| CATHARINE
AND DAVID HAMILTON |
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Our
host and hostess on last week’s trip to Paris and
Versailles were two Texas natives – Catharine
and David Hamilton who now make their home in
Chicago, as well as New York, Paris and
Normandy. Mrs. Hamilton is from old Amarillo oil money. When
they married, Mr. Hamilton’s asset was almost solely
his intelligence (according to friends he often reads a book
a night,
and has total recall of whatever he devours), and so it transpired
over the years he’s used his head to make a fortune in
several businesses including trucking, real estate and food
services.
Mrs. Hamilton long had an interest in France although her husband
had no interest in traveling to Europe. When they acquired
the old Wrigley apartment in Chicago – one of the city’s
largest, Catharine, who through her interest in decorating, had
developed an expertise in French symmetry and scale, replaced
the apartment’s old English paneling (which was donated
to a Chicago museum) with her first love - French.
When she finally persuaded her husband to visit France, it
took him no time to develop an enduring interest: they bought
a beautiful
chateau in Normandy that had belonged to Consuelo Vanderbilt
Balsan (the former Duchess of Marlborough) before
the Second World War, and a large apartment in the 8th arrondissement
(her only request to her husband – a purely American one – was
that it have a pool. It does).
It was David Hamilton’s personal interest in art of gardening
in France that led one day in the early 1990s to a tour that Olivier, the Vicomte de Rohan gave him of some of the gardens
of Versailles that led to the plot that was the ruin of the Trois
Fontaines Bosquet (the three fountains) that Le Notre,
Louis XIV’s garden architect, had built in the
late 1670s. The topic of restoring those fountains was broached
by Rohan.
As he recounted it, a few days later David Hamilton returned
with his wife to look at the mound that once had been one of
Le Notre’s gems three centuries before. He showed them
the area and outlined the history of its construction, subsequent
ruin, attempted restoration after Napoleon and subsequent abandonment,
suggesting to the Hamiltons that it would be a great gift to
see a complete restoration. He recalled how Catharine Hamilton
listened and looked around carefully but indicated no apparent
interest, leading him to assume that it was not to be. Then,
much to his surprise, just a few days later he heard from her:
she would take it on, she would see to the restoration of the
Trois Fontaines.
All told, it was about a seven-year project. Catharine Hamilton
came back to America and began her odyssey of raising the millions
to restore the fountains. There were several major fundraising
events at Versailles designed around this fundraising, the last
being the one this June 2004 when more than 400 Americans, among
others, donors, volunteers, media, family and friends attended
the dedication of the restored fountains.
Mrs. Hamilton is an exceedingly generous and kind hostess. I
was struck by the many many times she thanked everyone for their
participation, their donations, their volunteering, their assistance
is getting this project done. It was beyond courtesy; it was
an extending of the self, a sharing, an inclusiveness. The result
was a sense for everyone of belonging to the massive cultural
undertaking involving both the United States and France. The
Hamiltons brought that famous Texas warmth and hospitality along
with the famous American can-do to everything including their
parties and receptions at Versailles and in Paris. There were
lots of friends and family including her mother, Mrs.
Tennessee McNaughton, her sister Mrs. Marsh, whose husband owns the famous
Cadillac sculptures ranch in Texas and her daughters Elizabeth
and Tennessee.
Many wondered what the Hamiltons will do after the years spent
so intensely on this project. They may have no idea themselves
but no doubt they will move right along doing constructive interesting
things for themselves, their family and friends and even their
countries. |
Albemarle,
Rufus
Aston, Muffie Potter
Basso, Dennis
Benedict, Daniel
Capehart, Jonathan
Cominotto, Michael
Curry, Boykin
Dahl, Tessa
DeWoody, Beth Rudin
Duchin, Peter and Brooke
Duff, Patricia
Eaton, Phoebe
Fales-HIll, Susan
Fekkai, Frederic
THE FULL LIST
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