ABOUT THE LECTURE:

Bunny Mellon’s legacy favors her reputation as one of this country’s greatest self-taught landscape designers. Her unwavering, talented eye for beauty, however, broadened that public recognition as one of the twentieth century’s most understated icons of interior design. Public figures (and friends) such as Givenchy and Schlumberger knew her well but many others did not. This lecture by her grandson, Thomas Lloyd and Oak Spring Garden Foundation President Peter Crane, aims to reveal a more personal side of Mrs. Mellon. By sharing beautiful personal pictures of her beautiful houses, interwoven with personal family stories, a deeper appreciation can be garnered as to what tenets influenced her unique style and aesthetic.

SPEAKER BIOS:

Sir Peter Crane FRS is President of the Oak Spring Garden Foundation in Virginia, an estate of Rachel Lambert Mellon that includes an exquisite garden as well as an exceptional library focused on plants, gardens, and landscape design. He was at the Field Museum in Chicago from 1982–1999, and Director of The Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew from 1999–2006, before being appointed University Professor at The University of Chicago. In 2009 he was recruited as Dean of the Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies (now Yale School of the Environment). Peter Crane was knighted in the UK for services to horticulture and conservation in 2004. He is a member of several national science academies and the recipient of honorary degrees from universities in the UK and US, including an honorary doctorate from Cambridge University in the UK. He received the International Prize for Biology in 2014.

Thomas Lloyd is President of the Gerard B. Lambert Foundation, founded by his grandmother, Bunny Mellon. He is a Certified Financial Planner© who specializes in developing individual financial plans for high-net-worth individuals and institutions. He currently serves on the boards of The Trustees Council of the National Gallery of Art, The Institute of Classical Art & Architecture, and the PEN/Faulkner Foundation. Lloyd lives in Washington, D.C. with his two children Teddy and Fiona.