Gloria Vanderbilt

Harold Arlen, New York (acquired directly from the artist)

Jerry Arlen, New York (acquired by descent from the above in 1986)

Rita Arlen, New York (acquired by descent from the above in 1988)

Acquired by descent from the above in 2023 by the present owner

A renowned actress, author and designer, Gloria Vanderbilt’s work within the visual arts is best categorized for its simplified forms and vibrant color palettes. Fine art held an influential presence throughout Vanderbilt’s life, as she was primarily raised by Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney, an artist herself and the founder of the Whitney Museum in New York City. Vanderbilt began her formal training at the Art Students League of New York and held her first exhibition in 1948. Her success across several artistic industries and prominent family lineage made her a sensational public figure.

In striking colors and stylized forms, Cleopatra depicts the illustrious queen and pharaoh of Ancient Egypt with long locks of orange and yellow hair adorned with colorful beads that wrap around her neck and head. Vanderbilt’s vibrant pigments jump from the page, contrasting against the black background and the figure’s skin, which is left as exposed paper. The work bears a striking resemblance to Vanderbilt’s lithograph titled Venus, which was completed one year earlier. Despite being hurried into adulthood at a young age, Vanderbilt described her artistic process as “seeing things with a child’s spontaneity” during an interview at approximately the same time she created Cleopatra (Quoted in “Art of Gloria Vanderbilt: Joy Born from Pain,” New York Times, February 1973, p. 142). The spontaneous aspect of her style emerges through the simplified, free-flowing aspects of her ink drawings and her whimsical color palette, both of which lend an overall playfulness to Vanderbilt’s work.