Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney was a leading sculptor and arts benefactor of the early twentieth century. Whitney was born an heiress to the great family fortune established by her great-grandfather, Commodore Cornelius Vanderbilt. Gertrude was the second daughter and the fourth of seven children of Cornelius and Alice Claypoole Vanderbilt. Her father was a railroad magnate who indulged his interests as an art patron and collector. Gertrude was brought up in an atmosphere of wealth and luxury and spent most of her youth shuttling between her family's two homes: a luxurious mansion in New York City and a summer estate in Newport, Rhode Island. She was educated by private tutors both at home and in Europe. Later, she attended New York's exclusive, all-female Brearley School. During her youth, she wrote avidly in personal journals and showed promising skill in watercolor and drawing.

A Growing Interest in Sculpture

Whitney was...