Tribute to Tom Armstrong

A museum curator and former director of the Whitney Museum in New York City, Thomas N. Armstrong III joined the Garden Conservancy board of directors in 1991 and shortly thereafter became President, then Vice-Chairman, and, from 2007 to 2011, Chairman. Throughout his tenure he provided outstanding leadership in a variety of areas, including expanding our membership and Fellows programs, successfully completing a $15 million endowment campaign, and increasing our portfolio of preservation projects from a small handful to sixteen, the latest additions being the gardens of Pearl Fryar and Elizabeth Lawrence.

Most important, however, was his commitment of time and devotion to the extended Garden Conservancy family. His infectious humor enlivened everything Tom touched, as did a strong sense of creativity, which was demonstrated by his glass house and garden on Fishers Island, New York. 

Tom’s passion for the Conservancy was closely linked to his own fascination with art and with the art of gardening. The development of his personal garden on Fishers Island and of the new glass house at its center was a creative obsession and a magnificent accomplishment. 

A Singular Vision: Architecture Art Landscape, Tom Armstrong'd book about the making of his magnificent house and garden on Fishers Island, was published in 2011. 

The short tributes that follow below include links to fuller statements and to articles published in major newspapers and magazines.

A sampling of tributes to Tom Armstrong:

“Tom loved to share his garden. It was the highlight of the summer to make the pilgrimage to Fishers Island, hop off the boat, and enter his world. The circuit began in the woods, with the hush of the Japanese garden; wound around the edge of the property, with its startlingly beautiful water views; and then again into the trees, where secluded rooms and spectacular fountains lay in wait. There was always something new to see, and Tom was like a proud parent showing off his offspring. (Which he was—a proud parent—to his actual, beloved children!) When you got back on the ferry, it was with a sense of the fullest aesthetic and emotional experience, a happy exhaustion from visual stimulation and enjoyment.” 

- Antonia Adezio, Garden Conservancy president, June 29, 2011. Antonia Adezio: Tom Armstrong Tribute delivered at a celebration of Tom Armstrong’s life at Saint Bartholomew’s Church in New York City.

"His infectious enthusiasm was a pleasure for all concerned and his efforts and energy spread the word of the Conservancy across the country. He was a devoted gardener in his own right and it was a pleasure to serve with him,"
- Frank Cabot, Garden Conservancy founder and chairman emeritus, June 28, 2011. Read also a December 6, 2000 toast by Frank Cabot, when Tom Armstrong became Vice-Chairman of the Garden Conservancy.

“Tom was a small ‘d’ democrat. He believed that anyone from any background was capable of being a great artist or making a great garden.”
- Bill Noble, Garden Conservancy director of preservation, June 28, 2011. Bill Noble: Tribute to Tom Armstrong

“A toast to Thomas Armstrong!
Your savoir faire and charm so strong,
Your special bow ties, your service long,
Has kept our Garden Conservancy on track,
With wit and grace, you have such a knack
A toast to Thomas Armstrong!
- Barbara Paul Robinson, at December 6, 2000 dinner in honor of Tom Armstrong

“Anyone who’s ever known him
Marvels at his wit and skills
He has as many talents
As he has daffodils”
- Sue and Gerry Seitz, at December 6, 2000 dinner in honor of Tom Armstrong

“He was brilliant at bringing together coalitions of people to acquire artworks, for which we had a minimal acquisition budget. We still have works coming in that he negotiated as gifts years ago.”
- Adam D. Weinberg, director of the Whitney Museum of American Art, who once worked for Tom Armstrong, in  New York Times: Tom Armstrong Tribute, June 22, 2011

"He served a very important purpose for the museum. He was extremely well known in the art world everywhere, not just in New York, but Europe and Asia. He was a very charming man, very daring, full of ideas. He was somebody that people noticed and enjoyed being with. He made a difference because of his presence here, and the museum became very well known around the world and still is. That was very important—to get off to a good start."
- Milton Fine, a member of the Andy Warhol Museum's board, in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, June 23, 2011

“Inadvertently, he fulfilled an early aspiration: He arranged color, texture, shape, line and materials into a total environmental canvas, a complex and abstract painting that happens to be alive. Armstrong became the artist he wanted to be.”
- Joseph Giovannini, Architectural Digest: Tom Armstrong, October 2010, in a feature article about Tom Armstrong’s house on Fishers Island

"Tom Armstrong was fun, and he was capable of meeting difficult situations with wisdom and humor. As a former colleague remarked, 'Tom’s capacity to be frivolous and serious, and conservative and forward-thinking always kept one in a state of shock, awe, and bemusement.' ”
- Jay E. Cantor, Maine Antique Digest: Tom Armstrong Tribute, August 2011, in an "appreciation" of Thomas Newton Armstrong III