rockefeller. Many ideas concerning the development of the museum originated with Rockefeller. For example, it was Rockefeller who campaigned for the creation of the museum's film library. Also, it was Rockefeller's idea to create the War Veterans' Art Center. This center aimed to rehabilitate veterans of World War II through the practice of art. Stephen Clark was her co-sponsor on the project, Kenneth Chorley was the supervisor of the center's activities, and Victor D'Amico was the supervisor of activities. The center served 1485 veterans until it was closed in June 1948, in an effort to rejoin veteran artists with civilian artists at the People's Art Center. Rockefeller's legacy at the museum is preserved in the form of a number of dedications including the ''Abby Aldrich Rockefeller Print Room'', which opened in 1949, after her death. The room houses Rockefeller's gift of 1600 prints, which had been given nine years earlier. The ''
Abby Aldrich Rockefeller Sculpture Garden The Abby Aldrich Rockefeller Sculpture Garden is an outdoor courtyard at the Museum of Modern Art in Manhattan, New York City. Designed by notable architect Philip Johnson, the courtyard was conceived at the same time as Johnson's West Wing annex ...
'' was also named in her honor. The garden was designed by architect
Philip Johnson Philip Cortelyou Johnson (July 8, 1906 – January 25, 2005) was an American architect best known for his works of modern and postmodern architecture. Among his best-known designs are his modernist Glass House in New Canaan, Connecticut; the pos ...
and opened in 1953.


Patronage of folk art and contributions to Abby Aldrich Museum of Folk Art


Patron of Folk Art

In 1929, Rockefeller became an early customer of the ''Downtown Gallery'', run by art dealer,
Edith Halpert Edith Halpert or Edith Gregor Halpert (née Edith Gregoryevna Fivoosiovitch; 1900–1970) was a pioneering New York City Art dealer, dealer of American modernism, American modern art and American Folk Art, American folk art. She brought recognitio ...
. Halpert was selling 19th-century pictures and weathervanes that had been gathered from New England. The timing was perfect for Rockefeller because she and her husband has just began contributing to restoration works at what is now known as
Colonial Williamsburg Colonial Williamsburg is a living-history museum and private foundation presenting a part of the historic district in the city of Williamsburg, Virginia, United States. The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation has 7300 employees at this location and ...
. Her years of collecting spanned from the late 1920s to 1942. Her collection included: paintings, weathervanes, shop signs, pottery, quilts, and other decorative household items. Some of her favorite types of items in her collection were: children's portraits and student art, in the form of calligraphy, memorials, and theorems. The original pieces of the collection were largely sourced from New England and Pennsylvania, though later it included Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia. Rockefeller's collection grew with the help of
Holger Cahill Edgar Holger Cahill (January 13, 1887 – July 8, 1960) was an Icelandic-American curator, writer, and arts administrator who served as the national director of the Federal Art Project of the Works Progress Administration during the New Deal in th ...
and
Edith Halpert Edith Halpert or Edith Gregor Halpert (née Edith Gregoryevna Fivoosiovitch; 1900–1970) was a pioneering New York City Art dealer, dealer of American modernism, American modern art and American Folk Art, American folk art. She brought recognitio ...
. Outside of the employment of these two curators, most of the items in the collection were discovered in their places of origin. For example, in 1934, Cahill was sent by Rockefeller to the southern United States to personally gather new items for the collection. On this trip, Cahill found items in people's sitting rooms, attics, and carpenter's shops. In Orangeburg, South Carolina, Cahill found one of Rockefeller's most important acquisitions, a watercolor titled ''The Old Plantation.'' A portion of Rockefeller's collection was purchased from
Elie Nadelman Elie Nadelman (born Eliasz Nadelman; February 20, 1882 – December 28, 1946) was a Polish-American sculptor, draughtsman and collector of folk art. Early years Nadelman was born and studied briefly in Warsaw and then visited Munich in 1902 ...
, who had lost his fortune to the
Great Depression The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...
. Nadelman's folk art collection purchased and split amongst Rockefeller,
Henry Francis du Pont Henry Francis du Pont (May 27, 1880 – April 11, 1969) was an American horticulturist, collector of early American furniture and decorative arts, breeder of Holstein Friesian cattle, and scion of the powerful du Pont family. Converted into ...
, the Cloisters of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and the Brummer Galleries.


Early Exhibitions of the Collection

In 1930 and 1931, the Newark Museum exhibited a collection of American folk art. Approximately 10 percent of these items were attributed to the same anonymous donor, in actuality the donor was Abby Rockefeller. In 1932, Rockefeller's collection was again loaned anonymously, this time to the Museum of Modern Art for an exhibition titled ''American Folk Art: The Art of the Common Man in America''.''American Folk Art: The Exhibition of 1932'', Edited by Peter A.G. Brown (Abby Aldrich Rockefeller Folk Art Collection, 1968), Exhibition catalogue. Of the 175 objects on display, 174 of the objects belonged to Rockefeller, with the remaining single object belonging to Henry Cahill. The exhibition was highly successful, and became the first traveling exhibition of American folk art, visiting six American cities from 1932 to 1934. The objects displayed during these two early exhibitions were mostly from New England and Pennsylvania and constituted a wide range of art categories including: oil paintings, pastels, watercolors, paintings on velvet, paintings on glass, wood sculptures, metal sculptures, and chalkware.


Development of the Abby Aldrich Rockefeller Folk Art Museum

In 1934, Rockefeller began to lend parts of her collection for permanent display in the Ludwell-Paradis House in
Colonial Williamsburg Colonial Williamsburg is a living-history museum and private foundation presenting a part of the historic district in the city of Williamsburg, Virginia, United States. The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation has 7300 employees at this location and ...
. The exhibits were installed mostly under the guidance of Edith Halpert and opened to the public in 1935, remaining open until January 1956. Other pieces were hung in Colonial Williamsburg in neighboring exhibition buildings or operating taverns, blending in with the existing decor. In 1939, fifty-four pieces of the folk art collection were donated to the Museum of Modern Art. In 1954, six years after Abby Rockefeller's death, the March edition of ''Antiques'' magazine published an announcement that a new museum would house the Rockefeller folk art collection. John D. Rockefeller, Jr. provided the funds for construction of the project and the purchase of new objects. This endowment was so large that the museum was able to acquire over a hundred new objects in its first year.


Philanthropy


Young Women's Christian Association (YWCA)

John D. Rockefeller Jr.'s wedding gift to Abby was a sum of money, which she promptly donated to the Young Women's Christian Association (
YWCA The Young Women's Christian Association (YWCA) is a nonprofit organization with a focus on empowerment, leadership, and rights of women, young women, and girls in more than 100 countries. The World office is currently based in Geneva, Swi ...
) of Providence in Rhode Island. Later, she was active in the YWCA of New York. From 1918 to 1936 she held active service in the YWCA, though upon her retirement from leadership roles, she was considered an honorary member. She was a member of the YWCA's National Board, and served as the vice-president and chairman of numerous committees. Notably, in 1918 she was elected as chairman of the Housing Committee of the War Work Council. The committee was organized during World War I with the objective of providing improved living conditions for working women. For example, she recruited the architect
Duncan Candler Duncan Willson Candler (May 8, 1873 - November 12, 1949) was an American architect known for his various projects for Abby and John D. Rockefeller Jr. and the house Skylands for Edsel Ford.Mitchell, Christi M. (2009-01-24)National Register of His ...
to design a house in Charleston, South Carolina to house women who worked at a naval uniform factory. Rockefeller was director of the YWCA operated and owned Grace Dodge Hotel in Washington D.C., which was constructed in October 1921. Rockefeller monitored financial reports and oversaw advertisements for the hotel, with the primary goal of serving female workers. She objected to racial discrimination in the wages, status, and living arrangements of the staff at the Grace Dodge Hotel.


Good Fellowship Council

Via the Fifth Avenue Baptist Church, the Good Fellowship Council was formed, inviting all people of the local neighborhood to join. The meetings aimed to open discussion on neighborhood problems including: traffic lights, sanitation, schools, and child welfare. Originally the club was organized for women, but later allowed men to join as well. Abby Rockefeller served as the chairman of the Good Fellowship Council and led monthly meetings while visiting a range of community sub-clubs. The meetings were attended by 300 to 400 people. The meetings featured many guest speakers, including the President of the American Federation of Labor, doctors specializing in child care, experts in immigration law, and architects specializing in commercial spaces. Musical performances given in native languages and forms of dress were given by members of the club regularly.


Bayway Community Cottage

In October 1920, Rockefeller desired to create a demonstration structure for the employees of the Bayway Refinery of Standard Oil, in Elizabeth, New Jersey. The structure was meant to be an example of a worker's home, though soon the purpose of the cottage extended to one of community learning. The cottage hosted cooking classes, a Mothers' Club, and a baby clinic. In 1926, the cottage was expanded to include a club-room, larger kitchen, larger baby clinic, gymnasium, and office for social workers. In 1939, another addition created a bowling alley and other game rooms. In 1947, 9700 people made use of the Bayway Community Cottage in some way.


International House of New York

Abby Rockefeller was the chairman of the Furnishing Committee of the
International House of New York International House New York, also known as I-House, is a private, independent, non-profit residence and program center for postgraduate students, research scholars, trainees, and interns, located at 500 Riverside Drive in Morningside Heights, Ma ...
. As chairman, she strove to add American decor to the interior of the building, drawing largely on her childhood in Providence, Rhode Island for inspiration. For twenty-five years she was a regular visitor to the International House, and for many years she and her husband hosted Christmas parties for its residents.


Colonial Williamsburg

In the mid-1920s, Abby and her husband were contacted by Reverend Dr.
W.A.R. Goodwin William Archer Rutherfoord Goodwin (June 18, 1869 – September 7, 1939) (or W.A.R. Goodwin as he preferred or "the Doctor" as commonly used to his annoyance) was an Episcopal priest, historian, and author. As the rector of Bruton Parish Church, ...
, who was rector of
Bruton Parish Church Bruton Parish Church is located in the restored area of Colonial Williamsburg in Williamsburg, Virginia, United States. It was established in 1674 by the consolidation of two previous parishes in the Virginia Colony, and remains an active Epi ...
and an instructor at the
College of William and Mary The College of William & Mary (officially The College of William and Mary in Virginia, abbreviated as William & Mary, W&M) is a public research university in Williamsburg, Virginia. Founded in 1693 by letters patent issued by King William III a ...
in
Williamsburg, Virginia Williamsburg is an Independent city (United States), independent city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Virginia. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it had a population of 15,425. Located on the Virginia Peninsula ...
. After seeing Dr. Goodwin's restored church, they explored further his concept of a massive restoration of the city to its glory days prior to the
American Revolution The American Revolution was an ideological and political revolution that occurred in British America between 1765 and 1791. The Americans in the Thirteen Colonies formed independent states that defeated the British in the American Revolut ...
, as the capital of the
Virginia Colony The Colony of Virginia, chartered in 1606 and settled in 1607, was the first enduring English colonial empire, English colony in North America, following failed attempts at settlement on Newfoundland (island), Newfoundland by Sir Humphrey GilbertG ...
. They became committed to funding the project, which commenced in 1927. The result was
Colonial Williamsburg Colonial Williamsburg is a living-history museum and private foundation presenting a part of the historic district in the city of Williamsburg, Virginia, United States. The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation has 7300 employees at this location and ...
, a
living history Living history is an activity that incorporates historical tools, activities and dress into an interactive presentation that seeks to give observers and participants a sense of stepping back in time. Although it does not necessarily seek to ree ...
museum which has become one of the most popular tourist attractions in the world. One of the museums within the complex, the
Abby Aldrich Rockefeller Folk Art Museum The Abby Aldrich Rockefeller Folk Art Museum (AARFAM) is the United States' first and the world's oldest continually operated museum dedicated to the preservation, collection, and exhibition of American folk art. Located just outside the histori ...
, is named in her honor.


See also

*
Colonial Williamsburg Colonial Williamsburg is a living-history museum and private foundation presenting a part of the historic district in the city of Williamsburg, Virginia, United States. The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation has 7300 employees at this location and ...
*
Rockefeller family The Rockefeller family () is an American industrial, political, and banking family that owns one of the world's largest fortunes. The fortune was made in the American petroleum industry during the late 19th and early 20th centuries by brothe ...
*
John D. Rockefeller Jr. John Davison Rockefeller Jr. (January 29, 1874 – May 11, 1960) was an American financier and philanthropist, and the only son of Standard Oil co-founder John D. Rockefeller. He was involved in the development of the vast office complex in M ...
*
Nelson W. Aldrich Nelson Wilmarth Aldrich (/ ˈɑldɹɪt͡ʃ/; November 6, 1841 – April 16, 1915) was a prominent American politician and a leader of the Republican Party in the United States Senate, where he represented Rhode Island from 1881 to 1911. By the 1 ...


References


Further reading

* * *Stasz, Clarice. ''The Rockefeller Women: Dynasty of Piety, Privacy, and Service''. New York:
St. Martin's Press St. Martin's Press is a book publisher headquartered in Manhattan, New York City, in the Equitable Building. St. Martin's Press is considered one of the largest English-language publishers, bringing to the public some 700 titles a year under si ...
, 1995. *Fosdick, Raymond B. ''John D. Rockefeller Jr., A Portrait''. New York: Harper & Brothers, 1956. *Harr, John Ensor, and Peter J. Johnson. ''The Rockefeller Century: Three Generations of America's Greatest Family''. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1988. *Rockefeller, David. ''"Memoirs"''. New York: Random House, 2002. *


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Rockefeller, Abby Aldrich Rockefeller family Winthrop family American socialites American people of English descent People from Providence, Rhode Island 1874 births 1948 deaths Mothers of vice presidents of the United States Museum founders People associated with the Museum of Modern Art (New York City) New York (state) Republicans Philanthropists from New York (state) American women philanthropists Women art collectors 20th-century art collectors Women founders