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The White Roof at the Virginia Graham Fair Vanderbilt Mansion
Posted on 01. Sep, 2011 by admin.
The roofs at the Virginia Graham Fair Vanderbilt Mansion have remained unaltered since the building was constructed in 1930… except for the color. The mansion’s two roofs, one above the entryway and another on the very top of the building, have been recently painted white in order to reflect sunlight and conserve energy. White roof [...]
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Visit of Mrs. Virginia Burke, Granddaughter of Virginia Graham Fair Vanderbilt
Posted on 05. Aug, 2011 by admin.
On Wednesday, June 8, 2011, we were thrilled by Mrs. Virginia Burke’s visit to the Vanderbilt Mansion at 60 East 93rd St. The granddaughter of Virginia Graham Fair Vanderbilt, Mrs. Burke came to visit the mansion her grandmother built, which she had not entered since her childhood. As far as we know, Mrs Burke is [...]
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60 East 93rd After Virginia Graham Fair Vanderbilt: Thelma Chrysler Foy
Posted on 25. May, 2011 by admin.
After Birdie’s death in 1935, the mansion was bought by Chrysler daughter Thelma Foy, older daughter of Chrysler founder and automobile giant Walter Chrysler. She had married Byron C. Foy, a partner in a Chrysler dealership and later vice president of the Chrysler Corporation, in 1924. Thelma Foy was a fashion devotee and arts patroness [...]
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Virginia Graham Fair Vanderbilt Mansion’s Neoclassical French Style
Posted on 06. May, 2011 by admin.
The Virginia Graham Fair Vanderbilt mansion was designed in the Neoclassical French style, mirroring Pope’s experiences and successful years of study in Paris, and demonstrating his characteristic sense of proportion and efficiency. The house was separated into two sections: a three-story residence for Mrs. Vanderbilt and her guests, and a seven-story servants’ quarters, which Pope [...]
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Creating a Mansion
Posted on 22. Apr, 2011 by admin.
For her building at 60 East 93rd Street, Virginia Graham Fair Vanderbilt employed John Russell Pope (1874-1937), one of the grandest architects of the time, to design the mansion on 93rd Street. After earning his architectural degree from Columbia University in 1894, Pope won a fellowship at the American Academy in Rome, and spent the [...]
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Life of Virginia Graham Fair Vanderbilt
Posted on 18. Apr, 2011 by admin.
Born in San Francisco, Virginia Graham Fair (1875-1935) was known throughout her life as “Birdie.” She was the younger daughter of James Graham Fair (1831-1894), an Irish immigrant who had made a fortune mining the Comstock Lode in Nevada in the 1870s. In 1899, Birdie married the young millionaire William Kissam Vanderbilt II (1878-1944), president [...]
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Virginia Graham Fair Vanderbilt at 60 East 93rd St
Posted on 07. Apr, 2011 by admin.
In 1930, Virginia Graham Fair Vanderbilt commissioned the famous architect John Russell Pope to design a mansion for her at 60 East 93rd Street in the Neoclassical French style, evocative of the Faubourg Saint-Germain. Mrs. Vanderbilt, ex-wife of William Kissam Vanderbilt II (1878-1944), was one of American’s most illustrious personalities – a socialite, philanthropist and [...]
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The Virginia Graham Fair Vanderbilt Mansion
Posted on 30. Mar, 2011 by admin.
When Carlton Hobbs, the noted international antique dealers, decided to move from their London gallery on Pimlico Road to New York City in 2002, Stefanie Rinza, the company’s managing director, was on the lookout for a gallery space with the scale and historical significance that would suit their impressive collection. It was by chance that [...]