Brooke Russell Astor

As we celebrate the centennial of Andrew Carnegie’s benefactions, we also salute you on your upcoming centennial. During your lifetime, you have embodied the spirit of New York City, its resilience, its dynamism, its passion, its glorious energy and its faith in the future. We also celebrate the fact that you have always believed that democracy and excellence are not mutually exclusive but rather, the very foundation stones upon which our society rests.

You have seen New York City in good times and bad times, but you’ve also seen it always reassert itself with pride, assurance and confidence, just as you have done throughout your life. You are the first lady of our city, not only in terms of taste, elegance, style and grace, but also in the realm of philanthropy. You have bridged the gap between the elite and the general populace; between the familiar and the esoteric; between hope and practicality. Today, almost every important institution and organization in our city, from the great to the small, bears your mark. For more than 40 years, the philanthropy of the Astor Foundation, as well as your personal giving and generosity, have enriched New York City and the nation as well.

You have given more than $200 million to institutions ranging from the New York Public Library to the New York Zoological Society, the New York Botanical Garden, the Pierpont Morgan Library, the South Street Seaport, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Carnegie Hall and countless others, and you have given with grace and an openness of heart that has set the standard for both obligation and philanthropic largesse. Like Andrew Carnegie, you have always believed that much is expected from those to whom much has been given.

If Andrew Carnegie were with us today, he would thank you personally for your unswerving commitment to the public good, for spreading hope and good will throughout our city, for rewarding excellence and for responding with great charity when you saw great need. And, as your centennial approaches, Mr. Carnegie would also want to congratulate you, sincerely and with deep appreciation, for the inspiration that your philanthropy has brought to countless numbers of your fellow citizens. For all this and more, the 21 institutions founded by Andrew Carnegie present the inaugural Andrew Carnegie Medal of Philanthropy to you, with pride and admiration.