{"data":{"id":"1415","type":"artist","attributes":{"id":1415,"topgoose_id":240,"tms_id":1415,"display_name":"Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney","sort_name":"Whitney Gertrude Vanderbilt","display_date":"1875–1942","begin_date":"1875","end_date":"1942","biography":"\u003cp\u003eAs a daughter of Cornelius Vanderbilt II,\nthe richest man in the United States at\nthe turn of the century, Gertrude Vanderbilt\nWhitney was born into tremendous\nwealth and privilege. She defied social\nexpectations, however, by becoming\na sculptor and the foremost patron of\nAmerican art in the early twentieth century—\nactivities that ultimately would lead her\nto found the Whitney Museum. Not long\nafter marrying Harry Payne Whitney,\nscion of one of New York’s wealthiest\nfamilies, she embarked on art studies and\nlater rented a studio in New York’s\nGreenwich Village, far from uptown society,\nto begin working as a sculptor. Whitney\nreceived several major public commissions\nduring her lifetime, including a memorial\nto the \u003cem\u003eTitanic \u003c/em\u003evictims in Washington, DC;\na World War I memorial in Brittany, France;\nand a monument to William F. “Buffalo\nBill” Cody in Cody, Wyoming.\n\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003ca href=\"/collection/works/3312\"\u003e\u003cem\u003eChinoise\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/a\u003e, one of her early successes,\nis a more intimate and personal work.\nAs an antidote to the highly prescribed\nconfines of her life as a socialite, Whitney\nloved to dress up in elaborate and fanciful\ncostumes by designers such as Léon\nBakst. In \u003cem\u003eChinoise\u003c/em\u003e she commemorates this\npastime, depicting herself in a flowing\nAsian-style robe, her gaze serene as she\nstands atop a lotus blossom. This whimsical\nself-portrait was displayed prominently\nin the Whitney Museum after it opened to\nthe public in 1931. Over time, the sculpture\nbecame a kind of personal emblem—\nindeed, so closely associated with her\nthat Florine Stettheimer included it\nin her iconic 1942 painting \u003cem\u003eThe Cathedrals\nof Art\u003c/em\u003e as a ghostly symbol of Whitney,\nwho died the same year.\u003c/p\u003e","on_view":false,"artport":false,"biennial":true,"collection":true,"ulan_id":"500014661","wikidata_id":"Q271910","created_at":"2017-08-30T15:34:33.000-04:00","updated_at":"2026-04-23T01:32:01.043-04:00","links":{"artworks":"/api/artists/1415/artworks","exhibitions":"/api/artists/1415/exhibitions"}}}}