Mabel Choate (December 26, 1870 – December 11, 1958) was an American gardener, collector and philanthropist.

Biography

Born on December 26, 1870, in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

, Mabel Choate was the fourth of five children of Joseph Choate and Caroline Sterling. Her father Joseph Choate was a prominent lawyer, and served as U.S Ambassador to the United Kingdom from 1899 to 1904. Her mother, Caroline Sterling, an artist and educational reformer, played an instrumental role in advancing women’s higher education, and, along with a group of women including

Annie Nathan Meyer Annie Nathan Meyer (February 19, 1867 – September 23, 1951) was an American author, anti-suffragist, and promoter of higher education for women who founded Barnard College. Her sister was activist Maud Nathan and her nephew was author and poe ...

, founded

Barnard College Barnard College is a Private college, private Women's colleges in the United States, women's Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college affiliated with Columbia University in New York City. It was founded in 1889 by a grou ...

at Columbia University in 1888. She studied at

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 ...

, which was founded by her mother. Her family summered at

Naumkeag Naumkeag is the former country estate of noted New York City lawyer Joseph Hodges Choate and Caroline Dutcher Sterling Choate, located at 5 Prospect Hill Road, Stockbridge, Massachusetts. The estate's centerpiece is a 44-room, Shingle Styl ...

, their “summer cottage” on Prospect Hill in

Stockbridge, Massachusetts Stockbridge is a town in Berkshire County in Western Massachusetts, United States. It is part of the Pittsfield, Massachusetts, Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 2,018 at the 2020 census. A year-round resort area, Stockbridg ...

, which was designed by the New York City-based firm

McKim, Mead & White McKim, Mead & White was an American architectural firm based in New York City. The firm came to define architectural practice, urbanism, and the ideals of the American Renaissance in ''fin de siècle'' New York. The firm's founding partners, Cha ...

. In July 1926, she met

Fletcher Steele John Fletcher Steele (June 7, 1885 – July 16, 1971) was an American landscape architect credited with designing and creating over 700 gardens from 1915 to the time of his death. Early life Steele was born in Rochester, New York, United Stat ...

, prominent American landscape architect, while he was delivering a lecture at the Lenox Garden Club. With the help of Fletcher Steele, she developed a series of modernist gardens at Naumkeag, which made it as one of the horticultural show places of the

Berkshires The Berkshires () are highlands located in western Massachusetts and northwestern Connecticut in the United States. Generally, "Berkshires" may refer to the range of hills in Massachusetts that lie between the Housatonic and Connecticut River ...

. In 1927, she purchased the historic

Mission House The Mission House at Kerikeri in New Zealand was completed in 1822 as part of the Kerikeri Mission Station by the Church Missionary Society, and is New Zealand's oldest surviving building. It is sometimes known as Kemp House. History Samuel ...

. It was built c. 1740 for Reverend John Sergeant, the first missionary to the local

Mohican The Mohicans ( or ) are an Eastern Algonquian Native American tribe that historically spoke an Algonquian language. As part of the Eastern Algonquian family of tribes, they are related to the neighboring Lenape, whose indigenous territory was ...

people. Choate saved the house from demolition and turned it into a historic house museum. She was also a collector of ceramics, furniture, and fine and decorative arts including from China and India. She did not marry. She was actively involved in philanthropic activities, and associated with a number of professional associations at different capacities. She died in New York City on December 11, 1958. She left both Naumkeag and the Mission House to

the Trustees of Reservations ''The'' is a grammatical article in English, denoting nouns that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The ...

to be preserved for public enjoyment.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Choate, Mabel 1870 births 1958 deaths American women philanthropists Brearley School alumni Barnard College alumni American gardeners People from New York City