Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney’s Long Island studio sends 100 more lots to Richard Stedman Jan. 20

Howard Cushing portrait of Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney’s daughter, Flora, estimated at $300,000-$600,000 at Richard Stedman.

TAMPA, Fla. – Almost a year to the day after its previous offering from the studio of Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney, Richard Stedman Estate Services will present 100 more lots related to the famed sculptor, founder of the Whitney Museum of American Art, and great-granddaughter of Commodore Cornelius Vanderbilt on Saturday, January 20. Absentee and Internet live bidding will be available through LiveAuctioneers.

The materials include furnishings, photographs, artworks, documents and other memorabilia from her studio in Old Westbury on Long Island in New York. Together, they provide a glimpse into the life of Whitney (1875-1942), who launched her career without the support of her husband or family and had to navigate the unique obstacles posed by her wealth, her womanhood, and her surname.

Critics generally agree that Whitney’s greatest work is her memorial to the men on the Titanic who refused seats in lifeboats to allow women and children to survive the disaster. Her finished sculpture, which was unveiled in Washington, D.C. in 1931, won an open competition for submissions. A second, related sculpture, a maquette for a memorial to those lost on the Lusitania in 1915, carried even greater emotional meaning for the artist. Her favorite sibling, Alfred Vanderbilt, was aboard the Lusitania when it was torpedoed by a German U-boat, and reportedly offered his life vest to a woman holding an infant. The maquette alludes to this selfless act, which doomed Alfred, by placing the figure of a standing woman with a baby front and center. Unlike the Titanic commission, the Lusitania memorial was never realized. Its maquette appears in the sale lineup with an estimate of $10,000-$20,000.

Impressive for entirely different reasons is a suite of 13 furnishings, plus accessories, that comprised Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney’s bedroom in Paris in the early 20th century. At some point, her heirs removed the pieces from storage and set them up in the Long Island studio. Now the tantalizing time capsule has an estimate of $200,000-$400,000.

The highest-estimated lot in the sale is an artwork, but it is not by Whitney, nor does it feature her. It is a portrait of Whitney’s daughter, Flora, painted by family friend Howard Cushing. The portrait, which shows the pensive young woman lounging on a yellow couch, once held pride of place in the Long Island studio. In the January 20 sale, it has an estimate of $300,000-$600,000.

A second fascinating piece that centers Flora Whitney (1897-1986) is a lot of three of her diaries that span the years 1909 to 1918. In them, she discusses the sinkings of the Titanic and the Lusitania, and aspects of her relationship with her fiancé, Quentin Roosevelt, son of Theodore Roosevelt. Neither family approved of the match, which came to a tragic end when Quentin, who had volunteered to fight in World War I as a flight commander with the 95th Aero Squadron, was shot down over France in July 1918. While Flora’s recorded thoughts cover many episodes of interest, including an ultimately failed engagement to a previous suitor, they end in 1918 and do not seem to cover her reaction to Quentin’s death. The diaries have a collective estimate of $10,000-$50,000.

Howard Cushing portrait of Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney’s daughter, Flora, estimated at $300,000-$600,000 at Richard Stedman.

Howard Cushing portrait of Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney’s daughter, Flora, estimated at $300,000-$600,000 at Richard Stedman.

Bed from the suite of furnishings and fittings of Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney’s Paris bedroom, which her descendants recreated in her Long Island studio, together estimated at $200,000-$400,000 at Richard Stedman.

Bed from the suite of furnishings and fittings of Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney’s Paris bedroom, which her descendants recreated in her Long Island studio, together estimated at $200,000-$400,000 at Richard Stedman.

Two-volume album of photographs of Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney’s sculptures, estimated at $16,000-$32,000 at Richard Stedman.

Two-volume album of photographs of Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney’s sculptures, estimated at $16,000-$32,000 at Richard Stedman.

Interior page from one of three diaries written by Flora Whitney between 1909 and 1918, estimated at $10,000-$50,000 at Richard Stedman.

Interior page from one of three diaries written by Flora Whitney between 1909 and 1918, estimated at $10,000-$50,000 at Richard Stedman.

Roland Arkell

Roland Arkell

Roland Arkell is editor of Auction Central News and deputy editor at Antiques Trade Gazette. He has been writing about all aspects of the art and antiques market for more than 25 years.

Fame’s Irene Cara estate items take center stage at Richard Stedman Nov. 18

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TAMPA, Fla. — The music of the 1980s comes alive with the Irene Cara estate auction at Richard Stedman on Saturday, November 18. The 280-lot sale spans the lifelong career of the late musician, who began as a child performer and capped her career with the films Fame and Flashdance…What A Feeling. The catalog is now available for bidding at LiveAuctioneers.

Born Irene Cara Escalera (1959-2022), the actress best remembered as Coco from Alan Parker’s 1980 motion picture hit Fame, Cara actually began with child prodigy appearances at Carnegie Hall. She was a cast member of the PBS program Electric Company in the 1970s and would hit superstardom with Fame and later her vocal performance on the hit single for Flashdance in 1983. Cara won Oscar, Grammy and Tony awards across her remarkable career.

Stedman’s sale is wide-ranging, featuring clothing, jewelry, awards and proclamations, mementos, videos and vinyl, posters, vintage playbills and artworks as well as the dress she was wearing when she won a Grammy, a Roots gold pendant, a touring wardrobe trunk, photos, childhood memorabilia and scores of dresses, handbags, shoes, bracelets and stage wear.

One of the sale’s top lots is Cara’s Fame cast baseball cap from the production. Found in her touring trunk by auction catalogers, it was clearly a personally important possession from a key moment in her career. The cap is estimated at $1,000-$3,000.

Cara attended the 1983 Grammy Awards to perform her nominated — and ultimately winning — single Flashdance…What A Feeling, defeating Linda Ronstadt, Donna Summer, Sheena Easton and Bonnie Tyler for the honor of Best Female Pop Vocal Performance for that year. She wore this dress to the occasion and on stage during her performance, clearly a must-have for any fan of the talented star. It is estimated at $300-$900 and may represent the stealth lot of the sale.

As a child, Cara participated in the circa-1969 Little Miss America pageant, where she rose to semi-finalist. This sash was also found in the touring trunk that housed her most prized possessions. It carries an estimate of $300-$900.
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Irene Cara’s ‘Fame’ cast baseball cap, estimated at $1,000-$3,000 at Richard Stedman.
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Beaded lace sheer bodice one-shoulder dress Irene Cara was wearing when she won a Grammy in 1984, estimated at $300-$900 at Richard Stedman.
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Irene Cara’s Little Miss America finalist pageant sash, estimated at $300-$900 at Richard Stedman.
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Richard Stedman presents art from Gertrude Whitney Vanderbilt estate, Jan. 21

Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney bronze shepherd statue, estimated at $10,000-$20,000. Image courtesy of Richard Stedman Estate Services
Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney bronze shepherd statue, estimated at $10,000-$20,000. Image courtesy of Richard Stedman Estate Services

TAMPA, Fla. – On Saturday, January 21, starting at noon Eastern time, Richard Stedman Estate Services LLC will hold The Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney Estate Auction. It will feature 22 sculptures by the Whitney Museum founder and great-granddaughter of Commodore Cornelius Vanderbilt from her landmark Old Westbury, Long Island, New York studio as well as Vanderbilt family silver, Chinese vases, jewelry, paintings and decorative arts. Absentee and Internet live bidding will be available through LiveAuctioneers.

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