their preservation. Today the museum's Americana collection is one of the world's finest. Deaccession Controversy In 1996 the museum sold $30 million of her artwork, deemed non-essential to the collection, which had been in storage not visible to the public for years. This was to create a collections care endowment, to better preserve and secure the items in the collection. While the board had considered other ways to care for the items, including mergers and loaning out the collection, the final choice received some backlash in the art community. The president of the American Association of Museums refused to endorse the move arguing that the museum was unfairly conflating care for the items with security, while the director at the time argued it set a dangerous precedent for other museums doing the same. Electra Webb's son, James Watson Webb, Jr. went on the record saying that he was disappointed with the move as well. Most of the buyers were unidentified telephone bidders, but one item was sold to Stephen A. Wynn with the intent of displaying it at the Bellagio Casino. Personal life In 1910, Electra married polo champion James Watson Webb II (1884–1960) of the Vanderbilt family in an elaborate society wedding at St. Bartholomew's Episcopal Church, New York. He was a son of William Seward Webb and Eliza Osgood Vanderbilt. They had five children: Electra Webb (1910–1982) Samuel Webb (1912–1988) Lila Webb(1913–1961) James Watson Webb, Jr. (1916–2000) Harry Webb (1922–1975). Recognizing her achievements in the museum field, Yale University awarded Electra Havemeyer Webb an honorary Master of Arts degree in 1956. She was the fifth woman to be recognized in this manner. She died on November 19, 1960 at Mary Fletcher Hospital in Burlington, Vermont. Shelburne Farms Electra's parents-in-law Dr. William Seward Webb and Eliza Osgood Vanderbilt had transformed a collection of rambling lakeside farms on the shore of Vermont's Lake Champlain into a model country estate. The core of property, the Shelburne Farms, survives today as a nonprofit foundation dedicated to fostering innovative agricultural practices. Recalling her first visit to the Webb estate as a young girl, Webb declared: "I felt as though I was in dreamland"; she was smitten by the beauty of Vermont's Champlain Valley. On the Webb estate she enjoyed horseback riding, the 113-foot steam yacht and one of America's first private nine-hole golf courses. The pastoral landscape and lush grounds of Shelburne Farms