Ailsa Mellon Bruce (June 28, 1901 – August 25, 1969)[1] was a prominent American socialite and philanthropist who established the Avalon Foundation.

Her parents divorced in 1912 and from 1921 to 1932, Ailsa served as her father's official hostess during his tenure as United States Secretary of the Treasury, and again when he was U.S.

[1] Bruce established the Avalon Foundation in 1940, which made grants to colleges and universities, medical schools and hospitals, youth programs and community services, churches, environmental projects, and an array of cultural and arts organizations.

[5][6] At her death in 1969, Ailsa Bruce bequeathed 153 paintings, primarily by 19th-century French artists, to the National Gallery of Art, as well as establishing a fund for future acquisitions.

Among the many works acquired by the Gallery through the Ailsa Mellon Bruce Fund was the portrait of Ginevra de' Benci, the only painting by Leonardo da Vinci in the United States.