Rogues' Gallery Part 15

Be careful what you wish for.

The Review Review's editor, Robert Silvers, and his consort, Grace, Countess of Dudley, I recalled a few minutes too late, are in Mrs. de la Renta's social set. "We'll have a legal letter in a week," I predicted. In fact, it took four days. I don't know for certain that Silvers pa.s.sed the book on, but no review resulted from those five galleys. I fear that speaking truth to power is fine if you do it in Africa or Alabama or anywhere, really, besides the rarefied precincts where Manhattan's small-M cultural mafia operates. I subsequently heard from a source close to several trustees that Annette's galleys were pa.s.sed to Philippe de Montebello, who said he only skimmed them, and then to Jayne Wrightsman, who laughed them off. De la Renta, on the other hand, was, as a German newspaper would later put it, "nicht amusiert," "nicht amusiert," not amused. not amused.

The last, I learned firsthand when Mrs. de la Renta's lawyer, a senior partner at the distinguished but fearsome firm of Cravath, Swaine & Moore, wrote to Random House just before the book was published, objecting to five brief pa.s.sages, and complaining vociferously that I'd failed to even try to ascertain "the facts," which, he went on, was evidence of my "absolute disregard for the truth" and my desire to engage instead in "gratuitous and false character a.s.sa.s.sination" that was "clearly defamatory and injurious to the character and reputation of Mrs. de la Renta." In response, we detailed my half dozen attempts to speak to her, directly and through the museum, and through her husband and also one of her sisters. After another letter from Cravath, I decided to alter one erroneous pa.s.sage, not about her but about her mother (which was actually half right), and add Mrs. de la Renta's denial of a second statement made by an opponent in a legal action (which you will find in a footnote), even though the original wording was, legally speaking, fair reporting of a public dispute.

Cravath was never heard from again.

Oddly, I thought, de la Renta hadn't objected to what I considered the most startling revelations about her, which had mostly to do with the facts of her birth, her arrival in America, and her quite likable (I thought) rebelliousness as a youngster and subsequent willfulness as an adult. Rather, her objections all centered on my account of her relations.h.i.+ps with her two mothers, her real one and the one she has called a surrogate parent, the philanthropist and Met trustee Brooke Astor.

Just as Cravath was issuing its defamation threat, the trial of Astor's only real child-her son Anthony Marshall, for manipulating and stealing from his then-ailing but by-publication-date dead mother-was beginning in a courthouse in lower Manhattan, a sequence of events in large part set in motion by Mrs. de la Renta, who caused a private family dispute to become a public scandal, inspiring the Manhattan district attorney's office to look into the sordid affair.

Even after Marshall's conviction in October 2009, big questions about the Astor estate remain unsettled. Her bequest of millions of dollars to the Metropolitan Museum in one of the last of the thirty-some-odd wills she wrote over the course of fifty years, which Marshall then caused to be cut in half, is still up in the air. But as readers of this book know, the Met and its trustees are well-trained in playing hardball when seven-and eight-figure bequests are at stake, so if I were a betting man, I wouldn't bet against their prevailing. Their motive is clear. But what was Mrs. de la Renta's? The museum's well-established l.u.s.t for lucre? Altruism and friends.h.i.+p of the highest order, as many believe? I will likely never know. What I do know is that she failed to stop this book, though not for lack of trying.

It was a while before I discovered that the museum and its friends were battling the book on several fronts. At first I was focused on the legal one, the need to respond to the first, very long letter from Cravath and another that followed. It called Random's initial response, defending the book from the demand that it be withdrawn, unsatisfactory, and warned that if we didn't alter it to suit Mrs. de la Renta, "you will act at your peril." Fighting words, so I tried to fight back on turf more familiar to me, by tracking and encouraging, as best an author can, the publications, broadcasters, and websites that had expressed interest in the book. I was thrilled to hear that a high-profile website had hired a writer I greatly admire, Daphne Merkin, to interview me; I agreed to give them my first comments on the book exclusively on the day it was published. A top reviewer at the daily New York Times New York Times was also a.s.signed to review the book for a piece set to run two days after publication. But the interview didn't appear, and simultaneously my publisher learned that the was also a.s.signed to review the book for a piece set to run two days after publication. But the interview didn't appear, and simultaneously my publisher learned that the Times Times review had been mysteriously postponed. Neither has ever surfaced. review had been mysteriously postponed. Neither has ever surfaced.

What did, though, on publication day, was a splashy cover article in the Times Times Arts section, touting the re-opening of the renovated American Wing of the Met and its Engelhard courtyard, even though that opening wouldn't happen for another two weeks, an eternity in the world of daily newspapers, and one that gave me my first inkling that trouble was no longer on the horizon-it had arrived. I soon thought up a jokey mantra I'd repeat often in the weeks that followed: Maybe it's a coincidence. Arts section, touting the re-opening of the renovated American Wing of the Met and its Engelhard courtyard, even though that opening wouldn't happen for another two weeks, an eternity in the world of daily newspapers, and one that gave me my first inkling that trouble was no longer on the horizon-it had arrived. I soon thought up a jokey mantra I'd repeat often in the weeks that followed: Maybe it's a coincidence.

The Times Times, or rather, its Sunday Book Review, would eventually review the book, and glowingly at that, but quite late in the game, so the write-up did little to inspire the immediate sales that can make or break a book. Meantime, the Met's tentacles seemed to be everywhere. A reporter at a New York tabloid told me that a juicy piece he'd written had been killed by an editor who echoed Cravath (Annette is going to sue, and we'll be left holding the bag) in explanation. Another tabloid got a letter from Cravath, warning that the book was full of misinformation. Later, I would learn that museum trustees were making Stop That Book phone calls, too.

And then a publis.h.i.+ng blog printed an item claiming that the book was unavailable at the New York Public Library. Impossible, I thought. Impossible, said my friends and advisers. It must have been delayed. Wait a week or two. It will be there. But a month later, it still wasn't in the library catalog, and people seeking to take it out were being told they couldn't even reserve it. Fortunately, a reporter heard that. Reid Pillifant of the New York Observer New York Observer had already written one piece on the book's reception, asking the museum to detail any alleged inaccuracies in the book, an invitation it declined, a telling silence that continued when I blogged, offering to consider any correction the Met desired. There were none. had already written one piece on the book's reception, asking the museum to detail any alleged inaccuracies in the book, an invitation it declined, a telling silence that continued when I blogged, offering to consider any correction the Met desired. There were none.

Pillifant started asking around and made a series of telling discoveries. Rogues' Gallery Rogues' Gallery was available in the separate library systems in Queens and Brooklyn, and was feverishly circulating in both. Books published at the same time as this one were in the NYPL system. Annette de la Renta, it emerged, was also a trustee at the NYPL. And her latest contribution, for $100,000, was for the acquisition of new books. Finally, the reporter called the library, and its response, like the museum's, spoke volumes: "No comment." was available in the separate library systems in Queens and Brooklyn, and was feverishly circulating in both. Books published at the same time as this one were in the NYPL system. Annette de la Renta, it emerged, was also a trustee at the NYPL. And her latest contribution, for $100,000, was for the acquisition of new books. Finally, the reporter called the library, and its response, like the museum's, spoke volumes: "No comment."

Pillifant printed his story. More reporters started asking questions. And within a few days, fifty-plus copies of Rogues' Gallery Rogues' Gallery appeared in the library's branches, where they have been steadily circulating ever since. The trickle of write-ups increased and kept coming. The big guns of mainstream media remained silent, but word of mouth, that uncontrollable force, had taken over. Instead of disappearing, as most books do if they don't sell well quickly, this one stayed on shelves in bookstores across the country. And with that I decided to get to work on a new book. But in December, I was invited to speak at the New York Public Library-and the talk was so well attended that a second room was opened to accommodate the overflow crowd. Walking home, I pa.s.sed the library's famous stone lions, Patience and Fort.i.tude. Libraries, too, stand for something more powerful than their transient attendants. My conclusions are still forming. appeared in the library's branches, where they have been steadily circulating ever since. The trickle of write-ups increased and kept coming. The big guns of mainstream media remained silent, but word of mouth, that uncontrollable force, had taken over. Instead of disappearing, as most books do if they don't sell well quickly, this one stayed on shelves in bookstores across the country. And with that I decided to get to work on a new book. But in December, I was invited to speak at the New York Public Library-and the talk was so well attended that a second room was opened to accommodate the overflow crowd. Walking home, I pa.s.sed the library's famous stone lions, Patience and Fort.i.tude. Libraries, too, stand for something more powerful than their transient attendants. My conclusions are still forming.

I will likely never know what was coincidence and what not.

History may belong to the victors, but no inst.i.tution has the power to reshape it to suit its self-image. No one is the product of immaculate conception. We are all seeking to be transformed into diamonds. Some of us manage to pull off that sort of neat trick. But what makes that both special and honorable isn't where we end up but how we get there. No one is perfect, but most human beings know that reaching for something better is the best we can do with our lives. To forget that is to forget our best selves.

Michael Gross New York City March 16, 2010

Acknowledgments.

IN MY PAST BOOKS, OUT OF BOTH GRAt.i.tUDE AND DILIGENCE, I have listed and thanked the hundreds of people who typically help me with interviews, information, and pointers to others. With this book, however, I felt the need to balance my desire to do the same against the clear perception that identifying those who helped me might put them at risk of retaliation from a very powerful inst.i.tution and the individuals who run it.

The Metropolitan Museum of Art has been overtly hostile to this project since its inception. Members of its board, administration, and staff have made its opposition widely known. To protect their livelihoods or their social positions, many of my sources insisted on remaining anonymous. Others said they didn't care or were willing or proud to defy the museum, and some of those are quoted by name in the text or acknowledged in the notes. But rather than try to decide which of the hundreds of people who helped me might be at risk, I concluded it would be best to thank them all here collectively for their commitment to the idea that independent inquiry into powerful inst.i.tutions and individuals has value.

That said, some have been so very generous of their time and resources that I must single them out. Thanks to Tom and Nancy Hoving, for their memories and for the unlimited access they gave me to their papers; to the various members of the Johnston, de Forest, Marquand, Taylor, Rorimer, Redmond, Lehman, Wrightsman, and Houghton families who were willing to speak to me; to Jerri Sherman, Ellie Dwight, William Cohan, Murielle Vautrin, Stephen Yautz of SMY Historical Services, and Stephanie Lake for their generosity with their own research; to Melik Kaylan and Engin Ozgen for their help on the Lydian Horde story; to Marian L. Smith, immigration historian of the Department of Homeland Security; to the Rockefeller family, and their creation the Rockefeller Archive Center, and Darwin Stapleton and Ken Rose, who run it; to Leonora A. Gidlund and the New York City Munic.i.p.al Archives; to Calvin Tomkins and the Museum of Modern Art Archives; to the library of the Rijksmuseum Amsterdam; to the Center for American History at the University of Texas; to Christine Nelson and the Morgan Library; to the New York Public Library; to the Beinecke Rare Book and Ma.n.u.script Library at Yale University; to the Columbia University Rare Book and Ma.n.u.script Library; to the Hagley Museum and Library; to Jane C. Waldbaum, president of the Archaeological Inst.i.tute of America; to Norm Turnross of the Baillieu Library at the University of Melbourne; to the Leo Baeck Inst.i.tute; to Art.w.a.tch; to Barbara Niss and the Mount Sinai Archives; to Pat Nicholson, Samuel Peabody, and the Metropolitan Museum Historic District Coalition; to the Smithsonian Inst.i.tution and its Archives of American Art; to the Altman Foundation; to the New-York Historical Society; to Ian Locke, Gary Combs, Nilufer Konuk, Dan Weinfeld, Anja Heuss, Anna Marangou, and Arthur Oppenheimer; to Harold James of Princeton University, Johannes Houwink ten Cate of the University of Amsterdam, and Jonathan Petropoulos of Claremont McKenna College; and to my journalist comrades-in-arms Charles Finch, Walter Robinson, Jean Strouse, Marianne Macy, Russell Berman of the New York Sun New York Sun, Autumn Bagley of the Flint Journal Flint Journal, Laura Harris of the New York Post New York Post, and Tom Mooney at the Wilkes-Barre Times Leader Wilkes-Barre Times Leader.

The researchers who helped me are beyond compare. Thank you to Ryan Hagen, Kerrie Lee Barker, Asli Pelit, Amanda Rivkin, Alexandra Schulhoff, Cynthia Kane, Eric Kohn, Laila Pedro, Lisette Johnson, Raymond Leneweaver, Zachary Warmbrodt, and Sarah Shoenfeld, and to Bouke de Vries, Gerard Forde, Benedetta Pignatelli, Oliver Hubacsek, Radhika Mitra, Laila Pedro, and Ewa Kujawiak for their skilled translations.

Finally, personal thanks to my wife, Barbara, my sister, Jane, Peter Gethers, Kathy Trager, Claudia Herr, Bette Alexander, Ingrid Sterner, Christina Malach, and Brady Emerson of Random House, Dan Strone of Trident Media, Maria Carella, Robert Ullmann, Ed Kosner, Roy Kean, and Barry and Karen Cord. My grat.i.tude to each of you is limitless.

Michael Gross New York City

Notes.

ARCHIVE S SOURCES.

Frank Altschul Papers, Rare Book and Ma.n.u.script Library, Columbia University, New York John Canaday Papers, Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Inst.i.tution, Was.h.i.+ngton, D.C.

Henry Geldzahler Papers, Yale Collection of American Literature, Beinecke Rare Book and Ma.n.u.script Library, Yale University, New Haven, Conn.

Oral History of Robert Beverly Hale, Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Inst.i.tution, Was.h.i.+ngton, D.C.

John Davis Lodge Papers, Hoover Inst.i.tution Archives, Stanford University, Stanford, Calif.

Oral History of A. Hyatt Mayor, Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Inst.i.tution, Was.h.i.+ngton, D.C.

Pierpont Morgan Papers and J. P. Morgan Jr. Papers, Morgan Library Archives, New York Reminiscences of John B. Oakes (1978), Oral History Research Office of the Columbia University Libraries, Columbia University, New York Parks Department General Files and Parks Commissioner Series, New York City Munic.i.p.al Archives, New York (hereafter cited as PDGF) Rockefeller Family Archives, Rockefeller Archive Center, Sleepy Hollow, N.Y. (hereafter cited as RAC) Calvin Tomkins Papers, Museum of Modern Art Archives, New York Diana Vreeland Papers, Ma.n.u.scripts and Archives Division, New York Public Library, Astor, Lenox, and Tilden Foundations, New York OTHER S SOURCES.

Thomas Hoving Papers, New York (they are his personal papers located in his home, not an inst.i.tution) The Metropolitan Museum Oral History Project interviews I gained access to were provided by James Rorimer, Dietrich von Bothmer, and Arthur Rosenblatt or their heirs, and not via the Archives of American Art, where they are housed.

INTRODUCTION.

1. Judith Dobrzynski, "Oral History of Met Revised," Judith Dobrzynski, "Oral History of Met Revised," New York New York, May 20, 2007.

2. Thomas Hoving, Thomas Hoving, The Second Century: The Comprehensive Architectural Plan for the Metropolitan Museum of Art The Second Century: The Comprehensive Architectural Plan for the Metropolitan Museum of Art (New York: Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1971). (New York: Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1971).

3. Feigen, Feigen, Tales from the Art Crypt Tales from the Art Crypt, p. 109.

4. PriceWaterhouseCooper, "Report of the Chief Financial Officer" and "Report of Independent Auditors," PriceWaterhouseCooper, "Report of the Chief Financial Officer" and "Report of Independent Auditors," Metropolitan Museum of Art Annual Report, 2007 Metropolitan Museum of Art Annual Report, 2007, pp. 5977.

ARCHAEOLOGIST:.

LUIGI P PALMA DI C CESNOLA, 18701904 1. Author's correspondence with Louis Mendola, publisher of Author's correspondence with Louis Mendola, publisher of www.regalis.com.

2. Times Times (London), July 7, 1866. (London), July 7, 1866.

3. Taylor, Taylor, Taste of Angels Taste of Angels, p. 95.

4. Burt, Burt, Palaces for the People Palaces for the People.

5. Ibid., p. 79; Howe, Ibid., p. 79; Howe, History of the Metropolitan Museum of Art History of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, pp. 393.

6. Robert Hendre Kelby, Robert Hendre Kelby, New York Historical Society, 18041904 New York Historical Society, 18041904 (New York: New York Historical Society, 1905), p. 53. (New York: New York Historical Society, 1905), p. 53.

7. Ibid.; and Rosenzweig and Blackmar, Ibid.; and Rosenzweig and Blackmar, The Park and the People The Park and the People, p. 350.

8. New York Times New York Times, May 21, 1866.

9. New York Times New York Times, April 2 and 4, 1864.

10. New York Times New York Times, April 23, 1864.

11. Whittredge, Whittredge, Autobiography of Worthington Whittredge Autobiography of Worthington Whittredge, p. 62.

12. John K. Howat, "Founding Friends," John K. Howat, "Founding Friends," Magazine Antiques Magazine Antiques, Jan. 2000.

13. "An Act to Incorporate the Century a.s.sociation," March 7, 1857. "An Act to Incorporate the Century a.s.sociation," March 7, 1857.

14. The account of Cesnola's youth and military career is based on McFadden, The account of Cesnola's youth and military career is based on McFadden, The Glitter and the Gold The Glitter and the Gold.

15. Marangou, Marangou, Life and Deeds Life and Deeds, pp. 145, 160, 164, 285.

16. Revue Archeologique Revue Archeologique (1905), p. 1. (1905), p. 1.

17. Marangou, Marangou, Life and Deeds Life and Deeds, p. 137.

18. Howe, Howe, History of the Metropolitan Museum of Art History of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, p. 124; and Sherman, "The Cla.s.ses vs. the Ma.s.ses."

19. Sherman, "The Cla.s.ses vs. the Ma.s.ses." Sherman, "The Cla.s.ses vs. the Ma.s.ses."

20. de Forest, de Forest, John Taylor; John Taylor; and de Forest, and de Forest, John Johnston of New York, Merchant John Johnston of New York, Merchant.

21. Letter to author from Derek Mali, one of Johnston's great-grandsons. Letter to author from Derek Mali, one of Johnston's great-grandsons.

22. Priscilla de Forest Williams, "Our Grandparents: Robert and Emily de Forest," talks to the visiting committee of the American Wing, 1997, provided to the author by Helen Taylor Burke; and Samuel Willard Crompton, "Johnston, John Taylor," in Priscilla de Forest Williams, "Our Grandparents: Robert and Emily de Forest," talks to the visiting committee of the American Wing, 1997, provided to the author by Helen Taylor Burke; and Samuel Willard Crompton, "Johnston, John Taylor," in American National Biography Online American National Biography Online, Feb. 2000.

23. Tomkins, Tomkins, Merchants and Masterpieces Merchants and Masterpieces, p. 35.

24. Suzaan Boettger, "Eastman Johnson's 'Blodgett Family' and Domestic Values During the Civil War Era," Suzaan Boettger, "Eastman Johnson's 'Blodgett Family' and Domestic Values During the Civil War Era," American Art American Art (Autumn 1992), pp. 5067. (Autumn 1992), pp. 5067.

25. Robert W. de Forest, "William Tilden Blodgett and the Beginnings of the Metropolitan Museum of Art," Robert W. de Forest, "William Tilden Blodgett and the Beginnings of the Metropolitan Museum of Art," Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin, Feb. 1906, pp. 3742.

26. Jeannie Chapel, "The Papers of Joseph Gillott," Jeannie Chapel, "The Papers of Joseph Gillott," Journal of the History of Collections Journal of the History of Collections, Sept. 4, 2007.

27. Howe, Howe, History of the Metropolitan Museum of Art; History of the Metropolitan Museum of Art; Tomkins, Tomkins, Merchants and Masterpieces; Merchants and Masterpieces; and and New York Times New York Times, Feb. 18, 1872.

28. Madeleine Fidell Beaufort and Jeanne K. Welcher, "Some Views of Art Buying in New York in the 1870s and 1880s," Madeleine Fidell Beaufort and Jeanne K. Welcher, "Some Views of Art Buying in New York in the 1870s and 1880s," Oxford Art Journal Oxford Art Journal (1982), pp. 4855. (1982), pp. 4855.

29. Ibid., pp. 13839. Ibid., pp. 13839.

30. Sherman, "The Cla.s.ses vs. the Ma.s.ses;" and Osborn, Sherman, "The Cla.s.ses vs. the Ma.s.ses;" and Osborn, American Museum of Natural History American Museum of Natural History, pp. 1213.

31. "In Memoriam, Joseph Hodges Choate," "In Memoriam, Joseph Hodges Choate," Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin, June 1917, p. 126.

32. de Forest, de Forest, John Johnston of New York, Merchant John Johnston of New York, Merchant.

33. McFadden, McFadden, The Glitter and the Gold The Glitter and the Gold, pp. 11519.

34. Marangou, Marangou, Life and Deeds Life and Deeds, p. 125.

35. Ibid., p. 63. Ibid., p. 63.

36. Ibid., pp. 273 and 278. Ibid., pp. 273 and 278.

37. Hoving Papers. Hoving Papers.

38. Strouse, Strouse, Morgan Morgan, p. 175.

39. "Masterpieces and Mummies-II," "Masterpieces and Mummies-II," New Yorker New Yorker, March 23, 1940.

40. New York World New York World, March 30, 1880, quoted in Howe, History of the Metropolitan Museum of Art History of the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

41. Lerman, Lerman, Museum Museum, p. 48.

42. Harry Jackson, "Fifty Five Years in Retrospect 1938," Tomkins Papers, IV.B.6. Harry Jackson, "Fifty Five Years in Retrospect 1938," Tomkins Papers, IV.B.6.

43. Tauranac, Tauranac, Essential New York Essential New York.

44. Jackson, "Fifty Five Years in Retrospect 1938;" and Tomkins, Jackson, "Fifty Five Years in Retrospect 1938;" and Tomkins, Merchants and Masterpieces Merchants and Masterpieces, p. 61.

45. Tomkins Papers, IV.B.8. Tomkins Papers, IV.B.8.

46. Marangou, Marangou, Life and Deeds Life and Deeds, pp. 6667.

47. Ibid., p. xix. Ibid., p. xix.

48. Wharton, Wharton, Age of Innocence Age of Innocence, p. 312.

49. Lee Sorensen, "Cesnola, Luigi Palma di," in Lee Sorensen, "Cesnola, Luigi Palma di," in Dictionary of Art Historians Dictionary of Art Historians, www.dictionaryofarthistorians.org/wittkowerr.htm.

50. The account of the Sunday-opening issue is based on contemporary newspaper clippings and Sherman, "The Cla.s.ses vs. the Ma.s.ses." The account of the Sunday-opening issue is based on contemporary newspaper clippings and Sherman, "The Cla.s.ses vs. the Ma.s.ses."

51. de Forest, de Forest, John Johnston of New York, Merchant John Johnston of New York, Merchant, p. 139.

52. Tomkins, Tomkins, Merchants and Masterpieces Merchants and Masterpieces, p. 59.

53. Morgan Library Archives, ARC 1196, letters to Morgan, 1881, 641. Morgan Library Archives, ARC 1196, letters to Morgan, 1881, 641.