When an object comes into the permanent collection or is placed on loan to the museum, it is assigned a credit line. This is how the object will be acknowledged on gallery labels, online, and in publications. If the object is donated or loaned by a private individual, historically we have asked for the donor’s input regarding the wording of the credit line. It could include their name, it could honor a friend or colleague, or the donor may wish to remain anonymous. Particularly with antiquities, a credit line of “Anonymous gift” may raise some eyebrows. However, there are many legitimate reasons why a donor may wish to remain anonymous, and it doesn’t mean anything nefarious is going on.
In 2015, the Carlos acquired a group of 59 objects from a private collector who wished to remain anonymous until December 31, 2025. The donor’s name and details were noted and available in our internal database, but when some of the objects went on display in the Near Eastern galleries in 2018, the credit line on the label was “Anonymous gift”. Last month, I was finally able to change the credit line from “Anonymous gift” to “Gift of Cynthia Helms”.
Cynthia Helms (1923–2019) was born in Maldon, England. Her father was a prosperous farmer and landowner in Essex, and she attended boarding school with Mary Spencer Churchill, the youngest daughter of Clementine and Winston Churchill. During World War II, Cynthia joined the Women’s Royal Naval Service (WRNS) where she met her first husband, Allan McKelvie (1915–1994). After the war, they relocated to the United States when Dr. McKelvie was awarded a fellowship to study at the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota. Dr. McKelvie’s work ultimately took the family to Washington, DC where, in 1966, Cynthia’s life took an intriguing turn. At a party held at the Embassy of Lebanon, Cynthia met Richard Helms (1913–2002), the director of central intelligence.
If you are unfamiliar with Richard Helms, I can tell you he is an interesting character. His involvement with the CIA’s MKUltra program alone is worth a Google. Richard’s career in intelligence began while working for the Office of Strategic Services during World War II. He transitioned to the CIA when it was formed in 1947 and remained with the agency through the tumultuous 1950s and 1960s. According to Cynthia’s memoirs, Richard had a good rapport with President Lyndon B. Johnson but never found the same working or personal relationship with President Richard Nixon. In 1972, on the heels of Watergate and his re-election, President Nixon informed Richard at Camp David that he would no longer be the director of the CIA.
Despite this development, Richard’s government career was not over. In April 1973, he and Cynthia moved to Tehran after Richard was appointed as the U.S. Ambassador to Iran. By her own accounts, Cynthia took full advantage of living in Iran and travelled extensively throughout the country. She took Persian lessons and visited archaeological sites. While in Iran, Cynthia also amassed a small eclectic collection of objects, which she brought home to the U.S. in 1977. By 2015, she was looking for a home for her collection and was directed to the Carlos through friends.
Honestly, I have no idea where, when, or how Cynthia Helms acquired her collection. I’ve read both of her memoirs (An Ambassador’s Wife in Iran and An Intriguing Life: A Memoir of War, Washington, and Marriage to an American Spymaster), and the collection is not mentioned in either publication. But I can’t help but wonder—after living for decades in the home of Richard Helms – what secrets these objects could tell!
