The Four Hundred (Gilded Age)

Portrait of Mrs. Astor by Carolus-Duran, in Paris 1890. This painting was placed prominently in Astor's house; she would stand in front of it when receiving guests for receptions. Today, it is held by the Metropolitan Museum of Art.[1]

The Four Hundred was a list of New York society during the Gilded Age, a group that was led by Caroline Schermerhorn Astor, the "Mrs. Astor", for many years. After her death, her role in society was filled by three women: Mamie Fish, Theresa Fair Oelrichs, and Alva Belmont,[2] known as the "triumvirate" of American society.[3]

On February 16, 1892, The New York Times published the "official" list of those included in the Four Hundred as dictated by social arbiter Ward McAllister, Astor's friend and confidant, in response to lists proffered by others, and after years of clamoring by the press to know who was on it.[4][5]

  1. ^ "Mrs. William Astor (Caroline Webster Schermerhorn, 1831-1908)". www.metmuseum.org. Metropolitan Museum of Art. Retrieved February 3, 2019.
  2. ^ MacColl, Gail; Wallace, Carol McD (2012). To Marry an English Lord: Tales of Wealth and Marriage, Sex and Snobbery in the Gilded Age. Workman Publishing. ISBN 9780761171980. Retrieved February 3, 2019.
  3. ^ Columbia, David Patrick (August 30, 2007). "The Adventures of Tessie". New York Social Diary. Retrieved September 10, 2018.
  4. ^ McAllister, Ward (February 16, 1892). "THE ONLY FOUR HUNDRED | WARD M'ALLISTER GIVES OUT THE OFFICIAL LIST. HERE ARE THE NAMES, DON'T YOU KNOW, ON THE AUTHORITY OF THEIR GREAT LEADER, YOU UNDER- STAND, AND THEREFORE GENUINE, YOU SEE" (PDF). The New York Times. Retrieved March 26, 2017.
  5. ^ Burrows, Edwin G.; Wallace, Mike (1998). Gotham: A History of New York City to 1898. Oxford University Press. p. 1072. ISBN 9780199729104. Retrieved February 3, 2019.