rebekah harkness wedding

But the result was disastrous. © 2020 Condé Nast. Donning a black chiffon Mainbocher dress with a white silk back-tied apron, she flashed a wry smile at the camera. In the first verse of “The Last Great American Dynasty,” Swift sings that the ceremony “was charming, if a little gauche / There’s only so far new money goes.”. A patron of dance and medicine. Name variations: Betty Harkness. Yet it’s also impossible to avoid drawing parallels between Swift and Harkness. In 1947, Rebekah married husband number two, Standard Oil heir William "Bill" Harkness, whom she met at Watch Hill, her parents' summer holiday mansion in Rhode Island. The song focuses on Rebekah Harkness, a divorcee who famously married into the Standard Oil fortune in 1947, and patron to several New York City dance companies. Before the performance, Swift explained the story behind the tune: It's about Rebekah Harkness, a real character who owned Swift's Rhode Island mansion before she did. Here, we … A year later, she married William Hale Harkness, a wealthy investor and a co-founder of Time magazine. Rebekah the Socialite Though Harkness came from money, she achieved a new status level with her marriage (Harkness’ second) to William Hale Harkness, courtesy of … The wedding was charming, if a little gauche There's only so far new money goes The newly married couple moved into "Holiday House," but after suffering two heart attacks William Harkness died in 1954 leaving Rebekah an exorbitantly wealthy widow. [3] Harkness would also continue to study dance and piano, and studied ballet with Victoria Cassau, who was a student of Anna Pavlova. [15] They divorced in 1965. [23] In 2020, Swift wrote the song "The Last Great American Dynasty" for her eighth studio album Folklore (2020), in which she tells Harkness' life story. Rebekah married William Hale Harkness, the heir to the Standard Oil fortune. She poured money into Harkness House, a dance studio meant to mimic the grandeur of European ballet schools, outfitting it with a marble staircase, silk shades, and a crystal chandelier. A philanthropist, Harkness supported the Joffery Ballet for years, as well as the Harkness Ballet Foundation and the William Hale Harkness Foundation. Harkness, the anti-heroine of “The Last Great American Dynasty,” was born in 1915 and married her second of four husbands, Standard Oil tycoon William Hale Harkness, in 1947. In 1946, when Annabelle was 2, her mother divorced Dickson Pierce. The Holiday House was once owned by Rebekah Harkness. [1] Before their divorce in 1946, they had two children; Allen Pierce (b. She married her second husband, Standard Oil heir William Hale Harkness, in 1947. In addition to her marriage to one of the wealthiest men in the country, Harkness also became well known for her eccentricities, as well as her contributions to the arts. The caption read: “A young woman with a surprising range of interests, Mrs. Harkness is a sculptor, a musician of professional standing (she’s a member of ASCAP), a skier (she’ll soon off to her chalet in Gstaad with her three children for a holiday), and an active supporter of many charities.” Below her in the spread? Her marriage to William Hale "Bill" Harkness, an attorney and heir to the Standard Oil fortune of William L. Harkness, made her one of the wealthiest women in America. She attended the Rossman School and John Burroughs School in St. Louis, and then the Fermata School for Girls in Aiken, South Carolina, which she graduated from in 1932. But why? Upon her death in 1982, Rebekah Harkness was called many things in her New York Times obituary. Together, the pair resided in Rhode Island, in a home called "Holiday House" that Swift now owns. , if a little loud Harkness Foundation, Harkness had her Bitch Pack, Swift ’ s also impossible avoid. 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