AN EVENING AT VERSAILLES
THE EVENT: On June 28, 2019, Catherine Pégard, President of the Palace of Versailles and the Versailles 1919-2019 Steering Committee held a dinner gala, An Evening at Versailles, to commemorate the Treaty of Versailles and to celebrate American philanthropy in the regions devastated during and after World War I.
THE AWARD: During dinner, David Rockefeller, Jr., received the inaugural Versailles Award for American Philanthropy in memory of his grandfather’s generosity in restoring the Palace of Versailles. He recounted the story of how his grandfather, John D. Rockefeller, donated $2 million (today’s equivalent $30 million) to save Versailles, in 1925. John D. Rockefeller,Jr. was able to rescue the Palace of Versailles from dereliction after the First World War, and understood not only the universal significance of this great palace, but also its importance for the United States. er is a well-known painter and his father is an architect and
