Antoinette Eno "Tony" Pinchot Pittman Bradlee (January 15, 1924 – November 9, 2011) was an American socialite, ceramist, and painter. She was the second wife of ''

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'', locally known as ''The'' ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'' or ''WP'', is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C., the national capital. It is the most widely circulated newspaper in the Washington m ...

'' editor

Ben Bradlee Benjamin Crowninshield Bradlee (, 1921 – , 2014) was an American journalist who served as managing editor and later as executive editor of ''The Washington Post'', from 1965 to 1991. He became a public figure when the ''Post'' joined ''The ...

and the sister of

Mary Pinchot Meyer Mary Eno Pinchot Meyer (; October 14, 1920 – October 12, 1964) was an American painter who lived in Washington D.C. She was married to Cord Meyer from 1945 to 1958; she became involved romantically with President John F. Kennedy after her ...

, a mistress of President

John F. Kennedy John Fitzgerald Kennedy (May 29, 1917 – November 22, 1963), also known as JFK, was the 35th president of the United States, serving from 1961 until his assassination in 1963. He was the first Roman Catholic and youngest person elected p ...

. Before marriage, Pinchot was a journalist on ''

Vogue Vogue may refer to: Business * ''Vogue'' (magazine), a US fashion magazine ** British ''Vogue'', a British fashion magazine ** '' Vogue Adria'', a fashion magazine for former Yugoslav countries ** ''Vogue Arabia'', an Arab fashion magazine ** ' ...

'' magazine. In the 1950s and 1960s, the Bradlees were frequent guests of the

Kennedy family The Kennedy family () is an American political family that has long been prominent in American politics, public service, entertainment, and business. In 1884, 35 years after the family's arrival from County Wexford, Ireland, Patrick Joseph "P ...

and was a close friend of First Lady

Jackie Kennedy Jacqueline Lee Kennedy Onassis ( ; July 28, 1929 – May 19, 1994) was an American writer, book editor, and socialite who served as the first lady of the United States from 1961 to 1963, as the wife of President John F. Kennedy. A popular f ...

. Later on, she became a ceramist and painter. Her marriage with Bradlee fell apart due to his work commitments and she spent the rest of her life focused on fine arts.

Early life and career

Born in New York City to a politically active family, the Pinchots, she was the youngest child of

Amos Pinchot Amos Richards Eno Pinchot (December 6, 1873 – February 18, 1944) was an American lawyer and reformist. He never held public office but managed to exert considerable influence in reformist circles and did much to keep Progressivism, progres ...

and Ruth Pickering Pinchot. Her older sister was

and she had two older half-siblings from her father's first marriage: Gifford and

Rosamond Pinchot Rosamond Pinchot (October 26, 1904 – January 24, 1938) was an American socialite, stage and film actress. Early life and career Born in New York City, Pinchot was the daughter of Amos Pinchot, a wealthy lawyer and a key figure in the Progres ...

. She was known to her family and friends as "Tony". Along with her sister Mary, she was raised at the family's Grey Towers home in

Milford, Pennsylvania Milford is a borough that is located in Pike County, Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat. Its population was 1,103 at the time of the 2020 census. Situated near the upper Delaware River, Milford is part of the New York metropo ...

. Pinchot attended the

Brearley School The Brearley School is an American all-girls private school on the Upper East Side of Manhattan, New York City. It educates approximately 770 girls in grades K–12, with approximately 50 to 65 students per grade. In addition to being a member ...

and

Vassar College Vassar College ( ) is a private liberal arts college in Poughkeepsie, New York, United States. Founded in 1861 by Matthew Vassar, it was the second degree-granting institution of higher education for women in the United States. The college be ...

. After college, she worked on ''

'' magazine until her marriage.

Marriages

First marriage

Pinchot's first marriage was to Steurt Pittman, who later served as President

's assistant Secretary of Defense. They married in 1947 and had four children together: Andrew, Nancy, Rosamond, and Tamara. During a trip to Europe with her sister Mary, Pinchot met

, at the time chief European correspondent for ''

Newsweek ''Newsweek'' is an American weekly news magazine based in New York City. Founded as a weekly print magazine in 1933, it was widely distributed during the 20th century and has had many notable editors-in-chief. It is currently co-owned by Dev P ...

''. The two immediately fell in love; they divorced their respective spouses and married in 1956.

Second marriage

Ben and Tony Bradlee had two children together: Dominic (known as "Dino") and Marina. The newly married Bradlees settled in Georgetown in

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

, where their neighbor was then-Senator

of Massachusetts and his wife

. The Bradlees and Kennedys became close friends, with Tony and Jackie in particular becoming close friends. They were frequent visitors of the Kennedys at their retreats, at the White House, and at

Camp David Camp David is a country retreat for the president of the United States. It lies in the wooded hills of Catoctin Mountain Park, in Frederick County, Maryland, near the towns of Thurmont, Maryland, Thurmont and Emmitsburg, Maryland, Emmitsburg, a ...

. Bradlee later told Kennedy biographer

Sally Bedell Smith Sarah Bedell Smith (born May 27, 1948) is an American journalist and biographer. She was a contributing editor for '' Vanity Fair and'' a reporter for ''The New York Times'' and ''Time.'' She focuses on biographies of members of the British royal ...

that President Kennedy once made a pass at her during his 46th birthday party on the presidential yacht; however, she rebuffed him. Her sister Mary, however, began a long-term affair with the President. Through her marriage to Bradlee and her connection with the Kennedys, Tony became one of the top Washington hostesses of the 1960s. However, she grew tired of her duties and withdrew from public life after Kennedy's assassination. Finding her husband's work as a journalist "uninspiring", she attended

Corcoran School of the Arts and Design The Corcoran School of the Arts and Design (known as the Corcoran School or CSAD) is the professional art school of the George Washington University, in Washington, D.C.Peggy McGloneUniversity names first director of Corcoran School of the Arts a ...

and became a ceramicist and painter. In 1972, she held a solo exhibition at the

Jefferson Place Gallery The Jefferson Place Gallery was an art gallery in Washington, D.C., founded in 1957 and closed in 1974. It had been located at 1216 Connecticut Street, NW in Washington, D.C.. The gallery was associated with the Washington Color School artists. ...

in Washington and earned rave reviews. After Ben Bradlee joined ''

'' and became its executive editor, he devoted himself to the paper almost fully. As a result, their marriage suffered and they ended up divorcing in 1975. However, the pair would remain lifelong friends.

Later life

After her divorce, Pinchot Bradlee focused her energy on her interests in fine arts as well as the spiritual philosophy movement started by Russian-born mystic

George Ivanovitch Gurdjieff George Ivanovich Gurdjieff ( – 29 October 1949) was a philosopher, mystic, spiritual teacher, composer, and movements teacher. Born in the Russian Empire, he briefly became a citizen of the First Republic of Armenia after its formation in 19 ...

. Bradlee never remarried and died in

, after years of suffering from dementia. She was buried in her family plot in

Pike County, Pennsylvania Pike County is a County (United States), county in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 58,535. Its county seat is Milford, Pennsylvania ...

Cultural depictions

Pinchot was played by actress

Sarah Paulson Sarah Catharine Paulson (born December 17, 1974) is an American actress. She is the recipient of numerous accolades, including a Primetime Emmy Award, a Golden Globe Award, and a Tony Award. In 2017, ''Time'' magazine named her one of the 1 ...

in the 2017

Steven Spielberg Steven Allan Spielberg ( ; born December 18, 1946) is an American filmmaker. A major figure of the New Hollywood era and pioneer of the modern blockbuster, Spielberg is widely regarded as one of the greatest film directors of all time and is ...

film '' The Post''.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Bradlee, Antoinette Pinchot 1924 births 2011 deaths American socialites Artists from New York City Brearley School alumni Corcoran School of the Arts and Design alumni Deaths from dementia in Washington, D.C. Journalists from New York City Pinchot family Vassar College alumni Vogue (magazine) people People from Milford, Pennsylvania American women ceramists