Betsey Cushing Roosevelt Whitney
Encyclopedia
Betsey Roosevelt Whitney (May 18, 1908, Baltimore, Maryland – March 25, 1998, Manhasset, New York
), was an American
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 St. James's
, John Hay Whitney
.
and his wife Katharine Crowell Cushing, who hailed from a socially prominent Cleveland family. Dr. Cushing was descended from Matthew Cushing, an early settler of Hingham, Massachusetts. Dr. Cushing served as professor of surgery at Johns Hopkins
, Harvard and Yale
Universities, and the family established itself in Boston
.
Though Betsey had two brothers, she and her two sisters became well-known in the social world as the "Cushing Sisters", heralded for their charm and beauty from their debutante
days onward. She and her sisters were schooled by their social-climbing mother to pursue husbands of wealth and prominence, and coached to become socially acceptable to important men.
Both of Betsey's sisters died of cancer within months of each other in 1978, twenty years before Betsey died.
in 1930, when his father was then governor of New York. They had two daughters, Kate Roosevelt Whitney and Sara Wilford
. After her father-in-law became President, Betsey was reportedly FDR's favorite daughter-in-law, though she and her mother-in-law Eleanor Roosevelt
did not care for one another.
Her husband served his father as an aide at the White House
, and Betsey often stood-in as hostess at the White House when Eleanor was absent. When FDR entertained King George VI
and Queen Elizabeth
at a picnic at the Roosevelt estate in Hyde Park, New York in 1939, Betsey was prominent at the affair, and accompanied FDR as he drove the King and Queen along the Hudson River
.
In 1938, James Roosevelt left for Hollywood to work as an aide to Samuel Goldwyn
. His wife followed him, but they divorced in 1940. Betsey was granted custody of their daughters Kate and Sara, along with child support, though by biographers' accounts, James had little to no contact with his children, and eventually married three more times.
, who was formerly married to socialite Elizabeth Altemus
. In 1949, Whitney formally adopted his wife's daughters Kate and Sara Wilford
. The Whitneys moved to London
in 1957, when President Dwight D. Eisenhower
named Whitney Ambassador to the Court of St. James's
. The Whitneys became close to Queen Elizabeth II
and Prince Philip, who, in a radical departure from the usual procedure, addressed the Whitneys by their first names.
During the 1970s, Jock Whitney was listed as one of the ten wealthiest men in the world. The residences at their disposal over the years included the Greentree
estate on Long Island; a plantation in Georgia; a town house and an elegant apartment in Manhattan; a large summer house on Fishers Island
, near New London, Connecticut
; a 12-room house in Saratoga Springs, which the Whitneys used when they attended horse races; a golfing cottage in Augusta, Ga.; and a spacious house in Surrey, England, near the Ascot racecourse. In addition, the Whitneys shared a renowned Kentucky horse farm with Whitney's sister.
in Manhasset, built in the early 1950s on 15 acres (60,702.9 m²) donated by Whitney. Betsey was also involved with the Museum of Modern Art
(MOMA), Yale University
and New York Hospital-Cornell Medical Center. Among her many public activities over the years were memberships on the boards of the Whitney Museum of American Art, the John Hay Whitney Foundation and the Association for Homemakers Service.
After her husband's death in 1982, Betsey donated $8 million to the Yale Medical School, then the largest gift in the school's history. The National Gallery of Art
in Washington, D.C.
acquired nine important American and French paintings, as well as $2 million for future acquisitions. She herself left $15 million to New York Hospital-Cornell Medical Center in her own will.
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 Bal au moulin de la Galette, Montmartre
. It brought $78.1 million, then a record auction price for Impressionist art and the second-highest price for any artwork sold at auction.
in Manhasset, New York
. Her personal fortune was estimated at $700 million in 1990 according to Forbes magazine. Her estate bequeathed eight major paintings to the National Gallery of Art
.
Manhasset, New York
Manhasset is a hamlet and neighborhood in Nassau County, New York, on the North Shore of Long Island. As of the United States 2010 Census, the population was 8,080....
), was an American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
philanthropist, the ex-wife of James Roosevelt
James Roosevelt
James Roosevelt was the oldest son of U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt. He was a United States Congressman, an officer in the United States Marine Corps, an aide to his father, the official Secretary to the President, a Democratic Party activist, and a businessman.-Early life:Roosevelt was...
(the eldest son of President Franklin D. Roosevelt
Franklin D. Roosevelt
Franklin Delano Roosevelt , also known by his initials, FDR, was the 32nd President of the United States and a central figure in world events during the mid-20th century, leading the United States during a time of worldwide economic crisis and world war...
), and later wife of American millionaire and U.S. Ambassador to the Court of St. James's
Court of St. James's
The Court of St James's is the royal court of the United Kingdom. It previously had the same function in the Kingdom of England and in the Kingdom of Great Britain .-Overview:...
, John Hay Whitney
John Hay Whitney
John Hay Whitney , colloquially known as "Jock" Whitney, was U.S. Ambassador to the United Kingdom, publisher of the New York Herald Tribune, and a member of the Whitney family.-Family:...
.
Family
Betsey Maria Cushing was the middle daughter of the prominent neurosurgeon Dr. Harvey CushingHarvey Cushing
Harvey Williams Cushing, M.D. , was an American neurosurgeon and a pioneer of brain surgery, and the first to describe Cushing's syndrome...
and his wife Katharine Crowell Cushing, who hailed from a socially prominent Cleveland family. Dr. Cushing was descended from Matthew Cushing, an early settler of Hingham, Massachusetts. Dr. Cushing served as professor of surgery at Johns Hopkins
Johns Hopkins University
The Johns Hopkins University, commonly referred to as Johns Hopkins, JHU, or simply Hopkins, is a private research university based in Baltimore, Maryland, United States...
, Harvard and Yale
YALE
RapidMiner, formerly YALE , is an environment for machine learning, data mining, text mining, predictive analytics, and business analytics. It is used for research, education, training, rapid prototyping, application development, and industrial applications...
Universities, and the family established itself in Boston
Boston
Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...
.
Though Betsey had two brothers, she and her two sisters became well-known in the social world as the "Cushing Sisters", heralded for their charm and beauty from their debutante
Debutante
A débutante is a young lady from an aristocratic or upper class family who has reached the age of maturity, and as a new adult, is introduced to society at a formal "début" presentation. It should not be confused with a Debs...
days onward. She and her sisters were schooled by their social-climbing mother to pursue husbands of wealth and prominence, and coached to become socially acceptable to important men.
The Cushing Sisters
As a result of their mother's coaching to marry well, all three Cushing sisters married into wealth and prominence:- Minnie CushingMary Benedict CushingMary Cushing Fosburgh and known as "Minnie" was a socialite, the wife of William Vincent Astor, and the widow of the painter James Whitney Fosburgh. She was a trustee of the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the New York City Center, and was on the board of the Yale Art Gallery...
, her older sister, married Vincent AstorVincent AstorWilliam Vincent Astor was a businessman and philanthropist and a member of the prominent Astor family.-Early life:...
, the heir of a $200 million fortune, in 1940. She later divorced Astor and married artist James Whitney Fosburgh.
- Her younger sister Barbara "Babe" CushingBabe PaleyBarbara "Babe" Cushing Mortimer Paley was an American socialite and style icon. She was known by the popular nickname "Babe" for most of her life. She was named to the International Best Dressed List Hall of Fame in 1958....
was first married to Standard OilStandard OilStandard Oil was a predominant American integrated oil producing, transporting, refining, and marketing company. Established in 1870 as a corporation in Ohio, it was the largest oil refiner in the world and operated as a major company trust and was one of the world's first and largest multinational...
heir, Stanley Mortimer, Jr., before divorcing him and marrying CBS founder William S. PaleyWilliam S. PaleyWilliam S. Paley was the chief executive who built Columbia Broadcasting System from a small radio network into one of the foremost radio and television network operations in the United States.-Early life:...
. She was short-listed as one of the world's best-dressed women by distinguished designers like MainbocherMainbocherMainbocher is a fashion label founded by the American couturier Main Rousseau Bocher , also known as Mainbocher. Established in 1929, the house of Mainbocher successfully operated in Paris and then in New York...
, and a doyenne of New York society.
Both of Betsey's sisters died of cancer within months of each other in 1978, twenty years before Betsey died.
Marriage to James Roosevelt
Betsey married James RooseveltJames Roosevelt
James Roosevelt was the oldest son of U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt. He was a United States Congressman, an officer in the United States Marine Corps, an aide to his father, the official Secretary to the President, a Democratic Party activist, and a businessman.-Early life:Roosevelt was...
in 1930, when his father was then governor of New York. They had two daughters, Kate Roosevelt Whitney and Sara Wilford
Sara Wilford
Sara Delano Roosevelt diBonaventura Wilford is the daughter of Betsey Cushing Roosevelt Whitney, a prominent philanthropist in medicine and art, and James Roosevelt, the oldest son of US President Franklin D. Roosevelt and Anna Eleanor Roosevelt...
. After her father-in-law became President, Betsey was reportedly FDR's favorite daughter-in-law, though she and her mother-in-law Eleanor Roosevelt
Eleanor Roosevelt
Anna Eleanor Roosevelt was the First Lady of the United States from 1933 to 1945. She supported the New Deal policies of her husband, distant cousin Franklin Delano Roosevelt, and became an advocate for civil rights. After her husband's death in 1945, Roosevelt continued to be an international...
did not care for one another.
Her husband served his father as an aide at the White House
White House
The White House is the official residence and principal workplace of the president of the United States. Located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., the house was designed by Irish-born James Hoban, and built between 1792 and 1800 of white-painted Aquia sandstone in the Neoclassical...
, and Betsey often stood-in as hostess at the White House when Eleanor was absent. When FDR entertained King George VI
George VI of the United Kingdom
George VI was King of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Commonwealth from 11 December 1936 until his death...
and Queen Elizabeth
Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon
Elizabeth Angela Marguerite Bowes-Lyon was the queen consort of King George VI from 1936 until her husband's death in 1952, after which she was known as Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother, to avoid confusion with her daughter, Queen Elizabeth II...
at a picnic at the Roosevelt estate in Hyde Park, New York in 1939, Betsey was prominent at the affair, and accompanied FDR as he drove the King and Queen along the Hudson River
Hudson River
The Hudson is a river that flows from north to south through eastern New York. The highest official source is at Lake Tear of the Clouds, on the slopes of Mount Marcy in the Adirondack Mountains. The river itself officially begins in Henderson Lake in Newcomb, New York...
.
In 1938, James Roosevelt left for Hollywood to work as an aide to Samuel Goldwyn
Samuel Goldwyn
Samuel Goldwyn was an American film producer, and founding contributor executive of several motion picture studios.-Biography:...
. His wife followed him, but they divorced in 1940. Betsey was granted custody of their daughters Kate and Sara, along with child support, though by biographers' accounts, James had little to no contact with his children, and eventually married three more times.
Marriage to John Hay Whitney
On March 1, 1942 Betsey married millionaire John Hay WhitneyJohn Hay Whitney
John Hay Whitney , colloquially known as "Jock" Whitney, was U.S. Ambassador to the United Kingdom, publisher of the New York Herald Tribune, and a member of the Whitney family.-Family:...
, who was formerly married to socialite Elizabeth Altemus
Liz Whitney Tippett
Mary Elizabeth Whitney Person Tippett was a wealthy American socialite and philanthropist who was a champion horsewoman and for more than fifty years, a prominent owner/breeder of Thoroughbred racehorses.Born in Wynnewood, Pennsylvania, she was the daughter of Elizabeth Dobson and her husband...
. In 1949, Whitney formally adopted his wife's daughters Kate and Sara Wilford
Sara Wilford
Sara Delano Roosevelt diBonaventura Wilford is the daughter of Betsey Cushing Roosevelt Whitney, a prominent philanthropist in medicine and art, and James Roosevelt, the oldest son of US President Franklin D. Roosevelt and Anna Eleanor Roosevelt...
. The Whitneys moved to London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
in 1957, when President Dwight D. Eisenhower
Dwight D. Eisenhower
Dwight David "Ike" Eisenhower was the 34th President of the United States, from 1953 until 1961. He was a five-star general in the United States Army...
named Whitney Ambassador to the Court of St. James's
Court of St. James's
The Court of St James's is the royal court of the United Kingdom. It previously had the same function in the Kingdom of England and in the Kingdom of Great Britain .-Overview:...
. The Whitneys became close to Queen Elizabeth II
Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom
Elizabeth II is the constitutional monarch of 16 sovereign states known as the Commonwealth realms: the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Jamaica, Barbados, the Bahamas, Grenada, Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, Tuvalu, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Belize,...
and Prince Philip, who, in a radical departure from the usual procedure, addressed the Whitneys by their first names.
During the 1970s, Jock Whitney was listed as one of the ten wealthiest men in the world. The residences at their disposal over the years included the Greentree
Greentree
Greentree is a estate in Manhasset, New York on Long Island. Payne Whitney purchased the estate for his bride, Helen Julia Hay, in 1904. Later, John Hay Whitney and his second wife, Betsey, occupied the main house, where Mrs...
estate on Long Island; a plantation in Georgia; a town house and an elegant apartment in Manhattan; a large summer house on Fishers Island
Fishers Island
Fishers Island, approximately 9 miles long and 1 mile wide, is located at the eastern end of Long Island Sound, 2 miles off the southeastern coast of Connecticut across Fishers Island Sound...
, near New London, Connecticut
New London, Connecticut
New London is a seaport city and a port of entry on the northeast coast of the United States.It is located at the mouth of the Thames River in New London County, southeastern Connecticut....
; a 12-room house in Saratoga Springs, which the Whitneys used when they attended horse races; a golfing cottage in Augusta, Ga.; and a spacious house in Surrey, England, near the Ascot racecourse. In addition, the Whitneys shared a renowned Kentucky horse farm with Whitney's sister.
Philanthropy
Betsey established the Greentree Foundation in 1983 to assist local community groups. She was a benefactor of North Shore University HospitalNorth Shore University Hospital
North Shore University Hospital is one of the cornerstones of the North Shore-LIJ Health System, as well as an academic campus for the New York University School of Medicine and the Albert Einstein College of Medicine....
in Manhasset, built in the early 1950s on 15 acres (60,702.9 m²) donated by Whitney. Betsey was also involved with the Museum of Modern Art
Museum of Modern Art
The Museum of Modern Art is an art museum in Midtown Manhattan in New York City, on 53rd Street, between Fifth and Sixth Avenues. It has been important in developing and collecting modernist art, and is often identified as the most influential museum of modern art in the world...
(MOMA), Yale University
Yale University
Yale University is a private, Ivy League university located in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701 in the Colony of Connecticut, the university is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States...
and New York Hospital-Cornell Medical Center. Among her many public activities over the years were memberships on the boards of the Whitney Museum of American Art, the John Hay Whitney Foundation and the Association for Homemakers Service.
After her husband's death in 1982, Betsey donated $8 million to the Yale Medical School, then the largest gift in the school's history. The National Gallery of Art
National Gallery of Art
The National Gallery of Art and its Sculpture Garden is a national art museum, located on the National Mall between 3rd and 9th Streets at Constitution Avenue NW, in Washington, DC...
in Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
acquired nine important American and French paintings, as well as $2 million for future acquisitions. She herself left $15 million to New York Hospital-Cornell Medical Center in her own will.
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 Bal au moulin de la Galette, Montmartre
Bal au moulin de la Galette, Montmartre
Bal du moulin de la Galette is an 1876 painting by French artist Pierre-Auguste Renoir. It is housed at the Musée d'Orsay in Paris and is one of Impressionism's most celebrated masterpieces. The painting depicts a typical Sunday afternoon at Moulin de la Galette in the district of Montmartre in...
. It brought $78.1 million, then a record auction price for Impressionist art and the second-highest price for any artwork sold at auction.
Death
Betsey died on March 25, 1998 at North Shore University HospitalNorth Shore University Hospital
North Shore University Hospital is one of the cornerstones of the North Shore-LIJ Health System, as well as an academic campus for the New York University School of Medicine and the Albert Einstein College of Medicine....
in Manhasset, New York
Manhasset, New York
Manhasset is a hamlet and neighborhood in Nassau County, New York, on the North Shore of Long Island. As of the United States 2010 Census, the population was 8,080....
. Her personal fortune was estimated at $700 million in 1990 according to Forbes magazine. Her estate bequeathed eight major paintings to the National Gallery of Art
National Gallery of Art
The National Gallery of Art and its Sculpture Garden is a national art museum, located on the National Mall between 3rd and 9th Streets at Constitution Avenue NW, in Washington, DC...
.
Art owned
- Self-Portrait (1889) by Vincent van GoghVincent van GoghVincent Willem van Gogh , and used Brabant dialect in his writing; it is therefore likely that he himself pronounced his name with a Brabant accent: , with a voiced V and palatalized G and gh. In France, where much of his work was produced, it is...
- Marcelle LenderMarcelle LenderMarcelle Lender was a French singer, dancer and entertainer made famous in paintings by Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec.Born Anne-Marie Marcelle Bastien, she began dancing at the age of sixteen and within a few years made a name for herself performing at the Théâtre des Variétés in Montmartre.Marcelle...
Dancing the Bolero in ChilpéricChilpéric (operetta)Chilpéric is an opéra bouffe with libretto and music by Hervé, first produced in Paris on 24 October 1868 at the Théâtre des Folies-Dramatique in Paris...
(1895/1896) by Henri de Toulouse-LautrecHenri de Toulouse-LautrecHenri Marie Raymond de Toulouse-Lautrec-Monfa or simply Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec was a French painter, printmaker, draughtsman, and illustrator, whose immersion in the colourful and theatrical life of fin de siècle Paris yielded an œuvre of exciting, elegant and provocative images of the modern... - Open Window, Collioure (1905) by Henri MatisseHenri MatisseHenri Matisse was a French artist, known for his use of colour and his fluid and original draughtsmanship. He was a draughtsman, printmaker, and sculptor, but is known primarily as a painter...
- The Harbor of La Ciotat (1907) by Georges BraqueGeorges BraqueGeorges Braque[p] was a major 20th century French painter and sculptor who, along with Pablo Picasso, developed the art style known as Cubism.-Early Life:...
- The Beach at Sainte-Adresse (1906) by Raoul DufyRaoul DufyRaoul Dufy[p] was a French Fauvist painter. He developed a colorful, decorative style that became fashionable for designs of ceramics and textiles, as well as decorative schemes for public buildings. He is noted for scenes of open-air social events...
- Bal du moulin de la Galette (1876) by Pierre-Auguste RenoirPierre-Auguste RenoirPierre-Auguste Renoir was a French artist who was a leading painter in the development of the Impressionist style. As a celebrator of beauty, and especially feminine sensuality, it has been said that "Renoir is the final representative of a tradition which runs directly from Rubens to...
, the fifth most expensive painting ever sold, when adjusted for inflation.
Further reading
- The Sisters: Babe Mortimer Paley, Betsey Roosevelt Whitney, Minnie Astor Fosburgh: The Lives and Times of the Fabulous Cushing Sisters by David Grafton (Villard 1992).
- Last Cushing sister dies: Betsey Whitney outlived husbands, by Enid NemyEnid NemyEnid Nemy was a reporter and columnist for The New York Times for many years. She began at the Times in 1963, and remained for four decades before retiring. She was awarded the 1984 Matrix Award "for achievement in newspapers and wire services"....
, The New York TimesThe New York TimesThe New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
, March 26, 1998