The Life and Times of Barney Ebsworth • Book + Documentary + Social Media
Beta launch: May 1, 2026 • Official launch: July 14, 2026
| Name | Role | Category | Location | Contact | Status | Priority | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alice-Ann (Ally) Whiteneck | Paul's sister, family authority | Family | Unknown | Email (Paul has) | Pending | High | Corrected the family tree (April 3). Beta invite. Ask about participation. |
| Roger Mueller | Muriel's son, history teacher | Family Subject | Charlotte / Durham, NC | Facebook Messenger • thehistorytutor.com | Contacted | High | History teacher. Peace Corps vet (1993-95). Potential co-author. Gateway to Christiane. Has siblings (other Mueller children). Beta invite. |
| Christiane Ebsworth Ladd | Barney's daughter, executor | Family Subject | Chicago, IL | Through Office Hours Global Chicago contact • Ebsworth Foundation • Eric Widing at Christie's | Not contacted | High | Controls the estate. Made Christie's decision. Most important interview. Paul has a Chicago connection through OHG. Sold 54 E Scott St in 2023. |
| Martine de Visme | First wife, French | Family Subject | France? Unknown | Through Christiane or Roger | No trace online | High | Met Barney NYE 1956. Married 1958. Mother of Christiane. "Really sweet." Would be ~88-89. Granddaughter Alexandra carries her maiden name. |
| Corky King (Julie) | Cousin, swim coach | Family Subject | Hinsdale, IL area | Through Hinsdale Central HS or Hinsdale Swim Club | Not contacted | Medium | Ann Frauenthal King's son. Coached swimming at Hinsdale Central 13+ years. Children: Skyler, Brandon. Beta invite. May know Christiane in Chicago. |
| Carol King (Doug) | Cousin | Family | Chautauqua area, IL | Through Corky | Not contacted | Low | Ann Frauenthal King's daughter. Grandchildren: Scott Marshall, Emily Hallam. Father Harold died Feb 2025. |
| Rebecca Layman-Amato | Fourth wife | Family Subject | Seattle, WA (Greenwood) | Instagram: @ebsworth.rebecca • Seattle Symphony | Not contacted | Medium | At his bedside when he died. Married ~May 2017. Waived estate rights. Greenwood Ave address in probate. Sensitive approach needed. |
| Pamela Larimer Ebsworth | Third wife | Family Subject | Bellevue, WA | WWF • Bothell/Inglemoor Class of 1966 | Not contacted | Medium | "I don't know if I'm in love." Friends of Bhutan's Culture founder. ARTnews Top 200 collector. SAM board. |
| Mark J. Ladd | Barney's son-in-law | Family | Chicago, IL | LinkedIn • Monarch Equities | Not contacted | Low | CEO Malex Holdings. Founded LyteShot (AR gaming). The tech son-in-law of the no-cellphone man. |
| Alexandra de Visme Ladd | Granddaughter | Family | Unknown | Social media search needed | Not found | Low | Born Aug 16, 2004. Age 21. Carries Martine's maiden name. Path to finding Martine. |
| Maximilian Ebsworth Ladd | Grandson | Family | Unknown | Social media search needed | Not found | Low | Born Jun 27, 2006. Age 19. Carries the Ebsworth name. |
| Roger's siblings | Muriel's other children | Family | North Carolina? | Through Roger | Unknown | Medium | Muriel and Dave Mueller had 4 children total. Roger is one. Need names of other 3. |
| Stephen Frauenthal | Henry's brother Herman's grandson | Family Subject | Unknown | Through JTA article author (2017) | Not contacted | Medium | A LIVING FRAUENTHAL. Age ~80. Interviewed in 2017 JTA article about Henry's suicide. Said it was diabetes, not survivor's guilt. |
| Eric Widing | Christie's Deputy Chairman | Art World Subject | New York, NY | LinkedIn • Christie's press office | Not contacted | High | Ran the $323M auction. Can describe the night minute by minute. Traded phone bids on Chop Suey. |
| Joan Washburn | Art dealer, "best buddy" | Art World Subject | New York, NY | washburngallery.com | Not contacted | High | 40-year friendship. Watched every purchase. Has her own Smithsonian oral history. "Joan's got everything." |
| Pita Lopez | O'Keeffe's secretary, wedding witness | Art World Subject | Abiquiu / Santa Fe, NM | Through O'Keeffe Museum • 2025 profile | Not contacted | High | Witnessed the Abiquiu wedding. Retired from O'Keeffe Museum. Recently profiled — she's talking. Full name: Agapita "Pita" Judy Lopez. |
| Loïc Gouzer | Christie's specialist | Art World | New York, NY | Through Christie's | Not contacted | Medium | Traded phone bids with Widing on Chop Suey. Gouzer's client won at $85M hammer. |
| Mimi Gardner Gates | SAM Director Emerita (1994-2009) | Art World | Seattle, WA | Terra Foundation / SAM • Wikipedia | Not contacted | Medium | Led SAM during the Ebsworth loan years. Now chairs Terra Foundation. Married Bill Gates Sr. (deceased). |
| Franklin Kelly | NGA curator, organized Ebsworth exhibition | Art World | Washington, DC | NGA profile | Not contacted | Medium | Curated "Twentieth-Century American Art: The Ebsworth Collection" at NGA (2000). |
| Barbara Haskell | Whitney Museum curator | Art World | New York, NY | Through Whitney Museum • Wikipedia | Not contacted | Medium | Barney's "longest-term friend" among curators. He called her "a hero." |
| Mija Riedel | Smithsonian interviewer | Art World | San Francisco, CA | Through Smithsonian Archives / LinkedIn | Not contacted | Low | Conducted the 2-day oral history. Spent more time with Barney in his final year than almost anyone. Knows off-record details. |
| Maxine Clark | Build-A-Bear founder | Business Subject | St. Louis, MO | LinkedIn • Clark-Fox Foundation | Not contacted | High | "Is next Thursday soon enough?" $4.5M investment. She valued his intellectual capital. Wash U board. Actively speaking publicly. |
| Robert Joiner | Cleveland HS Class of '52 organizer | Business Subject | Burien, WA | 425-772-7756 • joinerr37@gmail.com | Not contacted | High | CALL TOMORROW. Organized 70th reunion 2022. Knows who's alive from Class of '52. Ask about Barney, Muriel, Mary, track times. |
| Wayne Smith | Windsor Inc. partner | Business | St. Louis, MO | Through Maxine Clark / St. Louis business directories | Not contacted | Low | Co-invested $4.5M in Build-A-Bear through Windsor Inc. |
| Mary (last name unknown) | Barney's St. Louis assistant/gatekeeper | Business | St. Louis, MO | Through Robert Joiner / INTRAV alumni / Maxine Clark | Not found | Medium | Answered the phone for decades at 7711 Bonhomme. Paul always talked to Mary first. 92% of INTRAV employees stayed 20+ years. |
| Audrey O'Leary | Barney's Hunts Point assistant | Business | Seattle, WA area | Through Ebsworth Foundation or Rebecca | Not contacted | Low | In the room during the 2017 Smithsonian interview. Found the O'Keeffe papers. Knows daily life at Hunts Point. |
| Jim Olson | Architect, Hunts Point house | Art World | Seattle, WA | olsonkundig.com | Not contacted | Medium | Designed the $20M house around the art. "Both about nature and about art." The house Bezos bought for $37.5M, sold for $63M. |
| Scott H. Wallace | Estate attorney, Perkins Coie | Legal | Seattle, WA | Perkins Coie profile | Not contacted | Low | WSBA #39651. Prepared all probate documents. Estate planning specialist. Unlikely to talk (attorney-client privilege). |
| Kanoa S. Ostrem | Connected to Rebecca | Legal | Seattle, WA (7116 Greenwood Ave N) | Unknown | Unknown | Low | Rebecca's legal mail went c/o this person. Possibly her attorney or family member. |
| Georgia O'Keeffe Museum | Holds Ebsworth Papers + wedding photos | Archive | Santa Fe, NM | okeeffemuseum.org | Not contacted | High | 6 feet of Barney's papers. 2 wedding-day photos by Patricia Ebsworth (1981). THE archive for O'Keeffe chapters. |
| Smithsonian Archives of American Art | Oral history + donated papers | Archive | Washington, DC | askus@si.edu | Not contacted | Medium | Ask about unreleased material. ASK IF VIDEO EXISTS of the 2017 interview — critical for documentary. |
| Clark Art Institute | Ebsworth archival materials | Archive | Williamstown, MA | Clark Archive | Not contacted | Medium | Newly discovered. Unknown contents. Could be correspondence, dealer records. |
| Art Institute of Chicago | Tadao Ando chapel models/drawings | Archive | Chicago, IL | Chapel perspective | Not contacted | Low | Donated by Christiane and Mark Ladd, 2019. Physical model and drawings of the unbuilt chapel. |
| Cleveland HS Alumni Association | Yearbooks, class connections | Archive | St. Louis, MO | clevelandhs-alumni.org | Not contacted | Medium | Newsletter: The Clevelandite. 1,000+ alumni. Yearbook: "The Beacon." May have class of '52 photos. |
| St. Louis County Library | Cleveland HS yearbook collection | Archive | St. Louis, MO | (314) 994-3300 | Not contacted | Medium | Physical yearbook collection. Will scan pages for researchers. Free. |
| The Guards Museum | Verify Grenadier Guards connection | Archive | London, England | theguardsmuseum.com | Not contacted | Low | Can verify the Ebsworth/Grenadier Guards/Buckingham Palace family claim. |
| Ebsworth Park | FLW house, filming location | Location | Kirkwood, MO | (314) 822-8359 • info@ebsworthpark.org • ebsworthpark.org | Not contacted | High | 75/25 anniversary in 2026. Roof just restored. May 3 lecture at SLAM. Sept 13 event. Film here for the documentary. |
| Voyager Superyacht | Lake Washington billionaire home tour | Location | Seattle, WA | voyagersuperyacht.com | Not contacted | Medium | Boat tour past Gates, Bezos, Ballmer homes. PASSES BARNEY'S FORMER HOUSE. Documentary scene: Paul narrating from the water. |
| O'Keeffe Home & Studio | Wedding location, filming | Location | Abiquiu, NM | okeeffemuseum.org/homes | Not contacted | Medium | 75-minute guided tours. 12 people max. Seasonal March-November. THE wedding location. Film here. |
| Olympic Sculpture Park | Echo sculpture, filming | Location | Seattle, WA | SAM • Free • Open daily | Not contacted | Medium | 46-foot Echo looking over Puget Sound. Free. Open daily. Easy to film. Closing scene of the documentary. |
| Christie's, 20 Rockefeller Plaza | Auction location | Location | New York, NY | Through Eric Widing / Christie's press | Not contacted | Low | The salesroom where $323M changed hands. Interior filming may require permission. |
| Diane Anderson Photography | 42 photos from 2016 Ebsworth Park tribute | Media | St. Louis, MO | dianeandersonphotography.com | Not contacted | Low | Professional photos from the June 9, 2016 tribute event at Ebsworth Park. |
| Michael Walmsley | Photographer, Hunts Point estate | Media | Seattle, WA area | Through Seattle Refined article | Not contacted | Low | ~20 photos of the Hunts Point estate credited to him in the Bezos $63M sale coverage. |
| Paul Terry Walhus | Author / Producer / Narrator | Production | Austin, TX | wholetechtexas@gmail.com • barneyebsworth.com/bio | Active | High | Barney's cousin. The family voice. Author of the biography. Narrator of the documentary. WholeTech Network (108 sites). |
| Documentary Producer (TBD) | Producer for the documentary | Production | TBD | NEEDED | Seeking | High | Need someone with art/collector documentary experience. Consider: PBS American Masters, A24, HBO Documentary Films, Netflix Documentary. |
| Literary Agent (TBD) | Agent for book publication | Production | New York, NY | NEEDED | Seeking | High | Target: ICM, WME, Inkwell, Gernert Company, Janklow & Nesbit. Use pitch letter at barneyebsworth.com/bio/pitch.html. |
This website is an independent biographical research project. It is not affiliated with, endorsed by, authorized by, or connected to the estate of Barney A. Ebsworth, Christiane Ebsworth Ladd, the Ebsworth Foundation, Perkins Coie LLP, or any entity associated with the Ebsworth family. All information presented is derived from publicly available sources including published interviews, news articles, and family accounts. No representation is made that this site speaks for or on behalf of the Ebsworth estate or any family member. Photographs and images are used under fair use for biographical, educational, and commentary purposes. For corrections or concerns, contact wholetechtexas@gmail.com.