Alice DeLamar (April 23, 1895 – August 31, 1983) was the heiress to

Joseph Raphael De Lamar Joseph Raphael De Lamar (September 2, 1843 – December 1, 1918) was a prominent mine owner and operator in the western United States and Canada, as well as a financier and speculator, from the late 1870s until his death in 1918. Early life ...

. She was a patron of the arts, and helped fund plays by

Mercedes de Acosta Mercedes de Acosta (March 1, 1892 – May 9, 1968) was an American poet, playwright, and novelist. Although she failed to achieve artistic and professional distinction, de Acosta is known for her many lesbian affairs with celebrated Broadway and ...

. DeLamar also donated some of her land in Palm Beach, Florida to the

Audubon Society The National Audubon Society (Audubon; ) is an American non-profit environmental organization dedicated to conservation of birds and their habitats. Located in the United States and incorporated in 1905, Audubon is one of the oldest of such orga ...

in the 1960s.

Early life

DeLamar was born April 23, 1895, in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

and Nellie Sands. She was their only child. The DeLamars had a mansion in New York City and an estate on Glen Cove on Long Island called Pennbrook or Pembroke. After she was born the family moved to Paris, where she lived until she and her father moved back to New York City in 1900. Late in the 1900s, DeLamar was put into the

Spence School , motto_translation = Not for school, but for life we learn , founder = Clara B. Spence , tuition = $60,880 (2022-2023) , chair = , head_label = , head ...

by her godfather,

William Nelson Cromwell William Nelson Cromwell (January 17, 1854 – July 19, 1948) was an American attorney active in promotion of the Panama Canal and other major ventures especially in cooperation with Philippe Bunau-Varilla. Life and career He was born and rais ...

. Her parents divorced in 1910, and her father gained custody of her. She had a half-sister, Consuelo Hatmaker, from her mother and her second husband, James Hatmaker. After she graduated from the Spence School, DeLamar and Evangeline Johnson, one of her schoolmates, volunteered for the Red Cross Motor Corps in Europe during

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

. Joseph Raphael De Lamar, Alice DeLamar's father, died December 1, 1918, making her the inheritor of $10 million () and was subsequently called the richest bachelor girl in the United States. Preferring a simpler life, she eschewed the family mansion for a Park Avenue apartment following her father's death.

Career

Philanthropy

DeLamar was a

patron Patronage is the support, encouragement, privilege, or financial aid that an organization or individual bestows on another. In the history of art, arts patronage refers to the support that kings, popes, and the wealthy have provided to artists su ...

of the arts and supported the careers of architects, artists, choreographers and writers, but she often preferred to remain anonymous when making financial donations. She commissioned

Ida Tarbell Ida Minerva Tarbell (November 5, 1857January 6, 1944) was an American writer, investigative journalist, biographer and lecturer. She was one of the leading muckrakers of the Progressive Era of the late 19th and early 20th centuries and pione ...

to write a book about architect

Addison Mizner Addison Cairns Mizner (December 12, 1872 – February 5, 1933) was an American architect whose Mediterranean Revival and Spanish Colonial Revival style interpretations left an indelible stamp on South Florida, where it continues to inspire archi ...

, that was illustrated by photographs of Frank Geisler, when Mizner was experiencing financial difficulties. She oversaw the work, including selecting images for the book. She supported environmental and social organizations. In 1969, she donated the land to the Aspetuck Land Trust for the 21-acre Stonebridge Waterfowl Preserve in Weston, Connecticut. I Worth Avenue Gallery, Palm Beach, FL

Business

Beginning in 1936, she operated a restaurant in

Weston Weston may refer to: Places Australia * Weston, Australian Capital Territory, a suburb of Canberra * Weston, New South Wales * Weston Creek, a residential district of Canberra * Weston Park, Canberra, a park Canada * Weston, Nova Scotia * ...

, the Cobbs Mill Inn, where members of the arts dined. She purchased and renovated properties along Newtown Turnpike near her home in

Connecticut Connecticut () is the southernmost state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. Its capita ...

that she then leased out to artists that she encouraged. In Palm Beach, Florida, she opened the Worth Avenue Gallery in 1942. It was an art gallery that promoted the works of up-and-coming artists.

Personal life

Alice DeLamar's Connecticut estate Stonebrook

DeLamar lived at the estate named Stonebrook, located in Weston, that she had built in the 1930s. Her visitors included Dave Brubeck,

Laura Ingalls Wilder Laura Elizabeth Ingalls Wilder (February 7, 1867 – February 10, 1957) was an American writer, mostly known for the '' Little House on the Prairie'' series of children's books, published between 1932 and 1943, which were based on her childhood ...

Salvador Dalí Salvador Domingo Felipe Jacinto Dalí i Domènech, Marquess of Dalí of Púbol (; ; ; 11 May 190423 January 1989) was a Spanish surrealist artist renowned for his technical skill, precise draftsmanship, and the striking and bizarre images in ...

Eva Le Gallienne Eva Le Gallienne (January 11, 1899 – June 3, 1991) was a British-born American stage actress, producer, director, translator, and author. A Broadway star by age 21, Le Gallienne gave up her Broadway appearances to devote herself to founding t ...

, and George Balanchine. On this estate, she had a pool built that includes a tunnel leading from the basement. It is rumored that this was so she could swim in the nude without fear of being seen or the need to walk outside. I Royal Palm Memorial Gardens, West Palm Beach, FL

I Royal Palm Memorial Gardens, West Palm Beach, FL

She also had a house in Palm Beach, Florida along the ocean; a townhouse in Paris that was previously owned by

Gerald Murphy Gerald Clery Murphy and Sara Sherman Wiborg were wealthy, expatriate Americans who moved to the French Riviera in the early 20th century and who, with their generous hospitality and flair for parties, created a vibrant social circle, particularly ...

; and an apartment at 530

Park Avenue Park Avenue is a wide New York City boulevard which carries north and southbound traffic in the boroughs of Manhattan and the Bronx. For most of the road's length in Manhattan, it runs parallel to Madison Avenue to the west and Lexington Av ...

in New York. For six decades, DeLamar was

's lover and financial supporter. She backed plays and she is believed to have provided funding for the Civic Repertory Theatre established by Le Gallienne in New York City. While seeking treatment for liver cancer, DeLamar hit her head when she fell in the South Norwalk hospital, which led to her death. Her remains were cremated and buried in West Palm Beach. A large portion of her estate went to Harvard, Columbia, and Johns Hopkins Universities, in accordance with her father's will. Le Gallienne received $1 million or a quarter of her estate, including the land and house that DeLamar purchased for her.

Early life

Career

Philanthropy

Business

Personal life

References

Further reading