| Whitney, Betsey Cushing Roosevelt, 1908-1998 | |||||||
| type | Collector | ||||||
| dates | 1908-1998 | ||||||
| city | New York City | ||||||
| state | NY | ||||||
| other cities | Baltimore, MD; Boston, MA; Hollywood; Fishers Island, CT; Augusta, GA; Saratoga Springs, NY; Manhasset, NY; Surrey, United Kingdom; | ||||||
| sex | F | ||||||
| history |
Betsey Whitney was a collector, philanthropist, the ex-wife of James Roosevelt (the eldest son of President Franklin D. Roosevelt), and later wife of American millionaire and U.S. Ambassador to the Court of Saint James, John Hay Whitney (married in 1942). Betsey also made art auction history in 1990 by putting up for sale, by Sotheby's, one of Renoir's most famous paintings, the sun-dappled cafe scene At the Moulin de la Galette. It brought $78.1 million which was then a record auction price for Impressionist art and the second-highest price for any artwork sold at auction. Betsey died on March 25, 1998, aged 89, with an estimated personal fortune of $700 million in 1990, according to Forbes magazine. Her estate bequeathed eight major paintings to the National Gallery of Art, including: Self-Portrait (1889) by Vincent van Gogh Marcelle Lender Dancing the Bolero in Chilperic (1895/1896) by Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec Open Window, Collioure (1905) by Henri Matisse The Harbor of La Ciotat (1907) by Georges Braque The Beach at Sainte-Adresse (1906) by Raoul Dufy |
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| decades | 1940-1950 1950-1960 1960-1970 1970-1980 1980-1990 1990-2000 |
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| updated | 03/22/2024 12:09:29 | ||||||
| research links |
Search FRESCO (Frick Research Catalog Online) Search Worldcat Search Library of Congress Name Authority File (LCNAF) Search Virtual International Authority File (VIAF) Search Wikidata Entry | ||||||
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