Rare Book Monthly

Articles - December - 2011 Issue

A Follow Up – Probate Court Examining Expenses of Wealthy Heiress

Huguetteandbill

Huguette Clark and her father at New York's Easter Parade in 1922.

This month we have an update on the case of Huguette Clark, the wealthy heiress who left the bulk of her estate, including her library and works of art, to a museum to be created to display her collection. They will be housed in Santa Barbara, California, in her 21,000 square-foot mansion, that will now become home to the museum. Ms. Clark was 104 years old when she died in May.

Huguette Clark was the last of seven children of Montana “Copper King” William Andrews Clark, once said to be second in wealth only to John D. Rockefeller. Her father was 67 years old when she was born in 1906 to the second of his two wives. He was already immensely wealthy when she was born, and she grew up in an enormous mansion he built in New York. Huguette was intensely close to her mother and older sister, Andrée, but evidently not to her four surviving half siblings from her father's first marriage. Sadly, her sister died in 1919 at age 16, a devastating blow to young Huguette. Her father died in 1925, but in 1928, at the age of 22, Huguette married William Gower, a law student who had worked for her father. The marriage was unhappy and brief. Later it was claimed the marriage was never consummated. We don't know, but the two were soon separated, and two years later divorced. She never remarried.

After that, the shy Huguette went into almost complete seclusion. There are no known photographs of her after 1930, though she lived another 80 years. She did go to social events on occasion with her mother, but by the 1950s, as her mother's health deteriorated, those became fewer, and after her mother died in 1963, she became a total recluse. By that time, all but one of her half siblings had been dead at least two and a half decades, and there seems to have been little if any contact with the one who survived to the 1970s. Nor did she have much contact with her half nephews and nieces, and grand nephews and nieces. In her final years, she apparently rejected any attempts at contact from them, or at least her advisors did. She totally withdrew into her private world, having contact only with a few advisors and caretakers, some of whom may have appreciated the shy and generous woman, others of whom may have more appreciated her money.

When she died, Ms. Clark was worth an estimated $400 million. That sounds like a lot, but her father left her around $60 million in 1925. Adjusting for inflation, that would be closer to a billion dollars today. She, or her advisors, did not manage her wealth particularly well. She owned the estate in Santa Barbara which will become the museum, but she had not visited it since the 1950s. In 1952, she also purchased another estate, closer to her New York home in Connecticut. She never even visited the place. Nevertheless, the estates have been maintained by caretakers and help in pristine condition all of these years. She also owned a 42-room apartment in New York, where she and her mother moved after her father's death. Even that she had not seen since 1988. Reportedly, she only inhabited a small corner of the apartment anyway. In 1988, Ms. Clark decided she needed to go to the hospital. She never returned. She remained in various hospital rooms the final 23 years of her life, though not suffering from any serious illness. She was just more comfortable in the small, protected surroundings.

When anyone with money dies, you can expect there will be conflicts, perhaps contesting of the will. When someone who makes Howard Hughes look like a social butterfly dies, you can expect all kinds of questions to be raised. Were the few people who had access to Ms. Clark, and managed her affairs, carrying out her wishes, or carrying out their own? They had exclusive access to a very elderly, very eccentric lady, who for her own psychological reasons, would be unlikely to ever contact a family member or other outsider on her own. Such a person would be a prime target for manipulation, but whether she was manipulated, or her wishes faithfully carried out, is something a court will have to decide.

The Probate Court demanded a complete accounting of money spent on Ms. Clark's behalf over the last 15 years of her life. She, or her representatives, spent a lot. The wife of her doctor received substantial payments over the years to manage some of her affairs, but she was also very friendly to Ms. Clark. The woman, like Ms. Clark, spoke French, and the reclusive heiress liked to speak in French, believing that would make her conversations more private. However, this woman died shortly before Ms. Clark, at the youthful age of 89.

The largest beneficiary (other than the museum) is her nurse, and also friend, Hadassah Peri. She received substantial bonuses over the years, sufficient to buy several houses and expensive cars, and is to receive another $33.6 million through the will. That immediately sounds suspicious, but perhaps not. Ms. Peri came to Ms. Clark 20 years ago, sent by an agency. Ms. Peri regularly visited her and spoke with her on the phone, practically every day over the years. There is no reason to question whether Ms. Peri, a poor immigrant from the Philippines, was not also a friend. Ms. Clark obviously took to her, and may have thought of Ms. Peri's children as something of the grandchildren she never had. For all her eccentricity, everyone who ever did get to know her spoke of Ms. Clark as a kind, caring, and generous person. She was just inordinately shy. It is not surprising she would have lavished a few million dollars over the years on Ms. Peri, considering she had so much money and no one else to leave it to.

Rare Book Monthly

  • <b><center>Koller Auctions<br>Books & Autographs<br>29 March 2023</b>
    <b>Koller, Mar. 29:</b> DADA - <i>Cabaret Voltaire.</i> A collection of artistic and literary contributions. Edited by Hugo Ball. CHF 5,000 to 8,000.
    <b>Koller, Mar. 29:</b> EXPRESSIONISM - <i>Der Sturm.</i> Weekly magazine for culture and the arts. Almost complete suite from the years 1910 to 1932. CHF 20,000 to 30,000.
    <b>Koller, Mar. 29:</b> LISBON EARTHQUAKE - <i>Augsburg collection of copper engravings of Lisbon. CHF 40,000 to 60,000.
    <b>Koller, Mar. 29:</b> Hamilton, William. <i>Campi Phlegraei. Observations on the Volcanos of the Two Sicilies as they have been communicated to the Royal Society of London.</i> Naples, 1776-1779. CHF 50,000 to 70,000.
    <b><center>Koller Auctions<br>Books & Autographs<br>29 March 2023</b>
    <b>Koller, Mar. 29:</b> Leonardi, Domenico Felice. <i>Le Delizie della villa di Castellazzo descritte in verso dall'abbate Domenico Felice Leonardi lucchese fra gli Arcadi Ildosio Foloetico.</i> Milan, 1743. CHF 12,000 to 18,000.
    <b>Koller, Mar. 29:</b> Zwingli, Huldrych. <i>Von erkiesen und freyhait der speisen. Von ergernusz und Verbößerung. Ob man gewalt hab die speyß zu etlichen zeyten verbieten [...]</i>. CHF 2,500 to 4,000.
    <b>Koller, Mar. 29:</b> HENDRIK VAN VULLENHOE, UMKREIS. Benedictional and other texts for Johannes von Venningen, Bishop of Basel. Latin manuscript on parchment. CHF 50,000 to 80,000.
    <b>Koller, Mar. 29:</b> Gujer, Hans Rudolf. Master typist's book by Hans Rudolf Gujer from Wermetschweil (Wermatswil). German manuscript on paper. CHF 3,000 to 5,000.
  • <b><center>Stargardt Autographenhandlung<br>Autographs: Literature, Music, Art, Science, History, Theatre & Film<br>March 28, 2023</b>
    <b>Stargardt Autographenhandlung, Mar. 28:</b> Johann Wolfgang von Goethe: Autograph album leaf signed, 1826. €9,000 to €12,000.
    <b>Stargardt Autographenhandlung, Mar. 28:</b> Franz Kafka: Autograph letter unsigned, 1924. €15,000 to €20,000.
    <b>Stargardt Autographenhandlung, Mar. 28:</b> Torquato Tasso: Autograph poem signed, no date. €12,000 to €16,000.
    <b><center>Stargardt Autographenhandlung<br>Autographs: Literature, Music, Art, Science, History, Theatre & Film<br>March 28, 2023</b>
    <b>Stargardt Autographenhandlung, Mar. 28:</b> Charles Darwin: Autograph letter signed, 1866. €4,500 to €6,000.
    <b>Stargardt Autographenhandlung, Mar. 28:</b> Albert Einstein: Autograph letter signed, 1933. €6,000 to €8,000.
    <b>Stargardt Autographenhandlung, Mar. 28:</b> Heinrich Hertz: Autograph manuscript signed, 1889. €18,000 to €24,000.
    <b><center>Stargardt Autographenhandlung<br>Autographs: Literature, Music, Art, Science, History, Theatre & Film<br>March 28, 2023</b>
    <b>Stargardt Autographenhandlung, Mar. 28:</b> Giambattista Bodoni: Autograph letter signed, 1787. €900 to €1,200.
    <b>Stargardt Autographenhandlung, Mar. 28:</b> Francisco de Goya: Autograph letter signed, 1789. €18,750 to €25,000.
    <b>Stargardt Autographenhandlung, Mar. 28:</b> Martin Luther: Notes from his desk, no date. €30,000 to €40,000.
    <b><center>Stargardt Autographenhandlung<br>Autographs: Literature, Music, Art, Science, History, Theatre & Film<br>March 28, 2023</b>
    <b>Stargardt Autographenhandlung, Mar. 28:</b> Ludwig van Beethoven: Autograph letter signed, 1816. €22,500 to €30,000.
    <b>Stargardt Autographenhandlung, Mar. 28:</b> Gustav Mahler: Foto portrait signed and annotated, 1907(?). €7,500 to €10,000.
    <b>Stargardt Autographenhandlung, Mar. 28:</b> Bed?ich Smetana: Autograph letter signed, 1883. €4,500 to €6,000.
  • <center><b>Forum Auctions<br>Fine Books, Manuscripts and Works on Paper<br>30th March 2023</b>
    <b>Forum, Mar. 30:</b> Roman binding.- Pindar. <i>Olympia, Pythia, Nemea, Isthmia,</i> translated by Johannes Lonicer, contemporary Roman binding by Niccolo Franzese, Basel, 1535. £40,000 to £60,000.
    <b>Forum, Mar. 30:</b> Raverat (Gwen). Comprehensive album of 530 wood engravings, circa 1909-1950. £40,000 to £60,000.
    <b>Forum, Mar. 30:</b> Hemingway (Ernest). <i>Fiesta,</i> first English edition, first impression dust-jacket, 1927. £15,000 to £20,000.
    <center><b>Forum Auctions<br>Fine Books, Manuscripts and Works on Paper<br>30th March 2023</b>
    <b>Forum, Mar. 30:</b> Fleming (Ian). <i>Casino Royale,</i> first edition, first impression, 1953. £12,000 to £18,000.
    <b>Forum, Mar. 30:</b> Dickens (Charles). <i>Great Expectations,</i> 3 vol., first edition, first impression, Chapman and Hall, 1861. £10,000 to £15,000.
    <b>Forum, Mar. 30:</b> Campbell (Colen) & others. <i>Vitruvius Britannicus, or The British Architect...,</i> 5 vol., vol.1-3 later editions, vol.4 & 5 first editions, [?1731]-31-67-71. £10,000 to £15,000.
    <center><b>Forum Auctions<br>Fine Books, Manuscripts and Works on Paper<br>30th March 2023</b>
    <b>Forum, Mar. 30:</b> Geography.- Mela (Pomponius). <i>Cosmographia, sive De situ orbis,</i> Venice, Franciscus Renner de Heilbronn, 1478. £8,000 to £12,000.
    <b>Forum, Mar. 30:</b> America.- [?Espinosa y Tello (José)]. <i>Relacion del Viage hecho por las Goletas Sutil y Mexicana en el Año de 1792,</i> 2 vol. including Atlas, first edition, Madrid, 1802. £8,000 to £12,000.
    <b>Forum, Mar. 30:</b> Australasia.- Péron (Francois) and Louis-Claude de Saulces de Freycinet. <i>Voyage de Découvertes aux Terres Australes,</i> 5 vol. including Atlas, second edition, Paris, 1824. £8,000 to £12,000.
    <center><b>Forum Auctions<br>Fine Books, Manuscripts and Works on Paper<br>30th March 2023</b>
    <b>Forum, Mar. 30:</b> Botany.- Curtis (William). <i>The Botanical Magazine; or, Flower-Garden Displayed,</i> 83 vol. in 62, 1794-1956. £8,000 to £12,000.
    <b>Forum, Mar. 30:</b> Darwin (Charles).- Lecky (W.E.H.) <i>The Rise and Influence of Rationalism in Europe,</i> 2 vol., Darwin's copy with inscription "Charles Darwin 1865", pencil marginalia and pencil notes, 1865. £7,000 to £10,000.
  • <b><center>Swann Auction Galleries<br>Printed & Manuscript African Americana:<br>March 30, 2023</b>
    <b>Swann March 30:</b> Victor H. Green, <i>The Negro Motorist Green Book,</i> New York, 1949. $10,000 to $15,000.
    <b>Swann March 30:</b> Papers of pianist-composer Lawrence Brown relating to Paul Robeson & more, various places, 1925-54. $5,000 to $7,500.
    <b>Swann March 30:</b> Freedom Summer archive of civil rights activist Karen Haberman Trusty, Atlanta & elsewhere, 1963-64. $5,000 to $7,500.
    <b>Swann March 30:</b> E. Simms Campbell, <i>A Night-Club Map of Harlem,</i> New York, 1933. $8,000 to $12,000.
    <b>Swann March 30:</b> Archive of letters from the sculptor Richmond Barthé to a close Jamaican friend, various places, 1966-85. $25,000 to $35,000.

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