Its as if shes seeing it for the first time. // ------------------------------------------------------------------- Old, young, every ethnic group. Her first husband was steamship executive John Traina, whom she met in her hometown of Washington, D.C. Its a really amazing thing to do, to stroll on a warm night with a glass of wine.In a place like this, it certainly is. By "My parents always had friends around and there was a lot of entertaining, and summer was . As tough as he was on his parents and stepmother, he was also tough on himself. Put it in the basement of the Legion? Home Design Inside the Home of San Franciscos Most High-Profile Couple, For tech entrepreneur Trevor Traina and his wife Alexis Swanson Traina, a historic Napa Valley home is an ideal respite from city life. + '<\/div>' On the lifestyle front, her duties also including writing about cannabis culture for The Chronicle and its cannabis website, www.GreenState.com website. Also, theres no middle class in San Francisco. I don't think that Dede would pay attention, and I don't think she should. It was just magical. And she relishes the process that comes with each new exhibit. She hosted roundtable luncheons with the likes of Eldridge Cleaver, Betty Friedan and Gloria Steinem. He is heir to a name that has long been synonymous with Napa. The difference is that the world is so much more complicated. Yes, tourists still pack tasting rooms and trek wine trails, but Napa Valley has also become a haven for entertaining, hobnobbing, creating, and soul-searching. The goal was to create a useful guide to the place and to offer a look at the people who make it special. I was in Maastricht to lead a group from our museum [the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco]a building committee, because we were building the de Young Museum at the time. Maupin doesn't think so. Their May engagement was followed in August by a garden wedding for 400 in the tiny Napa town of Oakville. We interviewed and photographed peoplesome of whom appear in my book, some of whom dontwhose spirit, innovation, and creative gifts we think define this magical place today. Thats me with my husband and partner in crime, Trevor Traina. })(); artnet and our partners use cookies to provide features on our sites and applications to improve your online experience, including for analysis of site usage, traffic measurement, and for advertising and content management. When I was growing up here, we had this thing we called scary walks, and after dinner wed go out with our flashlights and walk through the vineyards. Top Image: Carlo Mondavi is equal parts entrepreneur, winemaker, and goodwill ambassador. Ive forgotten which museum its in, but a Degas of the ballet studio with all the dancers in tutus. My parents always had friends around and there was a lot of entertaining, and summer was spent hereall summer.. Everything awesome about summer in Napa Valley can be traced back to a glass of rosepeople sip it like water here. The museum is still being very well run. My father didnt have that kind of security. + '<\/div>' What does the story tell readers about high-society life? slideInModal('Down'); She remains a prominent figure in the artistic and . When he did return home periodically in the 1980s, his mother threw him out of the house; his father's patience wears thin. }; There was a sham wedding to trial lawyer Melvin Belli (who'd represented Jack Ruby) in a Shinto ceremony in Japan that was annulled after 36 days; Montandon wanted the marriage to be official, but Belli refused to have it legally recorded. Wilsey and I are 30 minutes into an hour-long conversation, and I . Wilsey is referring to her elder son, Trevor Traina, who moved to Vienna earlier this year to become the United States Ambassador. }, 5000); Lanier Residence was a stunning, historical backdrop for our cover shoot with Katie Holmes More, Were Over The Moon About This New Travel Registry, 2022 Holiday Gift Guide: The Best Edible Presents, Room Request! Photographed & Styled By Claiborne Swanson Frank, The Parisian Hotel Where Joyce Finished Ulysses, From Town & Country for Cayman Islands Department of Tourism, Your Privacy Choices: Opt Out of Sale/Targeted Ads. Thats how I started collecting. Paul Pelosi's DUI arrest over Memorial Day Weekend in Napa has become major fodder for right-wing loons who have been misinformed that he's skirting any charges, but society doyenne Dede Wilsey . + '
' She declined to address specifics in the memoir. }); She is the chairman emeritus of the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco. //if there are cookies indicating that we shouldn't show the signup bar, then the modal won't have been added to the page San Francisco jet-setter Denise Hale, who was once married to Hollywood director Vincente Minnelli, has seen her share of friends become the subject of tell-all books. } return ""; I bought it in memory of Ann Getty. var $email = $form.find('.signup-email'); Eileen Kinsella, if ($modal.hasClass('slideInDown')) return; Following her mother Ruth Buchanan's death, Dede Wilsey purchased the house in March 2020. What about in your bathroom? It is both an honor and a source of ongoing wonder to see all the ways that art makes us think, brings us joy, and makes the world a better place., Dana Johnson, Nimbus Arts Co-Founder and Board President, In any discussion about Napa Valley culture, the first two words that invariably come up are wine and food. But theres a third dimension to the region- the arts- that has been steadily expanding in scope and inspiring residents and visitors to enjoy and embrace their creative side. The Best Carry-On Backpacks for Every Traveler, The Best Luxury Luggage for Traveling in Style, A Guide to 8 Hotels in The Reluctant Traveler. //hide on mobile phones "A fact checker from the New Yorker called the other day, and every fact they checked with me was wrong," she said. var a = this.serializeArray(); When I first arrived at the French Laundry, Napa Valleys iconic images of vineyard-latticed hills dotted with chateaus and bountiful farms and orchards resonated with me. Dede Wilsey, an arts benefactor in San Francisco, at her home in the Napa Valley. Weekends in Oakville are generally spent sans guests and are passed mostly outsideby the pool or on the tennis courtsin the company of the Trainas two children, Johnny and Delphina, and their Jack Russell terrier, Honey. script.crossorigin = "anonymous"; contentType: 'application/json; charset=UTF-8', closeSignupBar(); I always regretted not buying it. What were we going to do with the art if we didnt [rebuild it]? c = c.substring(1); loadFontAwesome: false Traina has his own Napa vineyard . if (paywallPagesRegex.test(window.location.pathname)) { Frost School at FNV Blackburn Music Academy, Maria Manetti Shrem Daniel Brewbaker Composer Prize. Contributing to the causes she believes in is her job and one that she takes very seriously. Its as if shes seeing it for the first time. closeSignupBar(); I love this picture by artist Rupert Bunny. A screen grab from Wednesday, August 21, shows the award for Dede Wilsey still includes House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's name on Shanti's website. } After it was damaged by the 1989 earthquake, Wilsey single-handedly raised the necessary funds to build a new museum. expiration_minutes: 5 $modal.show(); In my bathroom, I have dog portraits and Chinese export porcelain. Tatiana and Gerret Copeland, Peter T. Paul, Athena and Timothy Blackburn, Maria Manetti Shrem, Dede Wilsey, John Traina, and Robert and Margrit Mondavi, among others . San Francisco socialite and philanthropist Diane Wilsey, known as Dede, just gave $100,000 to the streamlining housing measure backed by Mayor London Breed, Proposition D . Diane (Dede) Wilsey relinquished the title of C.E.O. var ctx = this; Festival Napa Valley introduces audiences to the beauty, artistry and joy of dance through this innovative series. } "I love that quality in anybody because I think you have to be brave to tell the truth in life," Montandon said. Deceased. Sean Wilsey's charming manner, the quality of his writing and his connection to McSweeney's will lend an already compelling story some extra cachet, booksellers said, as will the bird's-eye view into the lifestyles of the rich, if not famous. This story appears in the November 2017 issue of Town & Country. Really. pagetypeurl = document.URL, //hide form fields and show thank-you message Her profiles of personalities have included fashion designer Diane von Furstenberg, Twitter co-founder Biz Stone and Emanuel Ungaro fashion house owner Asim Abdullah, to name a few. During lunch at her Napa Valley estate, a white Maltese sat on her lap, sniffing a plate of sliced peaches and . An interior designer and event wizard, Ken Fulk first visited the valley in 1994, and says We came to Napa on our very first trip to California. return ctx.regex.email.test( $email.val() ); Everybodys psyche is high, and now theyre very much looking forward to the new director, Wilsey says. var i = cookieNames.length, "If your mother had cared as much about being a wife as she did about being a star, we'd still be married," Al Wilsey told his son after moving into the Fairmont Hotel, according to the book. So, whats the difference? All I knew about Napa was what I learned watching Falcon Crest. to the new director of the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco but kept her place as board leader. We may earn commission on some of the items you choose to buy. She worked as the paper's society columnist from 2000 to 2004, when she wrote about the lifestyles of the rich but not necessarily famous. We have a number of family portraits, of my grandparents and my mother, and pieces of furniture I grew up with in various houses, he says. checkCookies(); var c = ca[i]; The dining-room table belonged to my great-grandmother, as did the sideboard next to it, and [the nearby] secretary belonged to my mother., Though theres no denying his familys pedigree, Trevor cant help but make fun of some of the houses inherited features: It reminds me of that great comment by Marella Agnellimade after the socialite toured Sid and Mercedes Bass apartment in New Yorkwhen she said, It will take her another lifetime to understand wicker! Theres nothing more WASP-y than lattice and wicker. To characterize Sean Wilsey's memoir Oh The Glory Of It All as just a scathing portrait of a wealth-obsessed home-wrecking stepmother would be selling the author short. And I love the fact that its a constant learning experience and then you work with wonderful people., Wilsey has just finished her latest project with the museums. expiration_days: 14 }, As happens with some memoirs, author and subject appear to be in two polarized camps, with Wilsey's friends protecting him and his stepmothers' friends protectively closing ranks around her. In fact, we planned a big outdoor christening, but it rainedand it never rains in Napa. The quick-thinking couple cleared out all the furniture in the seldom-used formal parlor to allow about 60 guests to gather inside for the ceremony. And no civilization has ever survived where you have only rich and poor. He has two guards with him at all times. "So many memories are connected to being outdoors," Roman says. $modal.css({ + '
' return o; The drive from San Francisco to the Napa Valley takes only a little more than an hour, . Blacksmithing and blade smithing classes followed, and he found his passion. But I can understand what theyre talking about when you have human feces and syringes and all these things. A national book-signing tour is scheduled to follow. But its great, I love it. By the time the company was sold, a few years ago, I was its longest-serving employee. Dede Wilsey. UCSF Medical Center has named Diane "Dede" Wilsey to lead the philanthropic effort on behalf of UCSF Medical Center's new state-of-the art clinical facility planned for construction at Mission Bay. As an outgrowth, she formed a movement (now known as Children as the Peacemakers) and began trotting the globe with children of various races and her son, orchestrating meetings with leaders such as Indira Gandhi, Menachem Begin, even the pope, in her quest for world harmony and a Nobel Prize, Wilsey writes. It is very heavy. + '
' She remains a prominent figure in the artistic and cultural spheres of San Francisco, spearheading the rebuilding of the De Young Museum in Golden Gate Park, as well as the establishment of numerous trusts for organizations such as the San Francisco Ballet. A well-known donor to Bay Area causes and an heiress to the Dow Chemical fortune, Wilsey recently stepped down from her 21-year position as the president of the San Francisco Fine Arts Museums board. "It's not a gossipy tell-all, it's a coming-of-age story about a child surviving a life of conspicuous consumption," Maupin said in a telephone interview from New York, where a film based on his latest novel, "The Night Listener," is being filmed with Robin Williams and Toni Collette. ", A Clean, Well-Lighted Place for Books has already lined up Wilsey for an appearance in May. What is the most expensive work of art that you own? Unless you're Sean Wilsey, who wrote a book and is bringing it all out into the open. Share. }, My ten-year-old grandson thinks its so cool. Artnet News, Dede Wilsey, who grew up going to her family's newport home, beaulieu, photographed with her son todd Dede Wilsey is a San Francisco socialite, Republican donor and philanthropist, and the widow of San Francisco businessman Al Wilsey. function loadJQuery() { As my temporary unemployment began, I knew I wanted to use my free time to tell the story of the valley, and to do it in a way that would illuminate the fact that life here is no longer centered exclusively on wine. }); + '