Friends of FLoFr­ham lorham: spring 2012 THE LIVES oF AN AMERICAN ESTATE Board of TrusTees friends of florham By Carol Bere, Samuel railroad tunnel and Kathleen Atencio Convissor and Walter Cummins along the long drive, Carol Bere Friends of Flor ham, 2011, up to the front of the Linda Carrington FDU: College at Flor ham mansion and then in­ Denise Bridgens Collins Right from the start, the proj­ side, right into its histo­ Samuel M. Convissor ects of the Friends of Flor ham ry. Through meticulous Phyllis Conway Emma Joy Dana never fail to amaze, each ac­ research and some Dawn Dupak complished with an unerring good luck that often Elaine Earlywine sense of beauty and style, each graces the work of Carol C. Knauff diligent historians, the adding new luster to the his­ Allan S. Kushen authors lo cated a ver­ tory of Flor ham and to Fairleigh Linda Meister Dickinson University. Flor­ham:­ itable trea sure trove Suzy Moran The­Lives­of­an­American­Estate of never­before­pub­ REAR oF MANSIoN (NoW HENNESSY HALL), JUNE 1939, PHoTo BY JoHNSToN STEWART, Audrey Parker is the latest dazzling addition to lished photographs of CoURTESY oF RoBERT DELAGE Carol M. Ponder the legacy of the Friends of Flor­ Flor ham. Ann Wellbrock ham. All of us who love Flor ham peek inside Mrs. Twombly’s pri­ Researched and written by are well familiar with all the vate sitting room on the second honorary TrusTees Friends’ trustees Carol Bere known photographs of the es­ floor of the mansion; inside Ruth Susan Adams and Sam Convissor and Walter tate, which many of us have Twombly’s bedroom; and Miss Kim Dougherty Cummins, professor emeritus studied time and again, some­ Ruth’s Rolls Royce. John H. Fritz of English at FDU, Flor­ham, times with a magnifying glass. With these photographs and Ruth Hennessy through text and vintage pho­ In Flor­ham we are treated to many more, the authors tell the Arthur T. Vanderbilt, II tographs, takes the reader past the most incredible collection of story of Florence and Hamilton the imposing entrance gates of never­before­seen photographs Twombly and their children, universiTy liaisons the estate, through the stone from the 1930s and early 1940s their lives at Flor ham, the trag­ J. Michael Adams when the estate was at edies which struck the family Carol Black its peak. We see the and the long decades in which Eleanor Friedl lower terrace gardens Mrs. Twombly and her daughter, Susan McConville behind the back of Ruth, presided over the great Marilyn Rye the mansion; inside the estate. Other documents that Orangerie and the gar­ help bring the story alive: a copy den next to it; and the of a letter from Hamilton Twom­ gardener’s quarters. We bly to Frederick Law Olm sted, look out from the sec­ one of the checks for the con­ ond floor of the mansion struction of the mansion, copies after a blizzard with the of menus and Mrs. Twombly’s shrubs protected by handwritten notes to her head wooden enclosures; the butler and chef and copies of luscious cherry­panel­ pages from expense ledgers. In TWoMBLY FAMILY DRAWING ROOM (NoW ed rooms inside Miss Flor­ham, the authors have given Ruth’s Playhouse; a LENFELL HALL), PHoTo BY SHIRLEY BURDEN (continued­on­page­4) President’S Letter It was a very good year for the The portrait, dedicated in De­ American­ Estate. Published by Friends of Flor ham. Our renova­ cember, joins a number of other the Friends of Flor ham, the book tions to the interior spaces turned very fine paintings in Hennessy is a well­documented photo his­ out spectacularly, and our events Hall — both those left by the tory of the Vanderbilt­Twombly were well attended and incred­ Twomblys and others donated to estate — from its beginning as a ibly successful! Thank you all so the University over the years. One home for a young married couple very much! of these, “George Washington to its final repurposing as a cam­ Reviewing the Troops at Cam­ In addition to our renovation pus for a global university. bridge, Massachusetts,” was re­ and restoration, we printed our The University long needed a cent ly reframed and rehung in first book, Flor­ham:­The­Lives­of­ comprehensive book to give to the Great Hall. an­American­Estate. Thank you to guests and those interested in the authors for all their amazing Another project is the renova­ the estate’s history. Authors Carol efforts! tion of the President’s Office. The Bere and former executive and office was repainted, and a new In September, Friends of Flor­ volunteer Sam Convissor, along room­size carpet was selected. ham finished their work on the with FDU professor emeritus Wal­ Then Suzy Moran chose fabrics Great Hall. The freshly reuphol­ ter Cummins took on the task. to re­cover the furniture and for stered furniture welcomes stu­ Arthur Vanderbilt wrote the fore­ new draperies. The fabrics were dents, faculty and guests. Mirrors word. Profits from the book sales selected both for their appropri­ reflecting the earlier grandeur of will fund the ongoing work of pre­ ateness to the architectural peri­ the mansion now hang on either serving and restoring the estate. od and for their functionality. The side of the magnificent fireplace A second, more scholarly book, results, in rich blues and reds, adding the symmetry that com­ focusing more on the life of Flor­ are warm and inviting, provide a plements the décor. A new, more ence Twombly, is in the planning more auspicious environment for elegant Directory is another up­ stages. meetings or entertaining. grade to the Great Hall. Our annual Gala moved to The next Friends of Flor ham’s Additionally, Friends of Flor­ the fall for a “change of season” project is the renovation of Hart­ ham, with a donation from Edward and was a great success. It re­ man Lounge, located next to the L. Hennessy, Jr., commissioned mains one of the prettiest events President’s Office. Formerly Mr. artist James Patrick Reid to do a in Morris County, and is always Twombly’s billiard room, this pan­ portrait in oil of Mr. Hennessy. As reminiscent of the estate’s earlier eled space is heavily used for we were working in the Great Hall, grandeur. This year, it will be held classes, meetings and University it was the opinion of our designer, on September 29, in order to take entertaining. It has not been up­ Suzy Moran, that the current pho­ advantage of the last of summer’s dated in years, so we are looking to wasn’t the right scale or media warmth. We invite you all to join forward to the restoration and re­ for the space. We appreciate the us on the garden patios! Again, freshment of this special room. cooperation of the Hennessy fam­ thank you for your continued sup­ ily in supporting our design and Most exciting of all is the ar­ port. restoration plan with this painting. rival of Flor­ham:­The­Lives­of­an­ —­Linda­Meister upcoming evenTs Sunday, March 18, Lecture The Life of Frederick Law Olm sted, Justin Martin, author of Genius­in­Place, Hartman Lounge, Hennessy Hall, 3­­–5 p.m., includes reception and book signing. Sunday, apriL 29, Book Signing party Flor­ham:­The­Life­of­an­American­Estate,­and recently uncovered information on Twomblys, Discussion by authors of book, Lenfell Hall, Hennessy Hall, 3–5 p.m., includes reception and book signing, including short tours of mansion and gardens. SaTurday, SepTember 29, Friends of Flor ham Gala Lenfell Hall, Hennessy Hall, 7–11 p.m. 2 | Friends oF FLorham ART CoLLECTIoN AT HENNESSY HALL When the Twomblys were in residence at Flor ham, oil paintings, tapestries and sculptures hung on every wall. The University has a number of Twombly family portraits, and over the years others have generously bequeathed additional works of art to the University. This summer, Friends of Flor­ Left: ARTIST JAMES PATRICK REID AND BETH HENNESSY WITH THE PAINTING oF EDWARD L. HENNESSY, JR. ham reframed a “monumental” Right: FRIENDS PRESIDENT LINDA MEISTER, LEFT, AND BoARD MEMBER painting by 1930s Pennsylvania SUZY MoRAN artist, Claxton Moulton. The paint­ Recently, Friends of Flor ham Mr. Reid is a member of the fac­ ing, “George Washington Inspect­ commissioned local artist, James ulty at New York’s Fashion Institute ing the Troops at Cambridge, Patrick Reid, to paint a portrait of of Technology and has lectured at Massachusetts,” was given to University trustee emeritus, Ed­ the Art Students League, Parsons FDU by former Morristown mayor, ward L. Hennessy, Jr. Mr. Hen­ School of Design, the New York E. Parsons Todd. nessy is a 1955 graduate of Academy of Art and other schools WoRKMEN Fairleigh Dickinson and a gener­ around the country. REHANGING “GEoRGE ous donor to the University for The portrait, which now hangs WASHINGToN more than 40 years. In May 2007, INSPECTING in the entrance of Hennessy Hall, THE TROOPS the University community cele­ is a fine representation of Mr. Hen­ AT CAMBRIDGE, brated his outstanding generosity nessy. His daughter, Beth Hen­ MASSACHUSETTS” and 16 years of service with the nessy, accepted the painting for dedication of “the Mansion” as her father at a small reception Hennessy Hall. held by the Friends in December. WALTER SAVAGE MEDITATIoN AREA AND oRCHARD DEDICATED of the history of the buildings and grounds and of the lives of the Twombly family, which he gen­ erously shared with new faculty, and tours of the Friends events were enormous and invaluable.