From Legacy.com
1941-2020
Anne Hendricks Bass of Fort Worth, died on April 1, 2020 in New York. She was 78.
She was born in Indianapolis, Indiana, and was a graduate of Vassar College. Anne is survived by her daughters Hyatt and Samantha, her grandsons Jasper, Hayden, and Seren, and her partner, Julian Lethbridge. A celebration of life for family and friends will be set for a future date. In lieu of flowers, contributions can be made in her memory to Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center or to one of the many organizations to which she was devoted, including the American Friends of the Paris Opera & Ballet, the Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth, the New York Botanical Garden, and the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts.
From FWBP Staff:
“Anne Bass was an extraordinary woman. Her love for and generous support of
the arts was a gift to the entire arts community,” said Ann Koonsman. former head of the Fort Worth Symphony.
“While her major interest was the Fort Worth Ballet (currently the Texas
Ballet Theater,) she served on the Executive Committee of the Fort Worth
Symphony and, as such, was a very reliable and engaged member, helping the
Orchestra thrive.
“We have lost a quiet, modest visionary who was steadfast in her generous
support of art, music and dance. As she spent more time in New York, her interest in the
(New York) City Ballet was significant to that company. Losing Anne Bass is a tremendous loss to the arts world,” she said.
David Mallette, a former executive director of Texas Ballet Theater and now a partner at Management Consultants for the Arts did not overlap with Mrs. Bass during her involvement with Fort Worth Ballet, but said her involvement with the local ballet was key for the organization.
“There here would be no Texas Ballet Theater were it not for her devotion and commitment to the idea of having a professional ballet company in Fort Worth. She made it happen,” Mallette said.
A former butler was sentenced in 2012 to 20 years in prison for trying to extort millions of dollars from her in 2007.
Bass and her partner, British painter Julian Lethbridge, were held hostage by three men on Bass’ 1,000-acre estate in Connecticut. The men injected Bass with what they said was a deadly virus and tried to extort $8.5 million from the couple in return for the antidote. The substance turned out to be harmless. In August 2012, her former butler was sentenced to 20 years in prison for the extortion attempt, but the others involved have never been apprehended.
This story will be updated.