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Enid Annenburg Haupt may have publishing in her
blood, but gardens are in her heart. Her father, Moses Annenburg,
started with the publication of a small racing form. Her brother
expanded the company to include such mainstays of the American
household as TV Guide and Seventeen, a magazine, which Mrs. Haupt
herself later edited and published. However, it has been her numerous
gifts to build, restore and maintain gardens around the country
and the world, which has made her the foremost horticultural philanthropist
in America and earned her the Liberty Hyde Bailey award from the
American Horticultural Society in 1994 (see Enid's Edens below).
Therefore, it is no surprise that the Secretary of the Smithsonian
at the time, S. Dillon Ripley looked to her for assistance when
the idea of the garden for the new Quadrangle was being formalized.
The only unexpected part was how generous her gift would be (see
excerpt from A New View from the Castle). By offering an endowment
of over three million dollars, Mrs. Haupt has ensured not only
that her garden was created, but that it would flourish and remain
a haven for visitors to the Smithsonian Institution and harried
urban dwellers in the Washington, D.C. area.
More information on other
Smithsonian Gardens and Landscapes |
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Enid A. Haupt Endows a Garden ( from
A New View from the Castle) |
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Before [the garden] was so named, [Secretary] Ripley was well aware
of Mrs. Haupt's interest in the project's landscaping, and suggested
to Jean Paul [Carlihan, the architect] that she might finance a
Zen garden within the quadrangle - a small jewel-like spot for contemplation....
Two weeks later, Carlhian finally met Enid Haupt. She was scheduled
to tour the garden site one afternoon with Ripley and others of
the Institution's top echelon. The architect was included. "I
had arrived early," Jean Paul remembers, "and waited in
the mud with some others. This was in March, mind you, and of course
the site was a morass. At precisely three o'clock, this very long,
gleaming limousine pulled up beside the swamp and out stepped Enid
Haupt. It was necessary that I restrain myself from taking off my
jacket and spreading it before her."
Back in the Castle, Ripley asked Carlhian to explain, for the sake
of the distinguished visitor, the plans for the new garden. Using
a ruler as a pointer, Jean Paul indicated the various landscaping
elements - the parterre, the berms and pools - where trees, shrubs,
borders, hanging plants, and other beautiful things would go.
When it comes to gardens, Mrs. Haupt is yet another enthusiast.
Impatiently, she seized Jean Paul's pointer and took over: "What's
that tree? Where are you going to get it?" She noted the surface
of a paved glade. "Is that concrete?" she demanded.
An architect with stern standards of excellence, Carlhian recoiled
in shock. "Madame," he exclaimed, "the Smithsonian
would never use manmade material in such a project as this garden.
That surface is granite!"
Mrs. Haupt nodded in satisfaction and continued her quiz. When she
finished, she turned to Secretary Ripley.
"I'm not interested
in putting money into a Zen garden," she said.
Faces fell.
"I'm only interested in financing the whole
thing. The entire garden. How much do you think it will cost?"
Since then it has been the Enid A. Haupt Garden
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The Enid A. Haupt Glass Garden, Howard A. Rusk
Institute , NYU Medical Center, New York City.
The gift of which Mrs. Haupt is proudest, the garden provides
not only a green respite from the sterile environs of the hospital,
but also a place where patients can engage in horticultural therapy.
The Conservatory at New York Botanical Garden,
New York City.
A gift of $5 million dollars saved the Victorian greenhouse from
an unseemly demise in a swamp. Beatifully restored, it is now
a showcase at the New York Botanical Garden.
The Haupt Fountains on the Ellipse, Washington,
D.C.
Working with First Lady Pat Nixon, Mrs. Haupt planned these dark
purple granite fountains, which lie between the White House and
the Washington Monument.
River Farm, Alexandria, Virigina.
When Mrs. Haupt bought River Farm and donated it to the American
Horticultural Society as their headquarters, her only stipulation
was that the grounds, all 27 acres, would be open to the public.
The Cloisters, New York City.
Mrs. Haupt's gift of $1.5 million dollars for the day-to-day maintenance
of the gardens at the Metropolitan Museum's collection of medieval
art illustrates well her understanding of the realities of preserving
large public gardens.
The Enid A. Haupt Library Annex , Horticultural Society
of New York, New York City
A quiet reading room with collections designed to appeal to children,
whom Mrs. Haupt hopes will discover the same love of gardening
that she did.
The National Wildflower Research Center, Austin,
Texas.
Mrs. Haupt helped First Lady Lady Bird Johnson to found this research
center for the preservation of wildflowers.
Monet's Studio, Giverny, France.
While painting her portrait, Gerard Van de Kemp happened to mention
to Mrs. Haupt that he was attempting to restore Monet's studio
and gardens at Giverny, specifically to provide a place for the
cultivation and display orchids. Not surprisingly, that was all
Mrs. Haupt needed to hear in order to provide a generous gift
to ensure the presence of orchids at Giverny.
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