Her grandiose apartment at the illustrious Carlyle Hotel was pillaged by friends, family and acquaintances. Rebekah Harkness became one of the wealthiest women in America after she inherited her husband's vast Standard Oil fortune when he died in 1953. Harkness completely renovated Holiday House, their Rhode Island mansion. Rebekah married William Hale Harkness, the heir to the Standard Oil fortune. 'If a dancer required a nose job or orthodontics, she paid the bill,' wrote Unger. William Harkness' great uncle had originally staked John D. Rockefeller in the founding of the company in 1870. Jane Remer the assistant director of the company recalled: 'I sat at a desk worth more than my apartment! The comments below have not been moderated. Edith, Rebekah's youngest daughter raided her mother's pills. Her house in Watch Hill, RI (Rhode Island) was inspiration for one of the songs on the album. The Harknesses were married for a brief period—just seven years. Swift also shared that every single room of Holiday House “has a different anecdote about Rebekah Harkness.” Clearly, Swift is fascinated with the home's former owner, and we … She jumped off roofs and overdosed on pills and lived through both events. And one of those stories is about Holiday House, Swift’s vacation home in wealthy Watch Hill, R.I. — or, more specifically, one of its former owners. Is there a chic way to go? She married twice more; built a ballet theater in New York; studied orchestration; and, according to her biographer, spent most of her fortune. She was the second daughter of three children to Allen Tarwater West, a ... Harkness' "Holiday House" in Watch Hill, Rhode Island was acquired in 2013 by American singer-songwriter Taylor Swift. She wrote in her scrapbook that she set out to 'do everything bad.' Together, the pair resided in Rhode Island, in a home called "Holiday House" that Swift now owns. . Other antics included dyeing a cat green, and dyeing chocolate mousse blue—why not? . These continued after her husband's death, with guests including Andy Warhol, J.D. Her disgracefully exploitative partner, Bobby Scevers told Unger: 'It was complete chaos. holiday house rhode island address. It’s got … a lengthy semi-nonfictional track about Rebekah Harkness, a St. Louis–born debutante who married the heir to Standard Oil, bought a giant house in Rhode Island, lived a … "The Last Great American Dynasty" references Taylor's massive Rhode Island mansion (where she used to hold her annual Fourth of July parties) and tells the story of the house's … Locals Just Shake It Off. Salinger and Salvador Dali. Watch Hill is an affluent coastal village and census-designated place in the town of Westerly, Rhode Island.The population was 154 at the 2010 census. Rebekah attended finishing school at Fermata in South Carolina where her fellow classmates were fixtures in American aristocracy: Roosevelts, Auchinclosses and Biddles. The early years Rebekah West was born in … Taylor Swift's Watch Hill, Rhode Island, Home. Watch Hill. In 1957, Harkness keeled over at Holiday House while sitting for a sculpture Rebekah was working on, dead from a heart attack. Iyengar and her pet raccoon. . The two purchased a mansion in Watch Hill, Rhode Island, which they nicknamed Holiday House. She indulged in the luxuries her frugal dead husband frowned upon: a ski chalet in Switzerland, a palatial penthouse in Madison Avenue's exclusive Westbury Hotel, endless amounts of champagne and curious 'vitamin B injections' from New York's infamous Dr. Feelgood. Both ended in divorce. They share a taste in real estate (she used to own Swift's Rhode Island mansion) and making headlines. She cleaned her pool with Dom Perignon, dyed chocolate mousse blue and made enemies when she dyed her neighbor's cat lime-green in revenge. Should Taylor Swift Really Be Awarded by GLAAD? After her husband’s death, Harkness renovated the home she owned in Watch Hill, Rhode Island. Locals Just Shake It Off. Rebekah, who also founded her own ballet company, died of cancer in 1982. Harkness "Holiday House" Harkness "Holiday House" Sold. "Gradually, Holiday House, as the Watch Hill estate was called, began to acquire the character of Rebekah's private salon. First, a brief biography: Born Rebekah Semple West in St. Louis in 1915, Harkness was a divorcée whose second marriage was to Standard Oil heir William Hale Harkness. Unlike Harkness, though, Swift never tried to install a dome in her backyard as a practice space for ballet dancers. This content is created and maintained by a third party, and imported onto this page to help users provide their email addresses. She employed nine people in … With millions to burn her life descended into chaos and excess, defined by drugs, insanity, suicide, subsequent marriages, and homes all around the world. December 2, 2020 By Gregory Pettys 12 Comments. Her daughter Ann was forced to tote the rest of her mother's remains in a Gristede's shopping bag. [10] In 2013, Swift bought the legendary Watch Hill mansion for $17.75 million in a reportedly all-cash deal, per the New York Times. When she died of cancer at the age 67, Harkness was placed inside a $250,000 art piece called the Chalice of Life designed by Salvador Dalí. The Harknesses shared a HUGE Watch Hill, Rhode Island mansion, called the … Together, the pair resided in Rhode Island, in a home called "Holiday House" that Swift now owns. Additional Details: In the lower right located on the high hill which was once an Indian lookout post, lies the elegant "Holiday House," summer cottage of Mrs. William Hale Harkness. She paid Andy Warhol to run production design. Taylor Swift’s House on the Hill . Published: 23:26 GMT, 24 July 2020 | Updated: 20:42 GMT, 1 November 2020, Taylor Swift's, new song titled 'The Last Great American Dynasty' is about Rebekah Harkness, the scandal-ridden socialite who once owned the Watch Hill, Rhode Island mansion Swift purchased in 2013, Taking a break from her deeply intimate, autobiographical anthems, Taylor Swift's eighth album,'Folklore' is a collection of songs written 'from the perspective of people I've never met.' Swifts lyrics read: 'Bill was the heir to the Standard Oil name and money/ And the town said, 'How did a middle-class divorcée do it? But then again, just last year, Swift told Ellen DeGeneres that her favorite place to go on holiday was still Rhode Island. She studied under Frederick Werle and Nadia Boulanger and wrote over 100 different compositions in her lifetime, some of which were performed at Carnegie Hall. Harkness was the second daughter of three children, born in 1915 to a socially prominent St. Louis family. A dancer is quoted in the New York Times: 'We were the favorites. Taylor Finally Addresses BLM Movement on Twitter. She was raised by a nanny who was vetted by her work in an insane asylum. Rebekah attended finishing school at Fermata in South Carolina where her fellow classmates were fixtures in American aristocracy like the Roosevelts and Auchinclosses. Their Rhode Island estate, Holiday House, was the site of some raucous Gatsby-esque parties: Blue Blood recalls that Harkness once filled her pool with Dom Perignon (which, oddly, was not the only liberty she took with libations: it’s also said she put scotch in her fish tank). Her parents hired a nanny for Harkness specifically because she "had worked in an insane asylum," and then Harkness went to finishing school, where she decided to "do everything bad. According to the New York Times, when Harkness did that, the neighbors sued to have it removed. It’s based on a story about Rebekah West Pierce Harkness, known as Betty to her friends. Her first marriage was to W. Dickson Pierce, an 'upper-class advertising photographer' whom she had two children with: Allen Pierce and Ann Terry Pierce. ', But few people lived more tortured lives than Harkness' three children. Together, the pair resided in Rhode Island, in a home called "Holiday House" that Swift now owns. The couple married in 1947 and purchased the … She once rang J. D. Salinger's doorbell dressed as a cleaning lady. The outcast socialite name-checked in Taylor Swift's new album turned her Rhode Island mansion into an artists colony where she entertained a cast of bohemian friends like Salvador Dali and yogi, named B.K.S. Learn the story of Rebekah Harkness, the subject of Taylor Swift's song "The Last Great American Dynasty," who once owned her home in Rhode Island. And, she brought her guests around town "in her own antique fire engine." And one of those stories is about Holiday House, Swift’s vacation home in wealthy Watch Hill, R.I. — or, more specifically, one of its former owners. After Rebekah's death from stomach cancer in 1982, the New York Times wrote: 'Mr. Iyengar and her pet raccoon, Harkness is most well known for the chaotic legacy she left behind. Taylor Swift also compares her life to Rebekah Harkness whether it was about their lavish parties or to the harsh criticism they faced. The couple married in 1947 and purchased the seaside Rhode Island home that Taylor now owns and named it 'Holiday House.' "Gradually, Holiday House, as the Watch Hill estate was called, began to acquire the character of Rebekah's private salon. Rebekah Semple West was born in St. Louis, Missouri in 1915. ', Harkness arranged to have her ashes stored in an ornate, $250,000 urn designed by her long time friend, Salvador Dali. She once rang J. D. Salinger's doorbell dressed as a cleaning lady. 'If a dancer required a nose job or orthodontics, she paid the bill,' wrote Unger. The two purchased a mansion in Watch Hill, Rhode Island, which they nicknamed Holiday House. At first, Rebekah showed genuine affection for the child but according to the New York Times, 'Her passion, such as it was, burned itself out quickly, coincidentally with the baby's pulling a ribbon out of her hair.'. Enjoy your Westerly Life // Westerly RI. You may be able to find more information about this and similar content at piano.io, The True Story of Selena Quintanilla's Death, The Best Valentine’s Day Songs of All Time, Bad Bunny and Girlfriend Are Instagram Official, Blake Shelton & Gwen Stefani's Love Story, BTS Delivers A "Dynamite" Disco-Pop Summer Song, The 11 Best Blackpink Songs To Have On Repeat, Add These New Songs to Your Summer Playlist. 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