Swift explains it briefly in a verse—Harkness once owned Holiday House, the singer’s current Watch Hill, Rhode Island, home. [4], On October 1, 1947, Harkness married William Hale Harkness (1900–1954), the son of William Lamon Harkness, both Standard Oil heirs. It tells the story of Standard Oil heiress Rebekah Harkness. Rebekah Harkness, as seen in the December 1956 issue of. Reportedly, the rest of her remains were placed in a Gristedes bag. [1] Before their divorce in 1946, they had two children; Allen Pierce (b. [21], Harkness died of stomach cancer in her Manhattan home on June 17, 1982. [17], In 1961, Harkness married Ben Kean (c. 1912–1993),[18] a physician who was a professor of Tropical Medicine at the Cornell Medical College. Rebekah the Socialite Though Harkness came from money, she achieved a new status level with her marriage (Harkness’ second) to William Hale Harkness, courtesy of … 1940) and Anne Terry Pierce (b. And yes, diving into Harkness’s outrageous, gilded life is indeed a journey through a past era. Although she came from a well-off Midwest family, William and his fortune put Rebekah into a different social stratosphere. The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of Condé Nast. In the first verse of “The Last Great American Dynasty,” Swift sings that the ceremony “was charming, if a little gauche / There’s only so far new money goes.”. The couple was married just seven years before William passed away of a heart attack, leaving the Harkness fortune and Holiday House to Rebekah. Rebekah West Harkness (April 17, 1915 – June 17, 1982) also known as Betty Harkness, was an American composer, sculptor, dance patron, and philanthropist who founded the Harkness Ballet. Read next. Due to her family's wealth, she was raised by a series of nannies, and attended a finishing school after High School. When she died in 1982, Harkness had demanded her ashes be put in a $250,000 jeweled Salvador Dalí urn. She was the second daughter of three children to Allen Tarwater West, a stockbroker and co-founder of G. H. Walker & Co., and Rebekah Cook (née Semple) West. Rebekah Harkness was born in 1915 to a rich, emotionally frigid St. Louis family. (Her reasoning was thus: “I hope the beauty of Harkness House will persuade some of these people that ballet need not be dingy and that by their patronage they are contributing to the splendid and glamorous.”) Yet disagreements over artistic direction led to the company’s disbanding in 1970. She attended the Rossman School and John Burroughs School in St. Louis, and then the Fermata School for Girls in Aiken, South Carolina, which she graduated from in 1932. Harkness took up dancing and ice skating to lose weight and was highly disciplined in both endeavors. Thomson Asks States to Sue the U.S.", "Out of Prison, Doctor Hopes to Regenerate His Lost Fame", "Taylor Swift is buying into a rich Watch Hill tradition", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Rebekah_Harkness&oldid=995193859, Short description is different from Wikidata, Wikipedia articles with SNAC-ID identifiers, Wikipedia articles with WORLDCATID identifiers, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License, This page was last edited on 19 December 2020, at 19:08. She even started a company of her own in 1964: the Harkness Ballet. In addition to her marriage to one of the wealthiest men in the country, Harkness also became well known for her eccentricities, as well as her contributions to the arts. A philanthropist. [9] Through the William Hale Harkness Foundation, she sponsored construction of a medical research building at the New York Hospital and supported a number of medical research projects. Vogue may earn a portion of sales from products that are purchased through our site as part of our Affiliate Partnerships with retailers. Let’s start from the beginning. [9][15] Following the divorce, Harkness gained custody of both children. “Rebekah rode up on the afternoon train / It was sunny,” Taylor Swift croons in her new song “The Last Great American Dynasty.” In 3 minutes 51 seconds, Swift tells the story of Harkness’s legacy through lyrics. She used much of her inheritance to become a patron of the ballet, as well as to compose music. Edward Stephen Harkness (January 22, 1874 – January 29, 1940) was an American philanthropist.Given privately and through his family's Commonwealth Fund, Harkness' gifts to private hospitals, art museums, and educational institutions in the Northeastern United States were among the largest of the early twentieth century. The latest fashion news, beauty coverage, celebrity style, fashion week updates, culture reviews, and videos on Vogue.com. [24], "Anne Pierce, 1962 Debutante, Married to Anthony McBride", "Rebekah West Harkness, 67, Patron of Dance and Medicine", "Harkness, Rebekah (1915–1982) | Encyclopedia.com", "Harkness Ballet Takes the Bid Step to Broadway", "Patrician of the Dance; Rebekah West Harkness", "The Dance: Rebekah Harkness Ballet Goes Dutch; Madrigalesco' Given American Premiere 3 Other Works Offered as Troupe Returns", "Harkness House Opened as Home For Ballet Arts; Lynda Johnson Attends -- City s Medal Given To Woman Donor", "The Humble Beginnings Of an Elegant Mansion", "The story of Rebekah Harkness is way more complicated than Taylor Swift lets on", "Spoiled Facts About Rebekah Harkness, The Last Great American Heiress", "Miss Edith H. Harkness Wed To Kenneth Mckinnon, Lawyer", "Benjamin H. Kean, Shah's Physician, Dies at 81", "Notes on People; Gov. Before the performance, Swift explained the story behind the tune: It's about Rebekah Harkness, a real character who owned Swift's Rhode Island mansion before she did. The widow went on to marry twice more, for a total of four marriages throughout her lifetime. After her husband's death in 1954, Harkness embarked on her own creative endeavors. The subject of “Folklore” song “The Last Great American Dynasty,” Harkness — née Rebekah Semple West — was born in 1915 to “a rich, emotionally frigid St. Louis family,” according to the New York Times, and in 1947 married William Hale Harkness, her second husband and … Source for information on Harkness, Rebekah (1915–1982): Women in World History: A Biographical Encyclopedia dictionary. In 1946, when Annabelle was 2, her mother divorced Dickson Pierce. Ad Choices. [13] Many of her neighbors at her Holiday House in Watch Hill, RI complained about her extravagant parties and how she would allow her dancers to practice under a geodesic dome she had placed on her front lawn. The couple had a private ceremony attended by Rebekah's parents, her children Allen and Terry, along with William's daughter with his ex-wife Elizabeth. The wedding was charming, if a little gauche. The Return of Concorde: Is this the most glamorous Christmas present for 2020? But the result was disastrous. NEW YORK -- Rebekah West Harkness, noted patron of the dance and medical research, is dead at 67. However, the connection between the two women, despite being eras apart, may go beyond mere real estate. Their wedding took place at 730 Park Avenue, which was William’s apartment. Harkness, Rebekah (1915–1982)American composer, sculptor, dance patron, and philanthropist who founded the Harkness Ballet. Her parents hired a nanny for Harkness specifically because she "had worked in an insane asylum," and then Harkness went to finishing school, where she decided to "do … She was born Rebekah Semple West in 1915 to a wealthy family in St. Louis, Missouri. She was brought up by a nanny who was chosen because she had worked in … Before his death in August 1954, they had one child together; Edith Hale Harkness (1948–1982). The best new culture, style, and beauty stories from Vogue, delivered to you daily. She also studied orchestration with Lee Hoiby and received a Doctor of Fine Arts degree from the Franklin Pierce College in Rindge, New Hampshire, in 1968. Others tell of sumptuous real-life figures like Rebekah Harkness, a divorcee who married the heir to Standard Oil — and whose home Swift purchased 31 years after her death. [3] Edith married Kenneth Perry McKinnon in 1971,[16] and was in and out of mental institutions before eventually committing suicide after many attempts, just months following her mother's death. Rebekah Harkness, who also went by Betty, was the previous owner of Taylor Swift's Rhode Island home and serves as the inspiration for the third track on her latest album Putting mineral oil in the punch at her sister’s debutante ball. She filled a pool with Champagne. In the first verse of “The Last Great American Dynasty”, Swift sings that the ceremony “was charming, if a little gauche / There’s only so far new money goes”. The wedding was charming, if a little gauche There's only so far new money goes The newly married couple moved into "Holiday House," but after suffering two heart attacks William Harkness died in 1954 leaving Rebekah an exorbitantly wealthy widow. All rights reserved. Harkness had three husbands. A patron of dance and medicine. The question Swift would have you ask is how much of this reputation was deserved and how much was the result of gossip or judgmental peers. [23] In 2020, Swift wrote the song "The Last Great American Dynasty" for her eighth studio album Folklore (2020), in which she tells Harkness' life story. The two purchased a mansion in Watch Hill, Rhode Island, which they nicknamed Holiday House. The caption read: “A young woman with a surprising range of interests, Mrs. Harkness is a sculptor, a musician of professional standing (she’s a member of ASCAP), a skier (she’ll soon off to her chalet in Gstaad with her three children for a holiday), and an active supporter of many charities.” Below her in the spread? A year later, she married William Hale Harkness, a wealthy investor and a co-founder of Time magazine. Yet it’s also impossible to avoid drawing parallels between Swift and Harkness. Harkness drew glares for her parties at Holiday House, as did Swift: Who could forget the frenzy over her celeb-studded Fourth of July bash? It’s estimated she spent the 2020 equivalent of $86 million on the endeavor. The subject of “Folklore” music “The Final Great American Dynasty,” Harkness — née Rebekah Semple West — was born in 1915 to “a prosperous, emotionally frigid St. Louis household,” in accordance to the New York Situations, and in 1947 married William Hale Harkness, her 2nd spouse and heir to the Common Oil fortune. (Yes, the seaside mansion that was the setting for Taymerica.) , she ’ s apartment came from a well-off Midwest family, William and fortune... Rebekah ’ s current Watch Hill estate in Rhode Island, in.! Biographical Encyclopedia dictionary years her junior philanthropist who gave millions to the Standard Oil heir William Hale Harkness, 1947. They picked out a home and called it `` Holiday House '' their parties were,. 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