See Hillwood's Russian glories and gardens

The entrance to Determined Women at the dacha at Hillwood Estate, Museum and Gardens/by Patricia Leslie

The Hillwood Estate, Museum and Gardens is a respite of soothing and enchanting glorious springtime colors where guests may wander lush grounds, and walk green pathways to admire endless flower gardens.

A sense of peace and serenity prevails; time is unhurried.

One pathway leads to a small Russian dacha*, built about 1969 and the setting of an exhibition of 100 pieces from the collection of Marjorie Merriweather Post (1887-1973) who lived and died at Hillwood and made it what it is today: luxurious galleries and a museum of incredible works of art.

The Grand Duchesses, the four daughters of Nicholas II and Alexandra Feodorovna of Russia, Olga, Tatiana, Marie and Anastasia, 1916, two years before they were murdered.

 Empress Alexandra Feodorovna, 1906, whose daughters are pictured above.

Left:  Star of the Order of Saint Anna, 19th cent. St. Petersburg, silver, diamonds and enamel. Translated from the front:  To those who love justice, piety, and faith. In the center is the Russian imperial eagle.

Right:  Badge of the Order of Saint Anna, 19th cent. Russia, gold, diamonds, enamel/by Patricia Leslie

Ms. Post's inheritance as the only child of her parents no doubt made possible her philanthropic efforts and marshaled her business smarts (she founded General Foods with her second husband**).

At age 27 she was the richest woman in the U.S.

Her father had founded the Post cereal company.

Georgii Musikiiskii (miniaturist), after Johann Gottfried Tannauer, Abraham Heydrich (watchmaker), 1725, watch with miniature portrait of Catherine I, Peter the Great's second wife, gold, silver, diamonds, enamel, copper, St. Petersburg. The ceiling lights at the exhibition are reflected on the watch/by Patricia Leslie

Back of the watch above/By Patricia Leslie

Her admiration of influential women and their designs, works, and artistry form the basis of the exhibition, Determined Women: Collectors, Artists, and Designers at Hillwood which begins in the 1700s and continues to present day. (A curator has added recent pieces about, for example, Stacey Abrams.)

For any cultural and history Russophile like me, the dacha brimming with priceless, historical pieces is another magnificent "find" in Washington, D.C.

After Elisabeth Louise Vigee-Lebrun, Portrait of Marie Antoinette and Children, after 1787, at Versailles with the jewel cabinet of Marie Antoinette on the right.

Christina Sanders Robinson (1796-1854), Portrait of Nicholas I, 1840, Russia. His grandmother was Catherine the Great.

Two evening dresses of Ms. Post, the one on the left by Thum (1865-1954), 1920-1925, and the one on the right, by Hattie Carnegie (1886-1956), 1935-1940/by Patricia Leslie

Embroidery by Aunte Mollie Post, Marjorie Merriweather Post's baby bonnet, n.d./by Patricia Leslie

Viktor Mikhailovich Vasnetsov, designer, altar cloth, c. 1899, Russia/by Patricia Leslie

 

 Needlework by Caroline Lathrop Post, 1854/by Patricia Leslie

Joseph E. Davies was Ms. Post's third husband who took her to Moscow when he was U.S. ambassador to Russia, 1937-1938. Those years coincided with the 20th anniversary of the Russian Revolution and Joseph Stalin's sale of Russian imperial and pre-revolutionary works, money he needed for his industrial agenda.

Carpe diem!

And Ms. Post did! Now, outside of Russia, her Russian collection is considered the best in the world. (What would Mr. Putin exchange for it? Or, some of it?)

Many more Russian artifacts are on display in the mansion.

From left: Maid of Honor Cypher Pin, 1796-1801.  The cypher states for Empress Maria Feodorovna, wife of Emperor Paul I.  These pins were worn on the left side of the breast by Maids of Honor to the Empress. Gold, diamonds, Russia.

Center: Another Maid of Honor Cypher Pin, 1907. Attributed to the firm of Karl Karlovich Hahn.  The pin consists of the ciphers in Russian letters of the last two Empresses, Maria Feodorovna and Alexandra Feodorovna. It was given in 1907 to Irene Rimsky-Korsakoff (1883-1972) (Madame Mishtowt of D.C.). The ciphers are topped by the imperial cleft crown of Russia, all set in diamonds with gold and silver, St. Petersburg

Right: Attributed to Carl C. Blank, Lady of Honor Insignia with miniature portraits of Dowager Empress Maria Feodorovna and Empress Alexandra Feodorovna, 1912. Gold, diamonds, silver, silver gilt, glass, St. Petersburg/by Patricia Leslie

Three busts of Empress Catherine II. 

From left, by Felix Chopin (1813-1892), made in Russia, c. 1867. 

In the center is a marble by an unknown sculptor, made in Russia, after 1771. 

On the right, by August Spiess, designer (1817-1904), the Imperial Porcelain Factory, St. Petersburg, after 1872 after a model by Jacques-Dominique Rachette (1744-1809) based on a marble original by Fedot Ivanovich Shubin (1740-1805)/by Patricia Leslie

Mather Brown (1761-1831), King Louis XVI Saying Farewell to his Family, 1793, U.S.A.

A pathway at Hillwood/by Patricia Leslie

At Hillwood/by Patricia Leslie

Determined Women at Hillwood/by Patricia Leslie

Despite its small size, the exhibition packs two rooms with photographs, paintings, sculpture, jewelry, embroidery and more, a "must see" for Russian cultural aficionados.

But you don't have to love Russian history, culture, and people to want to come since it's more than all things Russian. Artists and designers from other nations, especially France, are represented, along  with dress designers of her own whom Ms. Post admired.  And, I am guessing it was a relative who made Ms. Post's baby bonnet.

Pictures, descriptions and locations of all the objects in the exhibition may be found here. 

After she and Mr. Davies divorced in 1955, Ms. Post established Hillwood where she is buried on the grounds. (She reclaimed her maiden name after her fourth and last marriage.)

Of note: Ms. Post built and owned Mar-A-Lago in Florida, another of her "notable" five homes before Donald Trump, the present owner, bought it in 1985 for about $10 million. She had willed it to the National Park Service which deemed it too expensive to maintain. Forbes places the current value around $160 million.

The Hillwood exhibition accompanies a new publication, The Houses and Collections of Marjorie Merriweather Post ($60, hardcover; $30, paperback).

*A dacha is a small Russian country house or villa. In 2017, approximately 60 million Russians or more than 40 percent of the population of 145 million, were estimated to own one.

**Ms. Post's husbands were, in order:

Edward Bennett Close (married 1905; divorced 1919)

Edward Francis Hutton (m. 1920; d. 1935)

Joseph E. Davies (m. 1935; d. 1955)

Herbert A. May (m. 1958; d. 1964)

What: Determined Women: Collectors, Artists, and Designers at Hillwood

When: Now through Sunday, June 18, 2023, 10 a.m. - 5 p.m. Closed Mondays.

Where: Hillwood Estate, Museum & Gardens, 4155 Linnean Avenue, NW, Washington, D.C. 20008

Admission: Suggested donations are $18 (adults), $15 (seniors), $10 (college students), $5 (child, ages 6 -18) and free for members and those under age 6. $3 discounts are available for adults and seniors who make reservations online for weekdays, and $1 off, for weekends. For busy times (Mother's Day, anyone?), reservations are highly recommended.

Directions via bus, rail, car

Parking: Free and on-site

For more information: 202-686-5807

Café onsite

patricialesli@gmail.com

Vintage gowns, jewels, accessories end at Hillwood Jan. 10

Marjorie Merriweather Post wore this gown in celebration of her husband's bestselling book and movie, Mission to Moscow, about their lives in the Soviet Union from 1937 to 1938. Miss Post commissioned the jewels from Cartier/Photo by Patricia Leslie

 Darling, for a sumptuous visual feast, you would do yourself (and others of similar persuasion) a favor to visit Hillwood Estate, Museum & Gardens and luxuriate in Marjorie Merriweather Post's elegant gowns, now the centerpiece of an exhibition, Ingenue to Icon.   

Shoes, parasols, and other accessories complete her outfits in a 20th century fashion history which embrace 70 years of Miss Post's life.

The dresses pictured here are from the first part of the exhibition, no longer on view but changed out for another presentation of gowns which may be seen through January 10. 

They are but a small portion of Miss Post's ensemble of 175 gowns and 300 accessories (of 17,000 objects at the museum) featured in the show which is arranged chronologically.   

A 150-paged color catalogue is available.

This dress (which rotated at the display on a pedestal) opened the first part of the exhibition.  It's made of silk satin and includes the velvet and fur drape slung/resting on the chair.  For the accompanying 1934 portrait by Frank Salisbury, Miss Post wore a double-strand pearl necklace and Cartier bracelets/Photo by Patricia Leslie

Marjorie Merriweather Post (1887-1973) was/is a celebrity icon, a socialite, and philanthropist with a net worth of $5 billion (Wikipedia).  

The daughter of the cereal magnate, wife of four, and mother of three daughters (of whom only the youngest, the actress Dina Merrill, survives and celebrates her 92nd birthday December 29),

Miss Post lived in the Soviet Union during 1937 and 1938 with Husband No. 3, Joseph E. Davies who served as the U.S. ambassador under Joseph Stalin.

While in the Soviet Union, the couple's affinity for Russian imperial art developed, aided by their purchases, often at discounted rates, of the things they grew to love.  (Stalin needed the money for his industrialization projects.  This scenario can be compared to the Nazi seizure of masterpieces from Jewish families before and during World War II since some of the Russian art allegedly was taken from murdered royalty and private Russian citizens.)

Outside Russia, Hillwood has the world's largest collection of that nation's imperial art.  (One could only imagine how Vladimir Putin would like to have it back. A point of negotiation?  If he were to visit and ride horseback topless through Hillwood's 25 acres with BFF Donald Trump, consider Hillwood's ticket sales!  This activity is in keeping with both personalities, however, it would run counter to the style, class, and sophistication Miss Post represented so let's forget this possibility and move on.  BTW, in 1985 Mr. Trump bought Miss Post's Palm Beach mansion, Mar-A-Lago. The links are ceaseless.) 

Miss Post wore "my first ballgown" on her 16th birthday, March 15, 1903. Photographs and portraits of her in various apparel complement the garments in the exhibition/Photo by Patricia Leslie

With her two daughters, Adelaide and Eleanor, this 1918 portrait depicts Miss Post in an "afternoon dress"/Photo by Patricia Leslie

Calling Agatha Christie.  This was a "traveling dress" with accessories, circa 1910/Photo by Patricia Leslie

Miss Post's suffragette suit which she wore as a member of the New York State Woman Suffragette Party when the group met with President Woodrow Wilson in Washington on Oct. 25, 1917. The hat on the table reminds me of a big black bird flying in for a landing. (Have you seen the movie, Suffragette?  A must-see.  One of the year's best!) 

If the skirt were a foot shorter or pants, it could have come from the closet of Barbara Bush or Hillary Clinton, don't you think?/Photo by Patricia Leslie

Miss Post's Paris-designed dress was considered daring with its bifurcated skirt, inspired by the Ballets Russes which took Europe and America "by storm" when it performed from 1909 to 1929/Photo by Patricia Leslie

A 1935 Bergdorf Goodman creation in the "Hollywood style"/Photo by Patricia Leslie

Miss Post wore this on Oct. 31, 1957, when in recognition of her long devotion to France, the French ambassador awarded her the cross of the Chevalier of the Legion of Honor (the red ribbon sewn to her dress).  During World War I she established a hospital in northern France and in 1955, the bicentennial of Marie Antoinette's birth, helped raise money for Versailles/Photo by Patricia Leslie

Some of Miss Post's gowns/Photo by Patricia Leslie

The white "mermaid dress" was a gown Miss Post wore for the opening of the New York Philharmonic at Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts in September, 1962. The black "mermaid dress" is Hillwood's most recent addition, given last August by Miss Post's great-grandson, Post Steven Dye.  In the photograph circa 1962 taken at Hillwood, Miss Post wears the dress made of silk crepe,

nylon organza, chiffon, and iridescent sequins.  Miss Post bought Hillwood in 1955/Photo by Patricia Leslie

In 1952 when she was 65, Miss Post wore this gown for the portrait by Douglas Chandor.  It was designed by Ann Lowe, an African American who, in the previous year, created Jacqueline Bouvier's wedding dress for her marriage to John F. Kennedy/Photo by Patricia Leslie

Gowns in Hillwood's dining room/Photo by Patricia Leslie

More Hillwood and Post finery in the mansion, the designs which suggest an adaptation of the Winged Victory of Samothrace/Photo by Patricia Leslie

Nicholas II who served as tsar of Russia from 1894 to 1917 is positioned on the right wall upon entrance to the mansion's Pavilion theater used for after-dinner movies and dancing.  On a nearby piano in the Pavilion are photographs of Nicholas, his wife and five children, all murdered by the Bolsheviks on July 17, 1918.   Will the Russians have a commemoration in their honor for the upcoming centennial of their deaths?/Photo by Patricia Leslie

Another portrait of Nicholas II, also in the Pavilion on the left wall/Photo by Patricia Leslie

Hillwood's north portico where visitors enter/Photo by Patricia Leslie

Hillwood's south portico where visitors dream/Photo by Patricia Leslie

Steps to a Hillwood pond with statuary, all open for visitors' exploration and enjoyment/Photo by Patricia Leslie

Natural beauties found outdoors in the cutting garden/Photo by Patricia Leslie

Many rooms at the Hillwood mansion are open to the public, including upstairs bedrooms and dressing rooms.

See the post on Hillwood's 2011 exhibition of the Posts' wedding dresses.

From the website:

Hillwood Estate, Museum and Garden’s mandate is to preserve the 25 acre estate, museum and gardens that Marjorie Merriweather Post developed to house her important collections of Russian Imperial art, French decorative arts, costumes, textiles, and jewelry and to interpret and present them for the enjoyment of the public.

What:  Ingenue to Icon: 70 Years of Fashion from the Collection of Marjorie Merriweather Post

When:  Now through January 10, 2016, including New Year's Day, Tuesdays through Saturdays, 10 a.m. - 5 p.m., and Sundays, 1 - 5 p.m.  Closed on Mondays.

Where:  Hillwood Estate, Museum & Gardens "Where Fabulous Lives," 4155 Linnean Avenue, NW, Washington, D.C. 20008

Suggested donation:  $18 (adults), $15 (seniors), $10 (students), $5 (child, ages 6 -18) and free for those under age 6.

Discount:  When reservations are made online, prices for adults and seniors are reduced $3 for weekday admissions and $1 for weekends. (Click here.)

Members' dogs:  Welcome on Sunday mornings (!)

Parking:  Free, on-site

Biking and walking:  Encouraged; bike racks available.

For more information:  202-686-5807

Metro station: Van Ness/UDC station on the Red Line, then walk a (mostly uphill) mile and burn off Christmas calories.  (Taxis, available.)

Metro bus stop: The L1 or L2 bus stops at the corner of Connecticut and Tilden streets, NW, about a half mile's (mostly uphill) walk from Hillwood.

patricialesli@gmail.com
 

Hillwood opens doors every Sunday

Hillwood Estate/Photo by Patricia Leslie

Beginning Sunday, Hillwood, "where fabulous lives," the former home of Marjorie Merriweather Post (1887-1973) in northwest Washington, will be open six days a week from 10 a.m. until 5 p. m., according to an announcement.

Lynn Rossotti, Hillwood's director of marketing and communications, said an "operational agreement" with Hillwood's neighbors, approved this month by D.C.'s Board of Zoning Adjustment, now permits the estate to be open every Sunday, rather than two Sundays a month, a policy set by a former agreement.

"Over the years, we've developed such a great relationship with the neighborhood, a feeling overall, that visitors and the neighbors want us to be open every Sunday," Ms. Rossotti said.  None of the neighbors expressed opposition to the expanded Sundays, she said.

"There's a great sense they do believe Hillwood is a benefit. They like to come over and enjoy it for the strolls and bring their visitors."

In the gardens at Hillwood Estate/Photo by Patricia Leslie

Hillwood "is a nice quiet place to enjoy your Sunday morning, and it's not as busy as Saturday" which is "really popular in the spring."

A memorial in the Hillwood gardens which reads:  "To Marjorie Merriweather Post May, In Deep and Everlasting Appreciation, Scouting's Golden Year, The National Capital Area Council and The Boy Scouts of America, April 11, 1960." In the center is a coin with two Boy Scouts and this wording: "Building Toward Unity, Youth of The Scouting World"/Photo by Patricia Leslie

Opening every Sunday will permit more time for guests to enjoy Hillwood's popular Sunday tea ("people love to come to that") for which reservations are highly recommended.  (202-243-3914.  According to the website, the price is $15 without wine; $20, with.  On weekdays the tea service is only available to groups of 10 or more.)

Settled in an established neighborhood of large homes and embassies, Hillwood is highly sensitive to those nearby and values its relationships with them, Ms. Ross0tti said. The ten-year operational agreement with the neighborhood came up for renewal last year, and changes were suggested.

Hillwood has seen a surge in visitors who have increased in number almost 60 percent since 2007, to last year's record 75,445, Ms. Rossotti said.

The merry month of May is one of Hillwood's most popular times since "everyone wants to come and enjoy the springtime, especially on Mother's Day.  We have 25 acres here," said Ms. Rossotti, with plenty of room for visitors to enjoy the grounds, the mansion, to see exhibits, and to have a spot of tea.

An exhibit now up through June 7, 2015, Splendor and Surprise,  displays secrets of 80 chests, boxes, jewelry safes, perfume bottles, and other containers, some which are 300 years old and come from different cultures.

Marjorie Merriweather Post (1887-1973)

What:  Hillwood Estate, Museum & Gardens

When: Tuesdays through Sundays, 10 a.m. - 5 p.m. Closed on Mondays.

Where:  4155 Linnean Avenue, NW, Washington, D.C. 20008

Suggested donation: $15 (adults), $12 (seniors), $10 (college students), $5 (children, ages 6 -18) and free for those under age 6.

Parking: Free, on-site

Biking and walking: Encouraged; bike racks, available.

For more information: 202-686-5807 or to make a reservation for Sunday tea: 202-243-3914

Metro station: Van Ness/UDC station on the Red Line, then walk a mile (mostly uphill;  taxis, available).

Metro bus stop: The L1 or L2 bus stops at the corner of Connecticut and Tilden streets, NW, about a half mile's walk to Hillwood (mostly uphill).

patricialesli@gmail.com

Hillwood extends Post's diamonds and rubies through Jan. 11

Marjorie Merriweather Post and her daughter, Dina (Merrill) in 1929, by Giulio de Blaas (1888-1934). On her left shoulder, Post wears one of her favorite pieces, a Cartier emerald epaulette, shown below.  Dina Merrill Hartley, the actress who turned 91 yesterday, Post's only surviving child, is a sponsor of Cartier: Marjorie Merriweather Post's Dazzling Gems at the Hillwood Estate, Museum & Gardens  rubies

A close up of the Cartier epaulette with seven emeralds, in the painting above.  The weight is?/Hillwood Estate, Museum & Gardens

 

It's always fun to see how the rich live, the one percenters, to visit their homes, a rarity for most of us, but Hillwood in northwest Washington was the home of a billionaire, Marjorie Merriweather Post (1887-1973), and it's open to the public.  There, visitors may see the special exhibition of "fabulous" jewelry Post commissioned and bought from Cartier, the French house, whose artistry is the subject of Cartier: Marjorie Merriweather Post's Dazzling Gems.

Direct from a Cartier exhibition in Paris at the Grand Palais on Champs Elysees, the Hillwood show is fitted in a small gallery with rings, necklaces, earrings, evening gowns, purses, and a dressing set, among other items, at the estate's Adirondack Building.

Also on display are jeweled boxes and elaborate enameled, painted picture frames, including a set of Russian Tsar Nicolas II's daughters, Grand Duchess Tatiana and Grand Duchess Olga, who were murdered by the Bolsheviks in Russia in 1918.

One of Post's four marriages was to Joseph E. Davies, appointed U.S. ambassador to the Soviet Union in 1936. While living in Russia in 1937 and 1938, Post and her husband bought many art works from the Stalinist government which needed money to build the regime. Post developed an affinity for Russian decorative arts and her collection evolved into the world's greatest collection of Russian imperial arts, outside the homeland.

She was also an admirer of French art, bequeathing many pieces of her jewelry to the Smithsonian, including a diamond tiara Napoleon I gave to Empress Marie-Louise, on view at the Smithsonian's Museum of Natural History in the Hall of Gems.  The Smithsonian loaned several gems to Hillwood for Cartier.

Marjorie Merriweather Post in 1952 by Frank O. Salisbury (1874-1962) wearing the necklace below/Hillwood Estate, Museum & Gardens

A close up of the Cartier emerald and diamond necklace worn by Marjorie Merriweather Post in the portrait above/Hillwood Estate, Museum & Gardens

Another Cartier necklace owned by Marjorie Merriweather Post/Hillwood Estate, Museum & Gardens

A diamond necklace owned by Marjorie Merriweather Post, designed by Cartier/Hillwood Estate, Museum & Gardens

Hillwood's Adirondack building where Post's Cartier pieces are displayed/Photo by Patricia Leslie

The south portico of Hillwood, the home of Marjorie Merriweather Post in Washington, D.C./Photo by Patricia Leslie 

The dining room at Hillwood/Photo by Patricia Leslie 

 

The breakfast room at Hillwood/Photo by Patricia Leslie

Marjorie Merriweather Post/Hillwood Estate, Museum  & Gardens

Other items in the Cartier presentation include a cigarette box of gold, silver, enamel, agate, and diamonds with ashtrays of gold, rubies, jade and sapphires, made in "the heyday of cigarette smoking," de rigueur elements to accommodate smokers found in elegant homes of the 1920s and 1930s.

Post began her Cartier collection in the 1920s and added to it throughout most of her life. 

The Cartier firm opened its doors in Paris in 1899, and its New York shop in 1909 where Post became Cartier's best client, Hillwood says. 

For presentation in 1929 at the Court of St. James, Post wore a 21-carat Columbian emerald reportedly offered to her by Cartier and formerly worn by Austrian Archduke Maximilian (1832-1867) who crowned himself emperor of Mexico where he was executed.

The Maximilian emerald ring which Marjorie Merriweather Post gave to the Smithsonian where it is displayed in the Hall of Gems at the National Museum of Natural History/Smithsonian

Many rooms at the Hillwood mansion are open to the public, including the upstairs with bedrooms and dressing rooms (no sitting, please). While on the grounds, enjoy the peace of its 25 acres, nicely designed with tranquil gardens where visitors may sit on benches and dream.

What:  Cartier:  Marjorie Merriweather Post's Dazzling Gems

When:  Now through January 11, 2015, including New Year's Day, Tuesdays through Saturdays, 10 a.m. - 5 p.m., and Sundays, 1 - 5 p.m.  Closed on Mondays. Beginning January 12, Hillwood will closed for the month.

Where:  Hillwood Estate, Museum & Gardens "Where Fabulous Lives," 4155 Linnean Avenue, NW, Washington, D.C. 20008

Suggested donation:  $15 (adults), $12 (seniors), $10 (students), $5 (child, ages 6 -18) and free for those under age 6.

Parking:  Free, on-site

Biking and walking:  Encouraged; bike racks available.

For more information:  202-686-5807

Metro station: Van Ness/UDC station on the Red Line, then walk a (mostly uphill) mile and burn off Christmas calories.  (Taxis, available.)

Metro bus stop: The L1 or L2 bus stops at the corner of Connecticut and Tilden streets, NW, about a half mile's (mostly uphill) walk from Hillwood.

patricialesli@gmail.com