Ava Alice Muriel Astor
Astor, c. 1920s
Born
Ava Alice Muriel Astor

(1902-07-07)July 7, 1902
New York City, U.S.
DiedJuly 19, 1956(1956-07-19) (aged 54)
New York City, U.S.
Burial placeRhinebeck Cemetery, Rhinebeck, New York, U.S.[1]
Spouses
​
​
(m. 1924; div. 1932)​
    ​
    ​
    (m. 1933; div. 1939)​
      Philip John Ryves Harding
      ​
      ​
      (m. 1940; div. 1945)​
        David Pleydell-Bouverie
        ​
        ​
        (m. 1946; div. 1952)​
        ChildrenPrince Ivan Sergeyevich Obolensky
        Princess Sylvia Sergeyevna Obolensky
        Romana von Hofmannsthal
        Emily Sophia Harding
        Parent(s)John Jacob Astor IV
        Ava Lowle Willing
        RelativesAstor family

        Ava Alice Muriel Astor (July 7, 1902 – July 19, 1956) was an American heiress, socialite, and member of the Astor family.[2] She was the daughter of John Jacob Astor IV and Ava Lowle Willing, and sister of Vincent Astor and half-sister of John Jacob Astor VI.

        Early life

        Ava Astor was born on July 7, 1902, in Manhattan, New York City. She was the only daughter of Colonel John Jacob "Jack" Astor IV (1864–1912) and Ava Lowle Willing (1868–1958).

        Her paternal grandparents were real estate businessman and race horse breeder/owner William Backhouse Astor, Jr. (1829–1892) and socialite Caroline Webster "Lina" Schermerhorn (1830–1908), while her maternal grandparents were businessman Edward Shippen Willing (1822–1906) and socialite Alice Bell Barton (1833–1903).[3]

        In September 1911, Ava and her mother moved to England. They lived in her townhouse on Grosvenor Square in Mayfair, London (from October–April) and her country estate, Sutton Place in Guildford, Surrey (from May–September), and she was educated at Notting Hill High School.

        Personal life

        On July 24, 1924, Ava Astor married Prince Sergei Platonovich "Serge" Obolensky, son of General Platon Sergeyevich Obolensky and Maria Konstantinovna Naryshkina, at Savoy Chapel in London. The marriage was considered the event of the season in England that year.

        Her brother Vincent gave her a Palladian Revival stone residence on his estate near Rhinebeck, New York. The house was north of his own "Ferncliff Casino" ("Astor Courts") and also overlooked the Hudson River.[4] Ava named it "Marienruh" and retained it through her life.[5] Before divorcing Serge in 1932, they had two children:

        On January 21, 1933, she married Raimund von Hofmannsthal (1906–1974), son of Gertrud Schlesinger and Hugo von Hofmannsthal, the Austrian poet, novelist, librettist, and dramatist. He was said to be the father of Sylvia.[9] The couple was married in the city court of Newark, New Jersey.[10] Together, the couple had a daughter:

        From 1936 to 1937, she had an affair with English choreographer Sir Frederick Ashton (1904–1988), despite the fact that he was gay. After the affair ended, her love for him continued, though she had two subsequent marriages.[13] Ava and Raimund eventually divorced in 1939, and Raimund later married Lady Elizabeth Paget (a daughter of Charles Paget, 6th Marquess of Anglesey).[14]

        On March 27, 1940, she married Philip John Ryves Harding (1906–1972), a journalist, in Faversham, England.[14] At the time of their wedding, Harding, a cousin of Maxwell Eley, was serving with an anti-aircraft battery in the British Army.[14] Before their divorce in 1945, they had one daughter:

        • Emily Sophia Harding (1941–2019), who married architect Michael Zimmer, a son of Heinrich Zimmer (and nephew of her second husband Raimund), on June 29, 1963.[15][16] They divorced and she later married Eric Glanbard and artist Clark Murray in 2017.[17]

        On May 12, 1946, she had her fourth and final marriage to David Pleydell-Bouverie (1911–1994), the grandson of William Pleydell-Bouverie, 5th Earl of Radnor, in Reading, Vermont.[18] Pleydell-Bouverie was an architect who studied at Charterhouse School in England.[18]

        Death

        Ava Astor House, Manhattan

        Astor died of a stroke in her 219 East Sixty-first Street apartment, Manhattan, New York City, on July 19, 1956, at age 54.[2] She predeceased her mother by two years.[3] She was a patron of the arts, including the ballet companies of London and New York City.

        Her will was admitted to probate on November 5, 1956, in Manhattan Surrogate Court. Her assets, totaling $5,305,000, (equivalent to approximately $57,101,799 in 2022 dollars)[19] were divided among her four children.[20] At her mother's death in 1958, her children received an additional $2,500,000 (equivalent to approximately $25,357,555 in 2022 dollars)[19][3]

        References

        1. ↑ "History".
        2. 1 2 "Mrs. Pleydell-Bouverie Dies Here. Daughter of Col. John Jacob Astor. Heiress, a Patron of Ballet Companies, Was 54. Did War Work in Britain". The New York Times. July 20, 1956. Retrieved February 17, 2009. Mrs. Ava Pleydell-Bouverie, the former Ava Alice Muriel Astor, a sister of Vincent Astor, died yesterday of a stroke at her home, 219 East Sixty-first Street. She had a country home in Rhinebeck, NY.
        3. 1 2 3 Times, Special To The New York (June 14, 1958). "Lady Ribblesdale Leaves $3,000,000". The New York Times. Retrieved February 2, 2017.
        4. ↑ "Luxist". Luxist.com. June 21, 2010. Archived from the original on September 23, 2013. Retrieved January 27, 2017.
        5. ↑ "An Astor Legacy fit for celebrating Chelsea Clinton's wedding". New York Social Diary. July 8, 2010. Archived from the original on July 9, 2014. Retrieved January 27, 2017.
        6. ↑ "Paid Notice: Deaths GUIREY, SYLVIA OBOLENSKY". The New York Times. July 1, 1997. Retrieved February 2, 2017.
        7. ↑ Jean-Louis Ganshof van der Meersch: Saint-Gilles, Belgium, July 14, 1924 – Le Temple, Lacanau, France August 22, 1982
        8. ↑ Prince Azamat Kadir Guirey: New York, New York County, New York, August 14, 1924 – The Bahamas, August 8, 2001
        9. ↑ Baker, Anne Pimlott (2004). "Guirey [née Obolensky], Princess Sylvia (1931–1997), artist and art patron". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/67153. ISBN 978-0-19-861412-8. Retrieved September 6, 2020. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
        10. ↑ "Astor Heiress Wed Quietly in Jersey. Princess Obolensky Becomes Bride of Raimund von Hof-mannsthal of Austria. Troth Not Announced. Ceremony Performed Saturday by Police Court Judge. Couple Left Immediately for Europe". The New York Times. January 24, 1933. Retrieved February 16, 2009.
        11. ↑ Times, Special To The New York (October 22, 1957). "Niece Of Astor Is Future Bride. Romana von Hofmannstahl Engaged to Rory McEwen, Spectator's Art Director". The New York Times. Retrieved February 2, 2017.
        12. ↑ Times, Special To The New York (April 16, 1958). "Niece of Astor Wed in London To Art Director; Miss von Hofmannsthal Is Married to Roderick McEwen of Spectator". The New York Times. Retrieved February 2, 2017.
        13. ↑ Kaplan, Fred (1999). Gore Vidal : a biography. New York: Doubleday. p. 318. ISBN 0385477031.
        14. 1 2 3 "Astor Heiress Wed To Philip Harding. Mrs. Ava von Hofmannsthal British Journalist's Bride". The New York Times. March 29, 1940. Retrieved February 17, 2009. The marriage of Mrs. Ava von Hofmannsthal, the former Miss Ava Astor, daughter of John Jacob Astor IV, who was lost on the Titanic, and of Lady Ribblesdale. ...
        15. ↑ "Michael Zimmer Becomes Fiance Of Miss Harding; Graduate of Harvard to Wed Descendant of John Jacob Astor". The New York Times. May 27, 1963. Retrieved March 17, 2023.
        16. ↑ Times, Special to The New York (June 30, 1963). "Michael Zimmer Weds Miss Emily S. Harding". The New York Times. Retrieved March 17, 2023.
        17. ↑ "Emily Sophia Harding". The Poughkeepsie Journal. September 22, 2019. Retrieved March 17, 2023.
        18. 1 2 "Mrs. Ava Harding Is Wed In Vermont. Daughter of Lady Ribblesdale and Late Col. Astor Bride of David Pleydell-Bouverie". The New York Times. May 15, 1946. Retrieved February 17, 2009. Mrs. Ava Alice Muriel Astor Harding, only daughter of Lady Ribblesdale and the late Col. John Jacob Astor, who was lost on the Titanic, was married Sunday in Reading, Vt., to David Pleydell-Bouverie of this city and Glen Ellen, Calif., it was announced here yesterday. This is the fourth marriage for the bride, who is a sister of Vincent Astor
        19. 1 2 1634–1699: McCusker, J. J. (1997). How Much Is That in Real Money? A Historical Price Index for Use as a Deflator of Money Values in the Economy of the United States: Addenda et Corrigenda (PDF). American Antiquarian Society. 1700–1799: McCusker, J. J. (1992). How Much Is That in Real Money? A Historical Price Index for Use as a Deflator of Money Values in the Economy of the United States (PDF). American Antiquarian Society. 1800–present: Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis. "Consumer Price Index (estimate) 1800–". Retrieved May 28, 2023.
        20. ↑ "Lost Will Disposes Of $5,305,000 Estate". The New York Times. November 6, 1956. Retrieved February 17, 2009. Surrogate William T. Collins admitted to probate yesterday the lost will of Mrs. Ava Pleydell-Bouverie, which disposes of her $5,305,000 estate. She was the sister of Vincent Astor.
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