Lily Auchincloss (née van Ameringen) (April 5, 1922 – June 6, 1996) was an American journalist, philanthropist, and art collector.

Early life

Lily Auchincloss was born in 1922 in

Newark, New Jersey Newark ( , ) is the List of municipalities in New Jersey, most populous City (New Jersey), city in the U.S. state of New Jersey and the county seat, seat of Essex County, New Jersey, Essex County and the second largest city within the New Yo ...

. Her father,

Arnold Louis van Ameringen Arnold may refer to: People * Arnold (given name), a masculine given name * Arnold (surname), a German and English surname Places Australia * Arnold, Victoria, a small town in the Australian state of Victoria Canada * Arnold, Nova Scotia ...

(1891–1966), who was born in

the Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Nether ...

, was the founder and later chairman of

International Flavors and Fragrances International Flavors & Fragrances is an American corporation that produces flavors, fragrances, and cosmetic actives, which it markets globally. It is headquartered in New York City and has creative, sales, and manufacturing facilities in 44 di ...

and her mother was philanthropist

Hedwig Adele van Ameringen Hedwig may refer to: People and fictional characters * Hedwig (name), a list of people and fictional characters with the given name * Grzegorz Hedwig (born 1988), Polish slalom canoeist * Johann Hedwig, (1730–1799), German botanist * Romanus ...

(née Pfaltz) (1901–1996). She had two siblings, Henry P. van Ameringen and Patricia Kind (née van Ameringen). She attended

Radcliffe College Radcliffe College was a women's liberal arts college in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and functioned as the female coordinate institution for the all-male Harvard College. Considered founded in 1879, it was one of the Seven Sisters colleges and he ...

and graduated

cum laude Latin honors are a system of Latin phrases used in some colleges and universities to indicate the level of distinction with which an academic degree has been earned. The system is primarily used in the United States. It is also used in some So ...

in 1944.

Career

While at Radcliffe, she met

Philip Johnson Philip Cortelyou Johnson (July 8, 1906 – January 25, 2005) was an American architect best known for his works of modern and postmodern architecture. Among his best-known designs are his modernist Glass House in New Canaan, Connecticut; the p ...

and

Marcel Breuer Marcel Lajos Breuer ( ; 21 May 1902 – 1 July 1981), was a Hungarian-born modernist architect and furniture designer. At the Bauhaus he designed the Wassily Chair and the Cesca Chair, which ''The New York Times'' have called some of the most ...

, who helped instill her interest in architecture and design. After graduation, she worked in New York City as a writer and editor. She worked at ''

Look To look is to use sight to perceive an object. Look or The Look may refer to: Businesses and products * Look (modeling agency), an Israeli modeling agency * ''Look'' (American magazine), a defunct general-interest magazine * ''Look'' (UK m ...

'', ''World Telegram'', ''

New York Herald Tribune The ''New York Herald Tribune'' was a newspaper published between 1924 and 1966. It was created in 1924 when Ogden Mills Reid of the ''New-York Tribune'' acquired the ''New York Herald''. It was regarded as a "writer's newspaper" and competed ...

'', '' Glamour'', '' Harper's Bazaar'' and ''

McCall's ''McCall's'' was a monthly American women's magazine, published by the McCall Corporation, that enjoyed great popularity through much of the 20th century, peaking at a readership of 8.4 million in the early 1960s. It was established as a small-f ...

''.

Philanthropy

She was a noted philanthropist. She supported institutions and organizations such as The

Museum of Modern Art The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) is an art museum located in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, on 53rd Street (Manhattan), 53rd Street between Fifth Avenue, Fifth and Sixth Avenues. It plays a major role in developing and collecting modern art, ...

(MoMA), the Cathedral of St. John the Divine, and the

American Academy in Rome The American Academy in Rome is a research and arts institution located on the Gianicolo (Janiculum Hill) in Rome. The academy is a member of the Council of American Overseas Research Centers. History In 1893, a group of American architects ...

. She became a trustee at The Museum of Modern Art in 1971 and served on numerous committees at the museum including painting, sculpture, drawings, prints, illustrated books, and architecture and design. She financed exhibitions about

Frank Lloyd Wright Frank Lloyd Wright (June 8, 1867 – April 9, 1959) was an American architect, designer, writer, and educator. He designed more than 1,000 structures over a creative period of 70 years. Wright played a key role in the architectural movements o ...

Rem Koolhaus Remment Lucas Koolhaas (; born 17 November 1944) is a Dutch architect, architectural theorist, urbanist and Professor in Practice of Architecture and Urban Design at the Graduate School of Design at Harvard University. He is often cited as a r ...

Cy Twombly Edwin Parker "Cy" Twombly Jr. (; April 25, 1928July 5, 2011) was an American painter, sculptor and photographer. He belonged to the generation of Robert Rauschenberg and Jasper Johns. Twombly is said to have influenced younger artists such as ...

and

Louis I. Kahn Louis Isadore Kahn (born Itze-Leib Schmuilowsky; – March 17, 1974) was an Estonian-born American architect based in Philadelphia. After working in various capacities for several firms in Philadelphia, he founded his own atelier in 1935. Whi ...

. MoMA named the Lily Auchincloss Study Center for Architecture and Design after her in 1994. The Lily Auchincloss Foundation, Inc., is a New York City non-profit grantmaking foundation.

Personal life

In 1956, she married Douglas Auchincloss, a writer at ''

Newsweek ''Newsweek'' is an American weekly online news magazine co-owned 50 percent each by Dev Pragad, its president and CEO, and Johnathan Davis, who has no operational role at ''Newsweek''. Founded as a weekly print magazine in 1933, it was widely ...

'' and later the religion editor of ''

Time magazine ''Time'' (stylized in all caps) is an American news magazine based in New York City. For nearly a century, it was published weekly, but starting in March 2020 it transitioned to every other week. It was first published in New York City on M ...

''. The couple divorced in 1979. Together, they had: *Alexandra Auchincloss, who married Paul Karel Herzan in 1987. In 1980, she was inducted into the

International Best Dressed List The International Best-Dressed Hall of Fame List was founded by fashionista Eleanor Lambert in 1940 as an attempt to boost the reputation of American fashion at the time. The American magazine '' Vanity Fair'' is currently in charge of the List ...

. Auchincloss died on June 6, 1996 of cancer in Manhattan.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Auchincloss, Lily 1922 births 1996 deaths Philanthropists from New York (state) Auchincloss family Deaths from cancer in New York (state) Journalists from New York City New York Herald Tribune people People associated with the Museum of Modern Art (New York City) Radcliffe College alumni Writers from Newark, New Jersey 20th-century American writers