Huntington Hartford

George Huntington Hartford II (1911–2008), generally known as Huntington Hartford, was an American businessman, philanthropist, film and stage producer, art collector, and patron of artists. He inherited a substantial share of the fortune created by the Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea Company, commonly known as A&P, the supermarket business founded by his grandfather, George Huntington Hartford. Although the family fortune made him one of the wealthiest Americans of his era, Hartford did not become a conventional operating executive of A&P. After graduating from Harvard in 1934, he spent only a short period in the company’s statistical department and then directed his energy toward publishing, natural resources, real estate, hospitality, theater, film, and the arts. Hartford’s early independent ventures included an investment in the New York newspaper PM, where he also worked as a reporter. During the Second World War he served in the United States Coast Guard and commanded a supply vessel in the Pacific. His longstanding interest in sailing was reflected in his ownership of the training ship Joseph Conrad, which he later donated for maritime training. After the war he moved to California and pursued entertainment ventures, including film production, theater, a modeling agency, and an artists’ colony. His most consequential commercial project outside the family grocery fortune was the Oil Shale Corporation, founded in 1955 and later known as Tosco. Hartford served as its majority shareholder and chairman, while also supporting research into alternative oil-extraction techniques through the Denver Research Institute at the University of Denver. Tosco eventually became part of ConocoPhillips, although that later transaction occurred after Hartford’s principal period of control. Hartford also developed major hospitality and real-estate interests. In 1959 he acquired Hog Island in the Bahamas, renamed it Paradise Island, and developed it as a resort destination centered on the Ocean Club. He helped secure a gambling license for the project and promoted the island as an international leisure center. Paradise Island later became associated with popular culture through appearances in James Bond films, including Thunderball and Casino Royale. The arts were central to Hartford’s public identity. In California, he established an artists’ colony in Rustic Canyon above Pacific Palisades. Opened in 1951 after architectural work by Lloyd Wright, the colony offered temporary residences and scholarships to artists, composers, writers, and other creative figures. It operated for nearly fifteen years and hosted hundreds of participants. Hartford also renovated a Los Angeles theater that became the Huntington Hartford Theater, a prominent venue for Broadway-scale productions during the 1950s and early 1960s. Hartford’s artistic preferences were strongly traditionalist and often polemical. He criticized Abstract Expressionism and other modernist movements, as well as several major writers, artists, and cultural trends. After an unsuccessful attempt to develop a museum project in Los Angeles, he opened the Gallery of Modern Art Including the Huntington Hartford Collection at 2 Columbus Circle in New York in 1964. Designed by Edward Durell Stone, the building housed works by artists including Monet, Manet, Degas, Toulouse-Lautrec, and Salvador Dalí. The museum closed after approximately five years. His theatrical activities included producing the Broadway play Does a Tiger Wear a Necktie? in 1969, which featured Al Pacino in an early major role and earned Pacino a Tony Award. Hartford also produced films such as Africa Screams and Hello Out There, the latter associated with director James Whale’s final film work, and supported theatrical projects including The Master of Thornfield. Hartford’s personal life attracted substantial public attention. He married four times, with each marriage ending in divorce, and had five children. In his later ye…

Huntington Hartford was born in New York City in 1911 and was raised within one of America’s great retail fortunes. His father, Edward V. Hartford, and his uncles were heirs and administrators of the A&P supermarket business, which had grown from the family’s nineteenth-century grocery operations into a vast national chain. Hartford’s father died in 1922, when Huntington was eleven. He attended St. Paul’s School and later Harvard University, where he studied English literature. After graduating in 1934, Hartford briefly worked in A&P’s New York headquarters. He did not, however, make the family supermarket enterprise the defining focus of his career. His inherited trust income gave him the independence to explore publishing, maritime activities, entertainment, natural resources, property development, and cultural projects. In 1936 he purchased the sailing ship Joseph Conrad and later donated it for maritime training. During the Second World War he served in the Coast Guard and commanded the supply ship FS-179 in the Pacific. Following the war Hartford relocated to Los Angeles and pursued several media and entertainment projects. He invested in the newspaper PM in 1940 and worked there as a reporter. Through Huntington Hartford Productions he produced films, including Africa Screams and Hello Out There. He also became involved in theater and established a modeling agency. His Los Angeles activities expanded into cultural patronage when he acquired land in Rustic Canyon and commissioned Lloyd Wright to create an artists’ colony. Opened in 1951, the colony provided short residencies and scholarships for creative professionals. It became a significant gathering place for artists, composers, writers, and performers before closing in 1965. Hartford’s business interests widened in the 1950s. He founded the Oil Shale Corporation in 1955, later called Tosco, and backed research into alternative methods of extracting oil. He also accumulated extensive real estate, including properties in the United States, Europe, and the Bahamas. His most ambitious development was Paradise Island. After buying Hog Island in 1959, he renamed it and developed a resort complex featuring the Ocean Club. The project sought to establish the island as an international luxury and gaming destination, and Hartford worked with Bahamian advisers to secure the necessary gambling authorization. Theater and the visual arts remained important parts of Hartford’s public life. He renovated a Los Angeles venue that opened as the Huntington Hartford Theater in 1954 and became a leading site for large-scale theatrical productions. He later produced The Master of Thornfield and the Broadway play Does a Tiger Wear a Necktie?, which opened in 1969 and starred Al Pacino. Hartford’s collecting interests led him to establish the Gallery of Modern Art Including the Huntington Hartford Collection in New York in 1964. The museum’s program emphasized European and earlier modern art while excluding the Abstract Expressionist movement that Hartford publicly disliked. The institution closed after about five years. Hartford’s strong opinions about art and culture sometimes overshadowed his philanthropy. He opposed what he saw as the displacement of established artistic traditions by avant-garde movements and published his views in Art or Anarchy. He also attempted to donate or transfer some of his cultural properties for public use, including the Los Angeles estate known as The Pines, but these efforts did not produce the outcome he wanted. The artists’ colony ultimately closed after he concluded that local institutions and patrons would not provide adequate long-term support. In his later decades Hartford remained associated with Paradise Island and the Bahamas. He moved to Lyford Cay in 2004 with his daughter Juliet. He died there on May 19, 2008, and was buried in Nassau. His career is best understood not as that of a supermarket operator, but as that of an independently wealthy heir whose resources enabled a succession of ventures spanning energy, resorts, film, theater, architecture, collecting, and arts patronage.

1. 2008Death

   Hartford died at his Lyford Cay home on May 19, 2008.

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2. 2004Moves to Lyford Cay

   Hartford moved to Lyford Cay in the Bahamas with his daughter Juliet.

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3. 1969Produces Does a Tiger Wear a Necktie?

   Hartford produced the Broadway production featuring Al Pacino, who won a Tony Award for his performance.

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4. 1965Closes the artists’ colony

   Hartford shut the Rustic Canyon colony after efforts to secure broader institutional and financial support failed to meet his expectations.

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5. 1964Opens Gallery of Modern Art

   Hartford opened his private museum at 2 Columbus Circle in New York City.

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6. 1959Acquires and renames Hog Island

   Hartford bought Hog Island in the Bahamas, renamed it Paradise Island, and began a resort development project.

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7. 1955Founds Oil Shale Corporation

   Hartford founded the Oil Shale Corporation, later known as Tosco, to pursue energy and oil-extraction opportunities.

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8. 1954Huntington Hartford Theater opens

   A renovated Los Angeles theater reopened under Hartford’s name as a venue for major theatrical productions.

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9. 1951Rustic Canyon artists’ colony opens

   Hartford’s Los Angeles artists’ colony opened with facilities designed or adapted under Lloyd Wright’s direction.

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10. 1940Invests in PM newspaper

    Hartford helped launch the newspaper PM and worked as a reporter.

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11. 1936Purchases the Joseph Conrad

    Hartford acquired the sailing ship Joseph Conrad, later donating it for maritime training.

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12. 1934Graduates from Harvard and briefly joins A&P

    Hartford completed his Harvard education and worked briefly in A&P’s statistical department.

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13. 1922Inheritance becomes a defining financial foundation

    After his father’s death, Hartford became an heir to the family estate established through the A&P business.

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14. 1911Birth of George Huntington Hartford II

    George Huntington Hartford II was born in New York City into the family that controlled the A&P supermarket fortune.

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A wealthy American heir who used inherited A&P wealth to pursue independent ventures in energy, hospitality, entertainment, theater, and traditionalist arts patronage.

• Huntington Hartford ProductionsFilm production

  Hartford’s film-production enterprise was responsible for several postwar pictures, including the Abbott and Costello comedy Africa Screams and Hello Out There, associated with director James Whale’s final film work. The company reflected Hartford’s broader effort to participate directly in entertainment rather than remain only a passive heir.

• Paradise Island Ocean ClubHospitality and resort development1959

  After acquiring Hog Island in 1959, Hartford renamed it Paradise Island and developed a luxury resort centered on the Ocean Club. The project combined real-estate development, hospitality, leisure, and legalized gaming, and helped establish the island as a recognizable international resort setting.

• Gallery of Modern Art Including the Huntington Hartford CollectionArt museum1964

  Hartford’s New York museum opened in 1964 at 2 Columbus Circle. It presented selections from his collection, including works associated with European and earlier modern art, and commissioned Salvador Dalí’s The Discovery of America by Christopher Columbus for the opening. The museum closed after roughly five years.

• Huntington Hartford TheaterTheater venue1954

  Hartford renovated and reopened a Los Angeles theater in 1954. For about a decade it presented Broadway-scale productions and prominent performers, becoming one of the city’s important theatrical venues before Hartford sold it in 1964.

• Oil Shale Corporation / ToscoEnergy company1955

  Founded by Hartford in 1955, the Oil Shale Corporation pursued oil-shale processing and other energy opportunities. Hartford served as majority shareholder and chairman, and supported related extraction research. The business later became known as Tosco and was eventually acquired by ConocoPhillips.

• Rustic Canyon artists’ colonyArtists’ residency1951

  Hartford’s Los Angeles colony provided cottages, dining facilities, scholarships, and temporary retreats for artists, composers, writers, and craftspeople. It opened in 1951 and operated for nearly fifteen years, hosting hundreds of participants before closing in 1965.

• 1965End the Rustic Canyon artists’ colonyStrategy

  Hartford believed local government and wealthy patrons had not demonstrated sufficient commitment to sustaining the colony after he shifted attention toward his New York museum.

  What changed. He closed the artists’ colony after nearly fifteen years of operation.

  Aftermath. The closure ended one of Hartford’s most substantial long-term arts-patronage projects.

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• 1964Open a private modern-art museum in New YorkOther

  After dissatisfaction with the reception of a proposed Los Angeles museum exhibition, Hartford decided to establish his own institution in Manhattan.

  What changed. He opened the Gallery of Modern Art Including the Huntington Hartford Collection at 2 Columbus Circle, in a building designed by Edward Durell Stone.

  Aftermath. The museum closed after about five years; the building later underwent other cultural uses and redevelopment.

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• 1959Transform Hog Island into Paradise IslandStrategy

  Hartford sought to create a Caribbean destination with the character of an international luxury resort and gaming center.

  What changed. He acquired Hog Island, renamed it Paradise Island, developed the Ocean Club, and arranged for gambling authorization through Bahamian legal advisers.

  Aftermath. The development became Hartford’s most visible hospitality project and later gained additional recognition through its association with James Bond films.

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• 2008Huntington Hartford dies in the Bahamas

  Hartford died at his home in Lyford Cay, Bahamas, at the age of 97.

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• 1969Huntington Hartford produces Does a Tiger Wear a Necktie?

  Hartford produced the Broadway play that gave Al Pacino an early breakthrough stage role and earned him a Tony Award.

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• 1964Gallery of Modern Art opens in New York

  Hartford opened a museum at 2 Columbus Circle to display his collection of nineteenth- and twentieth-century art.

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• 1959Huntington Hartford develops Paradise Island

  Hartford acquired Hog Island in the Bahamas, renamed it Paradise Island, and began developing it as a major resort destination.

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• 1955Huntington Hartford founds the Oil Shale Corporation

  Hartford established the Oil Shale Corporation, later known as Tosco, and became its majority shareholder and chairman.

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1. Huntington Hartford
2. Huntington Hartford official website