Webb, Electra Havemeyer

Webb, Electra Havemeyer (1888–1960) museum founder; born in New York City (daughter of Louisine Elder Havemeyer). She studied at a commercial college, learned outdoor sports from her father, and married J. Watson Webb (1910). Immensely wealthy, the couple lived in New York City and Westbury, Long Island. They settled in Shelburne, Vt. (1949), building a house on the Webb land holdings. Two years earlier, Electra had founded the Shelburne Museum, a center for American folk art, paintings, and crafts. She collected numerous artifacts and buildings, which she reconstructed on site. Considered an important resource of Americana, the Shelburne Museum was personally supervised by Electra Webb until her death.