A Vanderbilt & Whitney Legacy: Property from the Collection of Marylou Whitney & John Hendrickson

• Auction of A Vanderbilt & Whitney Legacy: The Collection of Marylou Whitney & John Hendrickson 

• Landmark Sale on Wednesday, November 12, 2025 at 10am

• Elegant Furniture, Artwork, Silver, Racing Memorabilia, Decorations, Jewelry and More

• Contents of Cady Hill, the Stately Saratoga Springs Residence of the Whitney Family

NEW YORK, NY -- Doyle is honored to auction A Vanderbilt & Whitney Legacy: The Collection of Marylou Whitney & John Hendrickson. This landmark sale on Wednesday, November 12, 2025 at 10am will feature furniture, artwork, silver, racing memorabilia, decorations, jewelry and more from Cady Hill, the stately Saratoga Springs, New York residence that for nearly a century was home to the prominent Whitney family.

Cornelius Vanderbilt Whitney (1899-1992)
Cornelius Vanderbilt Whitney, known both as “C.V.” and “Sonny,” was a distinguished figure whose life embodied the legacy of two of America’s most storied families—the Vanderbilts and the Whitneys. The son of businessman and Thoroughbred breeder Harry Payne Whitney and his wife, Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney, founder of the Whitney Museum of American Art, he inherited a deep connection to both industry and art. A financier, philanthropist, and passionate horseman, Whitney carried forward the family’s celebrated tradition in Thoroughbred racing. Beyond the racetrack, he was a co-founder and the first president of Pan American Airways and a co-founder of Selznick International, which produced such enduring classics as A Star Is Born (1937) and Gone with the Wind (1939).

Marylou Whitney (1925-2019)
In 1958, C.V. married Marie Louise Schroeder Hosford, who would become known to the world as Marylou Whitney—a sparkling presence affectionately known as the “Queen of Saratoga” and a tireless advocate for the sport of racing. Together, they revitalized Saratoga’s summer season, entertaining with warmth and flair at Cady Hill and the Canfield Casino, where Marylou’s legendary parties blended elegance, humor and excitement. Following Cornelius’s death in 1992, Marylou continued her deep involvement in the racing community and later married John Hendrickson, with whom she shared her passion for philanthropy and horse racing, in particular the backstretch community and the National Museum of Racing.

Artwork
The Collection is especially rich in equestrian paintings spanning two generations of collecting by the Vanderbilt/Whitney family. Outstanding offerings include Henry Stull's (1851-1913) Brighton Handicap, 1904; Franklin Brooke Voss' (1880-1953), Winner's Circle, (The Paddock at Saratoga), 1931, and Mahmoud, 1945; Richard Stone Reeves’s (1919-2005), Bird Town, Kentucky Oaks, 2003, and Birdstone, 2004; and John Frederick Herring, Snr.’s Mare and Foal Trotting, 1855, and Mare and Foal, 1853.

Of particular note is a bronze bust of Cornelius Vanderbilt Whitney by his mother, Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney (1875-1942). Other artists represented in the Collection include Gifford Beal, Madeline Hewes, Nicola Simbari and Eric Sloane.

Silver
The silver section of the Collection comprises more than forty lots, highlighted by exceptional Georgian and Victorian examples. Notable pieces include a set of eighteen Victorian sterling silver dinner plates by John S. Hunt, London, 1853; a George III covered soup tureen and stand by Robert Sharp and Thomas Ellerton & Richard Sibley, London, 1799/1803; and four George III covered vegetable dishes with covers by Robert Salmon, London, circa 1820.

An elegant relic of the Gilded Age is a sterling silver tea and coffee service by William Gale, Jr., New York, engraved CAV and 1867, commemorating the marriage of C.V.’s maternal grandparents, Cornelius Vanderbilt II and Alice Claypoole Gwynne. Their magnificent townhouse at the corner of Fifth Avenue and 57th Street was the largest private residence ever built in New York City, while their summer home, The Breakers, remains the most lavish of Newport’s famed “cottages.”

Also bearing a Vanderbilt provenance is a pair of English sterling silver wine coolers by John Fray, London, 1765, engraved GV and August 25th, 1896—the date of the wedding of C.V.’s parents, Gertrude Vanderbilt and Harry Payne Whitney, which took place at The Breakers.

Furniture & Decorative Arts
Elegant furnishings in the Collection offer an array of English and Continental pieces in keeping with the stately country home décor of Cady Hill. Offerings include twelve Italian Neoclassical painted wood armchairs, circa 1790, and a Steuben 19th/20th century heraldic glass stemware and dinner service engraved with the Whitney crest.

Jewelry
Marylou Whitney’s love of boldly glamorous jewelry became part of her signature look at racing and social events. Her collection of fine jewelry features a stunning pair ruby and diamond fringe earclips and stylish white enamel and diamond shell earclips by David Webb, in addition to a large selection of her eye-catching costume jewelry.

The Collection of Marylou Whitney & John Hendrickson offers a rare glimpse into the storied world that defined the Vanderbilt and Whitney families. This landmark auction presents an exceptional opportunity to acquire pieces that reflect a life devoted to art, philanthropy and gracious living—a legacy that continues to inspire and enchant generations of collectors.