Flora Payne Whitney
| Flora Payne Whitney | |
|---|---|
| Born | July 27, 1897 New York, New York, U.S. |
| Died | July 18, 1986 (aged 88) Glen Cove, New York |
| Residence | Old Westbury, New York |
| Education |
Brearley School Foxcroft School |
| Occupation | Patron of the arts |
| Spouse(s) |
Roderick Tower (m. 1920–25) George Macculloch Miller III (m. 1927–72) |
| Children | Pamela Tower Whitney Tower Flora Miller Leverett Miller |
| Parent(s) |
Harry Payne Whitney Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney |
Flora Payne Whitney, also known as Flora Whitney Miller (July 27, 1897 – July 18, 1986), was an American artist and socialite, art collector, and patron of the arts.
Flora Payne Whitney was born on July 27, 1897 and raised in Manhattan. Her father was Harry Payne Whitney (1872–1930), a sportsman and heir to the Whitney family fortune, and her mother was Gertrude Vanderbilt (1875–1942), heiress to a substantial part of the Vanderbilt family fortune. She attended Brearley School in New York and Foxcroft School in Middleburg, Virginia, where she met and became close lifelong friends with the artist Kay Sage.
During World War I, she worked with Ruth Hanna McCormick, wife of Senator Joseph M. McCormick, at the Washington headquarters of the Republican Women's National Executive Committee.
Whitney worked closely with her mother, Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney in the founding and endowing of the Whitney Museum of Art in New York. After her mother's death, Whitney served as President of the Museum from 1941 until 1966, and as Chairman from 1966 through 1974. Whitney's daughter and granddaughter remain active in museum affairs to this day.
On August 4, 1916, Whitney made her debut at "The Reefs," the Payne-Whitney "cottage" in Newport, Rhode Island. She was escorted by Quentin Roosevelt, son of President Theodore Roosevelt, although her father did not approve of young Roosevelt. After the United States entered World War I, Quentin enlisted in the U.S. Army Air Service, and became engaged to Whitney before leaving for duty overseas. The glamorous young couple never married, since Quentin was killed in aerial combat in July, 1918. Love letters exchanged between Flora and Quentin while he was at the front were featured in Edward Renehan's book about TR's sons, The Lion's Pride (New York: Oxford University Press, 1998).
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