THELMA CHRYSLER FOY
Thelma Chrysler Foy (1902-1957), elder daughter of Walter Chrysler, was a celebrated society hostess, dubbed by the New York Times as 'the woman of the greatest taste ... in New York'. Famed for her impeccable eye for both art and fashion, she appeared several times on the annual list of the ten best dressed women in the country. Thelma and her husband Byron Foy owned an extensive and well-known collection of French Impressionist art which adorned their homes, furnished lavishly with eighteenth-century French furniture, as was de rigueur at the time. Their collection included works by the best in both fine and decorative arts, such as Carlin, Weisweiler, Oeben, Renoir, Degas, Vuillard, Houdon, Falconet, Clodion and Giovanni da Bologna, to name a few. Thelma’s influence on the next generation of socialites was immense, and many followed her stylistic choices when creating their homes. In fact, Jayne Wrightsman, undoubtedly one of the greatest collectors of eighteenth-century French decorative arts in America, was much inspired by the Foys' collecting. Thelma and Byron shared spectacular residences, including an apartment at 740 Park Avenue, a town house on 91st street originally built by the Vanderbilts, and a country estate in Locust Valley. Parke Bernet offered her extensive collection from both her Park Avenue and Locust Valley residences in a landmark series of auctions 13-23 May 1959. Pieces from her estate are now in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, including Picasso’s L'Acteur, a pair of fauteuils by Chevigny, and a Louis XIV Boulle marquetry bureau plat. A portion of her wardrobe is preserved at the Costume Institute of the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Among her sumptuous jewelry was a stunning 54.03 carat pear-shaped diamond necklace that sold Christie’s, New York, 8 June 2021, lot 135.