Brooke Astor 1902–2007

For sev­eral years in the early 1990s, I worked at the Met­ro­pol­i­tan Museum of Art and had the good for­tune to meet Mrs. Brooke Astor. Every year she would throw a win­ter hol­i­day party, at her own expense, for the staff of the museum. Every­one from cura­tors to secu­rity guards were invited, and she took the time to meet as many staff mem­bers as she could, shak­ing hands and ask­ing our names. She was so down to earth and approach­able. A real class act.

When I told her my name, she got a lit­tle twin­kle in her eye, and she remem­bered me from year to year. I didn’t real­ize it until much later, but Mrs. Astor’s maiden name was Rus­sell. (No rela­tion!) The art world has lost a great patron saint today. She will be missed.