Description
Old Westbury Gardens in Nassau County, New York is the former estate of businessman John Shaffer Phipps (1874–1958), an heir to the Phipps family fortune. Located at 71 Old Westbury Road in Old Westbury, the property was converted into a museum home in 1959. It is listed on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places and is open to the public.
Minou Burnham was born near the Loire Valley in France in the late 1920s. Her family moved to the Latin Quarter in Paris when she was a young woman. A survivor of the Nazi occupation, she was recognized by the U.S. Congress for her work with the French Resistance. In her teens, she socialized with figures like Sartre and Camus, and was asked by Picasso to model for him, though her mother intervened. After moving to America, in 1977, Minou began her artistic journey in New York City at the Art Students League. Her works are held in private collections across the United States, France, Spain, Monaco, and Switzerland. In 1985, her seascape of Orient Point was accepted into the Salon d’Automne in Paris, as was a painting of Monet’s home in 1986. She won multiple awards at the Art Students League in the early 2000s.
Condition: Generally very good with only light wear and handling.
References:
“The Long life of Old Westbury Gardens.” NY Times. https://www.nytimes.com/1998/11/15/nyregion/the-long-life-of-old-westbury-gardens.html (17 March 2025).
“Wilson Dry Dock.” Instagram. https://www.instagram.com/wilsonsdrydock/p/C5jbJWbOlUw/?img_index=1 (17 March 2025).
