Looking over the slide show here in this morning’s New York Times, I was struck by how similar the aesthetic was to the Greentree estate of the Whitney family on Long Island.  I had the good fortune to spend a few days there earlier this year, and I wrote about it for a column here in Governing. Of course, there are reasons not to be surprised about the similarities of the two estates. Both the Mellons and the Whitneys were/are extremely wealthy families that loved the rural life and were really into horses. They must have known each other. Were they friends or enemies?

Being a Virginian by birth, I have some affinity for the Mellons. I read Paul Mellon’s autobiography shortly after it came out in 1992, and I was struck by his good nature and honesty. He and others in his family had excellent taste, and to that family we owe the National Gallery in Washington DC, as well as the Virginia Museum in Richmond. It’s Paul Mellon’s wife, Bunny Mellon, who has just died at age 103 and who is leaving the estate that the Times is profiling. Her husband’s role as a collector and patron of the arts seems curiously underplayed in the story. I may go by Sotheby’s during the 10 days starting on Nov. 10th and take a look at some of the stuff.

More gossip, before I leave the subject. Paul Mellon’s father was Andrew Mellon, who was treasury secretary in the 1920s and a big player in the financial world. You can see him as a character, not so flatteringly portrayed, on Boardwalk Empire. Escaping his father’s desire for him to go into banking was a big turning point and crisis in Paul Mellon’s life, which he speaks of in his autobiography.