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She had homes at 960 Fifth Avenue, a beach house in Atlantic Beach, NY, and a 121-acre estate in Syosset, New York on Long Island. Her obituary in The New York Times called her the "Richest Woman in U.S." [1]
Aug 19, 2011 · Terra Mar, Syosset, Long Island Ailsa Mellon Bruce. When Ailsa Mellon died in 1969, her estate was valued at more than $570 million, widely regarded as the richest woman in the United States.
Apr 2, 2010 · Click HERE to see the brochure from when ' Woodside ' was for sale and HERE to see ' Woodside ' on google earth. The 107 acre estate had been operating as the Woodcrest Country Club but they recently filed for bankruptcy and the place is set to be auctioned off on May 6th with a starting bid of $10 million. Pictures from Architectural Review, 1919.
Ailsa Mellon Bruce was a noted philanthropist and patron of the arts. In 1940, she established the Avalon Foundation, which made grants to cultural institutions, colleges and universities, hospitals, youth and community service organizations, churches, and conservation projects.
In 1926 she married David K. E. Bruce, who became a distinguished diplomat and also served as the National Gallery's president (1939-1945). Ailsa and David divorced in 1945. Mrs. Mellon Bruce established the Avalon Foundation in 1940, which, among other things, funded the Gallery's Andrew W. Mellon Lectures in the Fine Arts.
Ailsa was the only daughter of Pittsburgh banker and National Gallery Founder Andrew W. Mellon [1855-1937] and his wife Nora McMullen Mellon [d. 1973], who divorced in 1912. The son of Irish immigrant Thomas Mellon [1813-1908] and his wife Sarah Jane Negley [1817-1909], Andrew W. Mellon was born in Pittsburgh.
National Gallery of Art, Ailsa Mellon Bruce Collection, 1970.20.1. Paul Mellon’s sister, Ailsa Mellon Bruce (1901–1969), was devoted to her father’s legacy and became the National Gallery’s single greatest benefactor during John Walker’s directorship (1956–1969).
