ndowed with a progressive sense of business, entrepreneurial optimism, and a confident, gracious sense of self, Mrs. Post created a place for herself in American history. Known as one of America’s first businesswomen, she was an art collector, noted philanthropist, and socialite. Her greatest legacy, however, was her gift of Hillwood. In opening her home to the public, she joined a small number of distinguished Americans who created art collectors’ personal museums out of their homes, galleries, and estates.
Born in Springfield, Illinois, Marjorie was the only child of Ella Merriweather and Charles William (C.W.) Post, a man who epitomized the American dream. With his inventions of the coffee substitute Postum and Grape-Nuts and Post Toasties cereals, C.W. founded the Postum Cereal

Company, a food-manufacturing empire that generated one of the largest fortunes of the early twentieth century. C.W. trained his daughter in every aspect of the company’s workings, from overseeing factory production to attending board meetings. C.W. also exposed his daughter to art through trips abroad and his own collecting of Victoriana. His death in 1914 left the twenty-seven-year-old heiress the owner of a rapidly growing cereal company. Her increasing responsibilities placed new demands on her and soon drew her into a fast-paced life in Manhattan.

The genesis of Mrs. Post's career as a collector harks back to the early part of the 20th-century and coincides with her move to New York. This move brought her into the same social sphere as the Fricks, Vanderbilts, and Whitneys - for whom collecting was considered a worthwhile, if not necessary, pursuit of the wealthy. Marjorie bought decorative art objects for her New York home and, through experience and education, gradually developed a discerning eye, especially for French furnishings. While balancing the needs of her company and her family, Marjorie embarked on a course of self-education in the decorative arts. She enrolled in classes at the Metropolitan Museum of Art and sought the tutelage of the renowned art dealer Sir Joseph Duveen. Her lifelong passion for refined decorative objects was awakened during these early years as she stated in one of her letters:

	"So far as young collectors are concerned, from my own experience, it [collecting] can be a most rewarding and exciting affair, but first of all a particular interest in an article or period must be established to instigate the desire to collect. Once the 'desire' is there and the seeds of the of the thrill of the search are sown the collector is on his way."

Her second marriage was to Wall Street financier Edward F. Hutton in 1920. A perfect match, they were both handsome, wealthy, and adventurous. Her exceptional vision for the Postum Cereal Company, coupled with Hutton’s business acumen, led to the formation of the General Foods Corporation, a leader in prepared and frozen foods. Marjorie’s personal tastes also broadened as she turned greater attention to decorating her vast properties. Throughout the 1920s she acquired fine furnishings for her grand apartment in New York; her estate Mar-A-Lago in Palm Beach, Florida; Camp Hutridge (later Topridge) in the Adirondacks; and her yacht Sea Cloud. She also turned her attention to aquiring fine Sèvres porcelain and 18th-century French gold boxes.

	"I am particularly attracted by the beauty of an object, its craftsmanship, history ..."

In response to the economic hardship that devastated the nation in the 1930s, Marjorie increased her charitable involvement. She supported numerous philanthropic causes throughout her life, including the Salvation Army, the American Red Cross, and in later years, the National Symphony Orchestra.

Marjorie accompanied her third husband, Joseph E. Davies, to the Soviet Union, where he served as the American ambassador (1937-1938). On the eve of World War II, Marjorie witnessed Stalin’s reign of terror firsthand. It was also in the Soviet Union where Marjorie's eye turned to Russian decorative and liturgical arts, as she mentions in the introduction to a book about Fabergé:

	"While in Russia, with the opportunity to see and enjoy the Russian love of color in all forms of art, I became interested in enamels. These I would never, perhaps, have learned to appreciate fully anywhere else. The Russian genius in the use of stimulating color is a spiritual quality related to the land itself."

One consequence of this widespread turmoil and extreme social and cultural upheaval was the selling of imperial art treasures, which was endorsed by the Soviet government. Marjorie acquired Russian icons, textiles, porcelains, and silver, and she was soon transformed into an avowed collector of Russian art. The purchases she made while living in the Soviet Union formed the nucleus of the most important assemblage of Russian imperial art outside Russia today. Like many American collectors, Mrs. Post continued collecting throughout her life and wanted to share her collection with the public. In 1955 she bought the Hillwood estate to serve both as her residence and as a future museum. By 1958 she had hired Marvin Ross, a Harvard trained art historian, to catalogue her collections, advise her on acquisitions, and implement standard museum practices at Hillwood.

	"When I began I did it [collecting] for the joy of it, and it was only as the collections grew and such great interest was evidenced by others, that I came to the realization that the collection should belong to the country."

On her death in 1973, Mrs. Post’s final and most important philanthropic gesture became reality when Hillwood, her last estate in Washington, DC, was bequeathed to the public as a museum. Her magnificent French and Russian collections remain on view at Hillwood Museum and Gardens, where her legacy of opulent beauty and gracious elegance continues to thrive.