Auction November 12, 2025
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NEW YORK, NY -- Doyle’s auction of A Vanderbilt & Whitney Legacy: The Collection of Marylou Whitney & John Hendrickson charged out of the gate with determined competition, racing past expectations to achieve a sale total that doubled expectations. The landmark sale on November 12, 2025 featured 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.
Franklin Brooke Voss – A World Auction Record!
Competition was particularly fierce for Franklin Brooke Voss’s (1880-1953) Winner’s Circle (The Paddock at Saratoga with Top Flight and Trainer), 1931, which galloped past its estimate of $15,000-25,000 to achieve $83,505—A World Auction Record for the Artist. National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame inductee Top Flight was the leading American filly of her generation at both two and three years of age. Another work by Voss, a 1945 portrait of Mahmoud, far surpassed its estimate of $6,000-9,000, realizing $38,400. Acquired by Cornelius Vanderbilt "C.V." Whitney in 1940, Mahmoud went on to sire seventy stakes winners for the Whitney stable.
Vanderbilt Silver Shines!
The silver section of the Collection comprised more than forty lots, many evoking the splendor of America’s fabled Gilded Age. Highlighting the offerings was a sterling silver tea and coffee service by William Gale, Jr., New York, which sold for $23,040, many times its estimate. The service was 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 was a pair of English sterling silver wine coolers by John Fray, London, 1765, that sold far over its estimate, realizing $21,760. The coolers were 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.
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.
The Collection of Marylou Whitney & John Hendrickson offered a rare glimpse into the storied world that defined the Vanderbilt and Whitney families. This landmark auction presented 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.
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