CIRCA 1780

Anita O'Keefe Young (1891-1985), a well-known philanthropist, was the sister of the artist Georgia O'Keefe, and wife of Robert R. Young, the Chairman of the New York Central and C. & O. Railroads. Her impressive collections of French and English furniture, silver and porcelain were housed in 'Fairholme', her Newport, Rhode Island summer mansion built in 1870 by Furness and Evans, and 'Montsorrel' ('Mountain of Sorrow'), her magnificent ocean-front estate in Palm Beach that she built in 1965 following the death of her husband. Montsorrel was the second largest residence in Palm Beach after Mar-a-Lago.

Mrs. Elizabeth Stafford (1928-2018), known as Mimi, was born and raised in New Orleans, Louisiana. While working for the State Department in Germany, she met her husband in France and they lived in Paris from 1961-76, before settling in New York. While living in Paris, she transformed their apartment into an authentic 18th Century French home, which was frequently opened for international museums and cultural groups. The couple generously lent their collection to the New Orleans Museum of Art in 1966 with an exhibition called Odyssey of an Art Collector, to raise funds after hurricane devastation. Mimi was a Fellow at the New Orleans Museum of Art, and a benefactor to the Frick Museum, the Metropolitan Museum, the Morgan Library, and the Metropolitan Opera and her collection was lent extensively around the world.