Remembering American Philanthropist and Gardener Harriet Barnes Pratt

On this day, March 18th, 1969, the philanthropist and gardener Harriet Barnes Pratt died.

Harriet had married Harold Irving Pratt, the youngest son of the Pratt Institute's founder and a founder of Standard Oil, which became Exxon.

Harriet and Harold lived on a beautiful estate in Glen Cove, Long Island, which they called Welwyn.

During their free time, the two worked together to install and design their gardens. Charles would site the locations, and Harriet would design the gardens and select the plants.

The Pratts wanted flowers blooming in their gardens all year long. In this regard, they often referenced something that Sir Francis Bacon had said,

There ought to be gardens for all the months of the year.

Harriet did tremendous work with the New York Botanical Garden throughout her life, and she spearheaded many initiatives - like a beautiful flower show in the museum building back in 1915.

But regarding her horticultural achievements, Harriet is remembered for coming up with the idea for Gardens on Parade - a half-acre, stunning display during the 1939 World's Fair.

Harriet led the effort to secure funding for this magnificent exhibition.

After her visit on June 13, 1940, Eleanor Roosevelt wrote,

"I visited the "Gardens on Parade" at the New York World's Fair this morning. They are delightful.

Mrs. Harold Irving Pratt and all the other ladies connected with the gardens were very charming...

They sent me away with a sweet little corsage of carnations, which gave off the most delicate perfume all the way back to Washington."

In today's show notes and over on the Facebook group for the show, I've included a link to a website that includes many, many photos of Harriet's beautiful Gardens on Parade, which was described in the Herald Tribune at the time as the most spectacular, most magnificent, most gorgeous exhibition of flowers, shrubs, and other horticultural beauties ever assembled.

As for Harriet's garden at Welwyn, we owe a debt of gratitude to garden photographer Frances Benjamin Johnston, who immortalized the gardens in her lantern slides. Johnston went around the country and tried to capture many of America's top gardens, including Welwyn.

One of Welwyn's most outstanding elements was the The Young Diana sculpture in the garden. 

American sculptor Janet Scudder created The Young Diana. The Young Diana was one of her most successful pieces.

Janet's Young Diana was included in international exhibitions in Europe and America in the 1910s. Harriet loved it on sight and commissioned an $800 custom version of The Young Diana for Welwyn's gardens. The Young Diana rested on a marble pedestal supported by four greyhounds and embellished with frogs.

Today, the Pratt Young Diana has been lost to time. It disappeared after Harriet's death when the estate was distributed. In 2014, a copy of the Pratt Young Diana was sold at Sotheby's for over $200,000.

The Pratt estate is now known as the Welwyn Preserve and is part of the Nassau County park system. The preserve hosts the Holocaust Memorial & Educational Center.