In 1914 the Bacons found themselves, and Virginia's brother-in-law Edward, stuck in the United States due to the outbreak of World War I.

"[1] Her funeral was held at St. Thomas Church in Manhattan and, along with her husband and brother-in-law, Virginia was buried in the Bacon Mausoleum in Woodlawn, New York.

In any case, due to her connections with others of high social rank and wealth, as well as her interest in the art world, she was the subject of many paintings.

[4][6] Bacon's close relationship to businessman and art enthusiast, Charles Deering resulted in several well-known artists reproducing her image.

[7] In 1917 American Art News heralded Zorn's painting of Mrs. Bacon as "the finest woman’s portrait the Swedish modern master ever produced.

[8] Zorn also produced a half-length portrait of Bacon in Paris in 1891, two years before his first trip to the United States.

[7] It was either her cousin, Edith Vanderbilt, or Charles Deering who commissioned John Singer Sargent's 1896 portrait of Mrs. Bacon.

"[10] Most of the paintings and objects remained in Bacon's possession until her death, however, she sold and donated several works in the years directly after Edward passed.

[16] Though she died before they were published, two volumes listing and detailing Edward's collection were finished and printed in limited quantity.

James B. Townsend and W. Stanton Howard prepared the catalogs and John Getz wrote the object descriptions.

[16] After his death Virginia increased public knowledge of the collection through printing the catalogs and loaning selected works to exhibitions.

She left varying sums and personal items to family members and friends, but the largest bequest ($347,477) went to her nephew Harold Oakley Barker.

The National Museum (as the Smithsonian was called at the time) Annual Report included that the scholarship was "hailed as a first step in the right direction" in the effort to correct the imbalance of information on fauna of the world.

[22] Bacon left $50,000 and a painting of Clarence Barker to All Souls Church in Biltmore, North Carolina and $25,000 to Columbia University.