Joan K. Davidson died yesterday. Her obituary appeared this morning in the New York Times: "Joan Kaplan Davidson, Philanthropist Who Championed New York, Dies at 96."
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| Joan Davidson in 1997 Photo: Alan E. Solomon for the New York Times |
Joan Davidson was not only a champion of New York, she was also a champion of the Hudson Valley and the City of Hudson. In 1996, she helped found Historic Hudson and spoke at the organization's inaugural event at the Carrie Haddad Gallery, where Lynn Davis's Warren Street Project was exhibited for the first time. She was also a great supporter of the Hudson Opera House through its reclamation and decades long restoration and on into its new life as Hudson Hall. In 2021, the Proprietors Gala, Hudson Hall's annual fundraising event, took the form of an elegant picnic on the lawn at Midwood, Davidson's estate on the Hudson River in Germantown.
Midwood was also the setting for the annual Shad Party, which Joan hosted every year, for more than a decade, in early May. In a 2010 article in the Wall Street Journal, Ralph Gardner, Jr., described the event as "a reunion of 400 or so of the philanthropist's closest friends and favorite politicians." The guest list for the Shad Party had the quality of a meritocracy. If you were included, you knew you were doing something Joan considered worthy. What was miraculous about the Shad Party was that, no matter what the weather on the morning of the event, the rain stopped, the clouds parted, and the sun was beaming down on Midwood by the time the guests arrived.
New York, the Hudson Valley, and our little city of Hudson have lost a gracious, generous, and astute champion and an indomitable force for good.
COPYRIGHT 2023 CAROLE OSTERINK
Joan Davidson was a great boon for Hudson and the Hudson Valley. I always felt she worked behind the scenes and pledged funds with little fanfare. None-the-less, her 'seed money' often led to great and long-lasting undertakings. RIP and thank you.
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