Lot 115: Baron Adolf de Meyer , 1868-1949 gertrude vanderbilt whitney

tipped at the top left corner only to heavy paper, the photographer's stylized signature in pencil on the mount, annotated in an unidentified hand in pencil on the reverse, matted, circa 1912

measurements note 9 1/2 by 4 3/4 in. (24.1 by 12.1 cm.)

Helios Arts, Inc., New York, acquired from the aboveAcquired by the present owner from the above, 1977

PROPERTY FROM THE COLLECTION OF PAUL F. WALTER
This photograph of the great Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney (1875 - 1942), founder of the Whitney Museum of American Art, shows her in an elaborate costume created especially for her by Léon Bakst, the famous designer for the Ballets Russes. Baron de Meyer made a number of photographs of her in these same Persian-inspired harem pants and tunic, rich with Bakst's characteristic embroidery and elaborate appliqué. Another from this series, reproduced in Anne Ehrenkranz's A Singular Elegance, fig. 9, was used in the 15 January 1913 issue of Vogue and shows Mrs. Whitney looking fearlessly into the camera, confident in her position as one of the richest and most influential members of New York's smart set. 'In spite of her exacting social life as one of the prominent hostesses of New York, Mrs. Whitney finds time to devote herself seriously to real work,' the Vogue caption read. 'She is a sculptor of ability and is interested in many art movements, one of which is the recently organized Stage Society. This striking photograph shows her in a Persian costume worn at a fancy dress party at which she was the hostess.' In 1896, the fabulously wealthy Gertrude Vanderbilt had married the equally rich young Harry Payne Whitney, creating one of the largest fortunes in America. A generous patron of the arts and a sculptor in her own right, Gertrude Whitney went on to fund a number of progressive arts organizations, including the Whitney Studio Club for artists and the International Composers Guild, a force in modern music. Artists from Robert Henri and Arthur B. Davies to Charles Sheeler and Edward Hopper benefited from her largesse. In 1930, she established the Whitney Museum of American Art, after her own personal collection of modern art was refused by The Metropolitan Museum of Art the previous year. op. cit., de Meyer