Clara Winthrop
Clara Bowdoin Winthrop was an American philanthropist, art collector, and relative of John Kerry, a U.S. Senator and U.S. [presidential election, 2004|former presidential candidate]. She was a member of the Winthrop family.
Life
Winthrop was born March 12, 1876 in Boston, Massachusetts, the older of two daughters, to Robert Charles Winthrop Jr. and Elizabeth Winthrop. She had a younger sister, Margaret Tyndal Winthrop, who married James Grant Forbes, of the Forbes family.Her paternal grandfather was Robert C. Winthrop, hence she is a direct descendant of John Winthrop. As an adult, she was primarily known as a wealthy and childless philanthropist, funding the education of John Kerry, her sister's grandson. The Boston Globe wrote:
File:Andrea del Sarto - The Madonna and Child.jpg|thumb|Andrea del Sarto - The Madonna and Child, now in the National Museum of Western Art, Tokyo|left
Winthrop was a world traveler, and is known to have visited India. While on a trip to Italy, Winthrop purchased an oil painting which was thought to be a reproduction of a work by Andrea del Sarto. In 1935 she donated the painting to the All Saints' Episcopal Church in West Newbury, Massachusetts. The painting hung over the choir stalls in an enormous gilt frame for several years until it was taken down and stored in a closet, and then in the rectory's attic. In 1999, it was discovered that the painting was not an imitation, but was The Madonna and Child by del Sarto. The painting was then sold at auction by Sotheby's for $1,102,500.
The Clara B. Winthrop Trust is named for her.