Ms. Moynihan is an architectural historian who became friendly with Leon Levy in 1980, when they were on an archaeological trip to Jordan.
In 1973, while living in India, Ms. Moynihan authored a survey of surviving Moghul gardens, which was published in 1979 “Paradise as a Garden in Persia and Moghul India.” She also served for many years on the Indo-U.S. Sub-Commission on Education and Culture while continuing her research on Babur, the founder of the Moghul dynasty. In the process, she located and documented four previously unknown 16th century gardens built by Babur.
In 1991, she was nominated by Leon Levy and elected to serve as an independent director of the Oppenheimer Funds, of which he was founder and chairman.
In 1996, Ms. Moynihan directed a joint project for the Archaeological Survey of India and the Arthur M. Sackler Gallery of the Smithsonian Institution, and edited the report published in 2000 as “The Moonlight Garden, New Discoveries at the Taj Mahal.”
A long-time board member of the Smithsonian’s Freer Gallery of Art and the Sackler Gallery, Ms. Moynihan has also served as a trustee of the National Building Museum, the Dumbarton Oaks Research Library and Collection of Harvard University, and the Preservation League of New York State, among other educational and cultural institutions.
Married to Daniel Patrick Moynihan for 48 years, Ms. Moynihan also managed three of his four campaigns for the United States Senate.
In 2001, Leon Levy asked Ms. Moynihan to serve with Ms. White as trustee of the Leon Levy Foundation.
