Abstract:
During World War II, David Finley, the first director of the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C. needed a sanctuary for the fine art in the gallery. Finley turned to his friend Edith Vanderbilt, who willingly agreed to hide these rare pieces of art at the Biltmore Estate. Painstaking effort ensured that the pieces were hidden and stored in a room with steel vaulted doors and steel barred windows. Some pieces kept at the Biltmore included Gilbert Stuart’s portrait of George Washington, Raphael’s Portrait of Bindo Altoviti, and Titian’s Venus with a Mirror.