Henry Gurdon Marquand

Marquand was a member of the Provisional Committee of fifty men assembled in 1869 to establish a museum of art in New York City. As a member of the building committee and president of the Museum's board of trustees,[5] he witnessed the physical growth of the Metropolitan Museum of Art from various temporary quarters to its permanent home on the eastern edge of Central Park. Marquand, a personal friend and client of museum architect Richard Morris Hunt,[5] was in large part responsible for the realization of the project to extend and reorient the distinctive Beaux-Arts façade entrance east to Fifth Avenue, pushing for the plans to be carried out by Hunt's son (Richard Howland Hunt) after the death of the renowned architect. He was also the first honorary member of the American Institute of Architects.[1] Marquand was also a significant contributor to the Museum's collection, particularly in the area of European paintings.[6] This donation included, among other old master works, Johannes Vermeer's Woman with a Water Jug, the first Vermeer to enter a United States collection and which scholars now agree is one of only thirty-seven known works by the artist.[2]

Marquand was also a benefactor of the Metropolitan Museum of Art Schools[7] and Princeton University, donating funds for the creation of the Bonner-Marquand Gymnasium and the Marquand Chapel (the latter designed by Richard Morris Hunt).[8]

In the early 1870s, Marquand hired Richard Morris Hunt to design and build a home for him in Newport, Rhode Island, which became known as Linden Gate, on the corner of Rhode Island Avenue and Old Beach Road.[27] The elaborate stone, brick and wooden house that featured five red brick fireplaces was built by C.H. Burdick for Marquand between 1872 and 1873 and is representative of Hunt's earlier work.[28] He had bought the property, a parcel that was originally a part of the 'Perry Farm", from Mary Gibbs, widow of George Gibbs for $32,165 in July 1871.[29] Another parcel was bought for $22,000 in June 1876 and a third parcel for $34,000 in April 1881. In 1883, Marquand had Hunt remodel the original interiors together with enlarging the dining room and adding the service wing. He also built a brick lodge at the northeast corner of the estate.[29] In 1913, the music room was added to the east and another entrance was added to the south.[29]

After his death, the estate was purchased by the Rev. Dr. Roderick Terry, wife of his eldest daughter Linda, for $100,000 in December 1914.[29] They were noted for their entertaining in Newport.[30][31][32] Both Linda and Roderick died at Linden Gate, and the house was inherited by their son and Marquand's grandson, lawyer Roderick,[33] who owned the home until his death in 1951.[34] It was later divided into an apartment house before being destroyed by a fire in 1973.[35]

Marquand's house on Madison Avenue

A trompe l'oeil glass, c. 1884, Eugène Stanislas Oudinot, designed by Hunt for Marquand's New York home

Marquand again hired architect Richard Morris Hunt to design his home, and two smaller homes, on the northwest corner of Madison Avenue and 68th Street in New York City. His residence occupying a large plot 42+1⁄2 feet on the Avenue and 120 feet on the Street, faced 68th Street with the two smaller houses opening on to Madison Avenue with the three residences blending into a unified whole with balconies, gables, and multi-level mansard roofs. The large red brick with limestone trim home was designed in the "French transitional" style, melding elements of Renaissance and Gothic Revival, took three years to build and was completed in 1884 to accommodate his extensive art collection. The mansion was decorated in the Victorian fashion and was heavily influenced by Aestheticism. Marquand hired Sir Frederick Leighton (president of the Royal Academy), Louis Comfort Tiffany, John La Farge, Ellin & Kitson, Sir Edward Poynter, and Sir Lawrence Alma-Tadema to design the lush themed rooms and furniture.[36] He filled the hallways and galleries of the home his renowned collection of antiquities and artworks, including works by the old masters including Anthony van Dyck, Frans Hals, Rembrandt, and Johannes Vermeer.[24]

After being vacant for five years, 816 Madison Avenue, one of the adjacent homes was rented by Marquand to former President Grover Cleveland. It was later the home of his youngest daughter Elisabeth and her husband Harold Godwin.[37] The other adjoining house, 814 Madison Avenue, was occupied by Marquand's daughter, Mabel Marquand Ward. After his death, the house sat vacant for seven years before it was sold for $500,000 to a syndicate led by former New York State Senator George B. Agnew and torn down in April 1912.[37] In May 1912, a syndicate led by architect Herbert Lucas acquired 814 and 816 Madison Avenue from Marquand's daughters, which were also torn down.[38] All three were replaced by one large 12-story apartment building at 11 East 68th Street, today owned by HFZ Capital Group and known as The Marquand,[36] home to many prominent people, including William H. Force, sculptor Evelyn Beatrice Longman, and Elie Hirschfeld.[39]