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Tribute to Mollie Wilmot by Sir James Murray
Tributes to Mollie in the press obituaries praised her as a knowledgeable patron of the arts, a generous philanthropist, a keen supporter of horse racing and a loyal friend. Mollie was all these things. But it is not about these worthy aspects of her character that I intend to talk about this morning.
I firmly believe that the good Lord put Mollie Wilmot on this earth not for good works, but to brighten all our lives with a dash of color. Mollie was a strikingly colorful character in looks and personality, in her surroundings and in her conduct.
We all must have our favorite memories of occasions in which Mollie starred. My own is of her arrival on big race days at the grandstand at the Saratoga racetrack. She would be dressed in a French couture suit of much brightness and great expense, with an extremely short skirt. She would be on heels of an elevation designed for showing off elegance of leg rather than for ease of walking and her fingernails were clearly for display rather than for the mundane tasks of ordinary life. On arrival at the passageway behind the front-row boxes she would glance around to ascertain who was who, and then begin her progress, stopping every few steps to chat with a friend in an adjacent box or to wave to a more distant acquaintance. Her attendant courtiers, including myself and sometimes my wife, would follow at a respectful distance anxious not to dim the luster of the royal progress of their hostess.
Her nocturnal activities were no less colorful. She loved dressing up for the ball but it was my impression that she loved even more holding court with a few friends after the ball was over. She was incorrigible about staying up late. She liked good conversation. She took a highly intelligent and admirably non-partisan interest in politics. No politician was safe from her ascerbic observations. I have pleasant memories of sessions lasting until three, four or even five in the morning. Indeed some of her guests with less stamina than her own were sometimes faced with the decision whether or not they would incur more of Mollie's displeasure by going off to bed or by dozing off in her presence.
Mollie insisted on color in her surroundings. Her favorites were dazzling white- always a color for Mollie- burnished gold, and a dash of red. She had a passion for gloriously ornate antique French furniture and white orchid plants- a taste which she indulged to the full in her house in Palm Beach and her apartment in the Pierre.
Above all, Mollie had the gift of turning the ordinary proceedings of life into the stuff of which legends are made. For me her most notable achievement in this was the affair of the Mercedes, the rusty tramp ship stranded on her property in Palm Beach. My wife and I were there that first morning. We recall Mollie taking charge of the motley and dispirited crew and arranging hospitality for them in the elegant garden marquee, equally concerned that the men should be well looked after and that the seats of their pants should not sully the upholstery of the garden furniture, which, needless to say, was white. We recall the debate about the future of the ship's cat, which we were ready to take to Brooklyn but which subsequently enjoyed a fashionable social life in Palm Beach under the tutelage of Ms. Pulitzer. And then there were the press photographs of the rusting hull blocking the view of the sea, but their main feature was Mollie posed in the foreground.
Subsequently there was indeed talk of making a musical about the unsinkable Mollie Wilmot. I am glad it was never made. No actress would have done justice to the role of Mollie. But all in all Mollie turned what could have been a tiresome administrative chore into an entertainment for her friends and the world at large.
It has been said of Lord Byron that he could start a trend just by walking into a room. I would hesitate to describe Mollie as Byronic. But no room she entered remained quite the same. We are all grateful for the color she brought into all our lives. Alas, she is gone from us, and the world is a grayer place without her.
PROPERTY FROM THE ESTATE OF MOLLIE WILMOT
(Lots 1-116)
A PAIR OF LOUIS XV STYLE ORMOLU CHENETS
LATE 19TH/EARLY 20TH CENTURY, PREVIOUSLY ATTACHED TO A FURTHER BASE
Details
A PAIR OF LOUIS XV STYLE ORMOLU CHENETS
Late 19th/Early 20th Century, previously attached to a further base
Each cast as a graduated staircase leading to acanthus scrolls, surmounted by a dog
12in. (30.5cm.) high, 9in. (23cm.) wide (2)
Late 19th/Early 20th Century, previously attached to a further base
Each cast as a graduated staircase leading to acanthus scrolls, surmounted by a dog
12in. (30.5cm.) high, 9in. (23cm.) wide (2)