A Cycladic Marble Figure of a Goddess, Early Bronze Age I/II, circa 3000-2500 B.C.

Sara Roosevelt Wilford (March 13, 1932-October 22, 2021), granddaughter of Eleanor and President Franklin Delano Roosevelt, was an educator known for her contributions to the field of early childhood development and education.

Her life intersected with some of the most notable names of American 20th century history. She was born to socialite and philanthropist Betsey Cushing Roosevelt Whitney (a noted art collector and benefactor of multiple medical institutions) and James Roosevelt. Mrs. Wilford’s adoptive father was John Hay “Jock” Whitney, a U.S. Ambassador to the Court of St. James in the Eisenhower administration, publisher of the New York Herald Tribune and, among many philanthropic endeavors, president of the Museum of Modern Art and Trustee of the Yale University Corporation. The young Sara Roosevelt married Anthony di Bonaventura, an acclaimed pianist and professor of music. Her second marriage was to Ronald Wilford, an impresario and President of Columbia Artists Management Inc. who was known as “classical music’s biggest power broker.” 

Mrs. Wilford’s professional legacy was dedicated to connecting childhood development principles to educational practice. She received an M.S. Ed from Bank Street Teachers College and went on to become a professor at Sarah Lawrence College from 1982 to 2014. At Sarah Lawrence, Mrs. Wilford was a valued member of the community, where she directed the College’s Early Childhood Center and founded the Art of Teaching graduate program.

Sotheby’s is pleased to present a small but fine group of antiquities collected by Mrs. Wilford, which she lived with in her New York apartment until her death at the age of 89.