Existing comment:
Evalyn Walsh McLean and the Hope Diamond
A Cinderella world once existed behind the stone wall you see straight ahead, occupied by Evalyn Walsh McLean.
Evalyn was the only daughter of multimillionaire Thomas F. Walsh -- he struck gold in Colorado -- and Carrie Bell Reed, a schoolteacher. Evalyn's husband Edward Beale McLean owned The Washington Post after the death of his father, Post publisher John R. McLean. The McLeans lived in splendor here with their children, Vinson, Edward, John, and Emily ("Evalyn") on 75 acres behind the wall. (Their mansion, Friendship, was demolished in 1942 for McLean Gardens.)
Evalyn moved easily in Washington's elite social circles, but was best known for wearing the fabulous 45.52-carat Hope Diamond as seen here in her portrait. The McLeans purchased the world's largest blue diamond in 1911 from Pierre Cartier of Paris. Wagging tongues and the Hope Diamond's supposed curse did not prevent Evalyn from wearing it everywhere, including to the White House and to her favorite charity events. She actually lost it a few times -- once by putting it on Mike, her Great Dane, and another time by allowing her granddaughter, daughter of Senator Robert R. Reynolds (D-NC), to teethe on it.
According to the Smithsonian Institution -- where the gem is displayed -- there is no truth to the curse. But the tale persists, and perhaps that is why millions from all over the world come to see it. In the end the Hope Diamond brought good luck to the Smithsonian.
Portrait of Evalyn Walsh McLean, 1921, by Philip Alexius de Laszlo (British, 1869-1937), courtesy of a private owner. |