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"The greatest influence in my life was
the example of my wonderful parents, Louisine and Henry O.
Havemeyer. In my opinion they stood for everything fine and
worthwhile in life. They were both great collectors, maybe the
greatest pair of all times, certainly the most diversified
collectors. They were both born collectors and seemed to love each
and every time they bought. They lived in an age when no one
thought of anything American as art so they collected entirely
European art."
"Notes By Electra
Havemeyer on 'What Started me With the Museum'"
Electra Havemeyer Webb
1952
Electra Havemeyer
Photo:
The
Havemeyers: Impressionism Comes to America Electra Havemeyer Webb (1888-1960) was born to
Louisine Elder Havemeyer and
Henry O. Havemeyer. Both parents came
from wealthy families and offered Electra an amazing childhood.
Electra had the cheerful and ambitious attitude of her mother but
all her father's interests. Electra had different relationships
with her parents. She favored her father and battled with her mother
constantly, though she only had positive things to say in her
notes. She had two siblings-- sister Adeline and brother
Horace. They primarily grew up in Manhattan but also frequented
family properties in Connecticut and the Adirondacks. Electra grew
up among the wealthiest of social groups, lived in houses
filled with millions of dollars in significant artwork collected
by her parents, and fit the part naturally.
Electra Havemeyer (right)
 Photo:
The
Havemeyers: Impressionism Comes to America Electra bought her first "piece of art" at
the age of eighteen in 1908. It was a cigar-store Indian costing
twenty-five dollars. This purchase reflects the unconventional taste of her
father and the influence of family vacations touring the U.S. Her mother Louisine surely
disregarded the item. Louisine would not have classified the
wooden figure as a piece of art -- her first purchase was a Degas
painting. Electra Havemeyer Webb
married
James Watson Webb in
1910. Their courtship began in 1905 when Electra frequented
wealthy socialite parties at James' family mansion in Shelburne,
Vermont. She fell in love with both James and Vermont. After their
marriage, James and Electra were given a large portion of the Webb
family land in Shelburne, Vermont ("Notes By Electra
Havemeyer...) but also bought property in
Connecticut, long Island, and in New York City where they raised five children. Electra
decorated
the homes with Americana items until she could purchase no more
that would fit in her home. "The rooms were over-furnished,
and the same applied to the brick house at Shelburne. I just
couldn't let a good piece go by."("Notes By Electra Havemeyer...) When James Watson Webb
retired, the couple resided primarily in Vermont where Electra
began to realize an ambition she had: to share her collections
with the public. The property of
Shelburne Farms owned by the Webbs
expanded across several thousands of acres including the first private golf course
in the states (The Proud Possessors.)
Electra sectioned off part of the farmland and began her
project of assembling the Shelburne Museum.
The
Shelburne Museum was actualized after James Watson
inherited a huge collection of carriages from his late father and
mother (The Creation of the Havemeyer Collection.)
Electra and James had no initial intention for the
collection and Electra suggested construction of a building
housing the carriages for public display. Electra's
aspiration of sharing her eclectic collection evolved from the
idea of displaying the carriages, and so the Shelburne museum was
created. Electra wrote for the inaugural for the
museum in 1952:
"The Shelburne Museum was organized in 1947 under the laws of the
state of Vermont as an exclusively charitable, educational and
non-profit membership corporation. It is located in Shelburne,
Vermont on the west side of route 7.
The
museum includes a collection of old buildings and structures,
selected for their beauty and historical interest. These buildings
are being moved and restored as nearly as possible to their
original condition. Some will be furnished and decorated in
keeping with their period and history; others will house antiques
collected during the past forty years by Mr. and Mrs. J. Watson
Webb. Almost all of these antiques are American and include folk
art, carriages, sleighs, pewter, furniture, dolls houses, toys,
needlework, farm implements, early wrought iron kitchen and other
utensils, etc.
It is hoped
when the museum is completed that besides giving pleasure to the
public, it will become an educational and cultural center in
Vermont and inspire further interest in our American Heritage."
("Notes By Electra Havemeyer...)
The museum was organized by a series of buildings across the
Shelburne property. Another addition was added after Electra's
death in 1960,
The Electra Havemeyer Webb building,
in memory of Electra. Her desire was for a building on the museum grounds to
house the collection in her parents' Manhattan apartment, and thus it is a
dedication to Mr. and Mrs. Havemeyer, as Electra stated, "the
greatest influence" for the Shelburne Museum. |
