I told her yes, that she might as well know now that there are people like that. Perhaps we should proceed more generally, I say after reading how she had taken ballet lessons as a girl. It is also easy to envision Fort Worth millionaires heading to Europe in the thirties and forties to pick out the kind of houses they wanted and to buy furniture and paintings. People shift back and forth, stamp on one foot, then another. As Anne Basss rsum makes clear, she is married to Sid Bass, one of the richest men in America, and with the Bass fortune behind her, she has become a powerful patron of the arts in Fort Worth and New York. Weve established a good board of directors, says Jane Brown, the ballets executive director, and its important for all of us to know that we can survive without Anne.. It amuses us that people are talking.. At the funeral she stood among the mourners. Until his recent death, Page was the leading British landscape architect. I went to public schools until my last two years, but I never could sort out my parents academic expectations and the social demands at school, where boys and being a cheerleader were everything. On the way out I almost tripped over what I didnt notice initially. To prepare herself, she had already visited many of the great gardens of Europe. Anne Hendricks Bass, the arts patron who helped raise the profile of ballet in the United States, harking back to an era when art was viewed as a vehicle for Listed below are her directorship at Bass Brothers Enterprises and memberships, divided between those she describes as cultural (such as the International Council of New Yorks Museum of Modern Art) and social (such as Fort Worths Jewel Charity Ball committee). When Anne and Sid joined the board, Perry and Nancy Leeas the foundation was usually referred to in Fort Worthwere giving the museum a $25,000 annual stipend. For the living room, two huge Mark Rothkos that could rival the view of the city. Anne and Sid bought a rambling, ranch-style house, where they had a view of the Trinity River bottom. After one break-in at the house and a holdup in their garage, they built a security station in front of the house and hired armed guards, three of whom patrolled the grounds 24 hours a day. Over fifty per cent of the guests were Annes. Apartment & Condo Building. The Spanish castles, French chteaux, and English manor houses on Crestline and Westover stand on a bluff and look out over the Trinity River bottom, where you can imagine cattle drives heading north. Anne also invited me to work with her on weekends with some material she had gathered for a film she wanted to make about a young Cambodian, Sokvannara Sar, whose familiar name is Sy. Ive been to Mortimers in New York; I can get in the door. As we walk around, I keep wanting to ask whats next, but I know from Anne Basss friends that shes hoping her husband will come home and that like anyone in her position she can only wait with as much dignity and humor as she can muster. So how do we make sure there is a good match between the enduring and the ephemeral? Yes, that way there are no mistakes, she answers and smiles primly. She is a well-known socialite who is also relentlessly private. But come inside. Claus von Blow was president of the co-op board for 11 years; Anne Bass owns the largest apartment on the 12th floor, bought for her in 1984 by Sid Bass as part of their divorce settlement. In 1984 one of the teachers at the School of American Ballet happened to comment that Annes older daughter was developing very well in spite of the instruction she was getting in Fort Worth. Bass Porter was fired, and Kirstein was vindicated. We knew they were young and rich, but we couldnt believe it when we got to their house. Anne Bass, 70, recounted the night three men broke into her Connecticut home, howling terrifying 'war cries' and demanding cash. Oct 11, 2020 - Explore Guygella's board "Alcove Seating" on Pinterest. When I married Sid, I found myself in an enviable positionthat I could participate. 3 of 3. Its bright blue with some scudding gray; a slight chill is in the air. Anne Bass, Mary Porter, and their side deny the charges, saying they were only trying to meet the schools financial needs. Its a stage of development. When we come to the end of the rose beds, she says, Let me show you this, and leads me down a path to an undeveloped part of the garden next to a creek. Until the schools first important fundraising gala in May 1979, they simply thought of her as being the nice lady from Fort Worth. She was asked to be one of the ten co-chairmen for the event, and according to Mary Porter, who was the schools director of development, Anne was expected to bring in one table of ten guests at $200 to $500 a ticket. She was interested only in the best, but in pursuing it, her own behavior was often anything but exemplary. Yet, even from her strongest supporters, there is an undercurrent of caution and an eagerness to defend Anne Bass that gives credence to rumors of her divisiveness. When the story came out about Sid and Mercedes in New York magazine, I called Anne and said, I cant believe how rich you are. I knew they were rich, of course, but that isnt what our friendship is about., There was some question, however, about Anne and Peter Martins friendship after the news broke that Sid had not only departed with Mercedes but had had other girlfriends. But it was Balanchine who was the artist. Anne was a hardworking member of the Junior League, but according to her contemporaries, she was better at running things than at taking orders. We didnt have to worry about boys and could just get down to business. , he shakes his head, at a loss for words. To decorate and to help put together what has been described as an important collection of European antiques, they hired Mark Hampton, whom Anne had known slightly while growing up in Indianapolis. To put it more bluntly, they take money and launder people. I did it every six weeks. Porter had straight blonde hair, and she bore a striking resemblance to Anne. They moved hillsides, created meadows, sculpted views, built lily ponds and greenhouses, and planted rose gardens. After having Bob Zion, an East Coast landscape architect, lay out the grounds, she chose Russell Page to plan the gardens. Her straight blond hair is held back by two gold barrettes shaped like bows; a wide gold necklace, or to be more exact, a gold collar molded like coils of rope, emphasizes her correct posture. This is going to be wonderful in here, if I can just figure out how to make the creek stop flooding. She stands there a moment, imagining what it will be like, then we start back to the house. Apartment & Condo Building. The school was going to celebrate its fiftieth anniversary in 1984, and Porter wanted to mount a $15 million fund drive to establish a permanent endowment. By the time of the gala in January 1984, it appeared that Anne Basss life was going perfectly. She wept as she I also got points for posture., As she recalls her childhood, it becomes clear that from her earliest years she has been compelled by a need for control and a desire for perfection. speak of what they call a Texas takeover, because one of Miss Porters prime supporters is Anne Bass., The controversy (it was regarded as nothing less than a scandal in the dance world) played out over the next month in the Times.