Arabella Duval Huntington (c.1850-1924) was the second wife of American railway tycoon Collis P. Huntington, and then the second wife of Henry E. Huntington. She was once known as the richest woman in America, and as the force behind the art collection that is housed at the Huntington Library.
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Biography
Arabella Huntington was the second wife of Collis P. Huntington. After his death, she married his nephew Henry E. Huntington, who was also a railway magnate and the founder of the famous Huntington Library & Art Gallery in San Marino, California. She had a son, Archer, from her first marriage. Compared to her famous family, information about Arabella is scarce. She was apparently born in 1850 or 1851, probably in Virginia (see Wark, p. 312). Her first husband was a Mr. Worsham, of New York, who died shortly after they were married, leaving her with a young son (some other sources have suggested that they were not actually married, but that she was his mistress).[1] It has also been suggested that Archer's father was actually Collis Huntington, who legally adopted the boy when he was a teenager.).[2] In 1877 she was able to purchase some property in New York, which was later sold to John D. Rockefeller.[3] She married Collis Huntington in 1884 and was left a widow a second time when he died in 1900. Thirteen years later she married Henry Huntington. They were together until her death in 1924, and both are buried on the grounds of the Huntington Library. There is also a memorial to Arabella in the west wing of the Huntington Library building, which was dedicated in 1927, the year of Henry's death.
Art collection
Throughout her life, Arabella was an inveterate collector of art, jewelry, antiques, and other luxury items. Her particular interest was in British portraits. Following Arabella's death, her son Archer donated many of her paintings to the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. These included two Rembrandts, a Vermeer, and several hundred other paintings. Many of the family's other belongings, including clothing, furniture, tapestries, and porcelain, were bequeathed to other institutions including Yale University. Some are located within the collections of the Huntington Library itself, and these formed the basis of an exhibition about Arabella in the Spring of 2006 entitled The Belle of San Marino.[4]
Archer M. Huntington
Arabella Huntington's son Archer shared her love for art and culture. He was a great friend of non-profit organizations, especially museums. His former mansion in New York was converted into a museum, the National Academy Museum. Archer died in 1955.
Sources
- Robert W. Wark. "Arabella Huntington and the Beginnings of the Art Collection." The Founding of the Henry E. Huntington Library and Art Gallery. San Marino, CA: Huntington Library, 1969.
- Wilson. The Mauseoleum of Henry and Arabella Huntington. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press, 2005.
