Mrs. Astor, the recognized social leader of New York, gives a ball each year which is one of the most brilliant social events of the season in America. It is attended by New York's most exclusive social set.

Mrs. Astor, the recognized social leader of New York, gives a ball each year which is one of the most brilliant social events of the season in America. It is attended by New York's most exclusive social set.
Mrs. Astor, the recognized social leader of New York, gives a ball each year which is one of the most brilliant social events of the season in America. It is attended by New York's most exclusive social set.

Mrs. Astor, the recognized social leader of New York, gives a ball each year which is one of the most brilliant social events of the season in America. It is attended by New York's most exclusive social set.

Date1902
Artist (American painter, 1870–1938)
Illustration CitationHarper's Weekly, January 17, 1903
MediumInk, charcoal, and gouache on paper
Dimensions25 1/2 × 17 in. (64.8 × 43.2 cm)
frame: 37 7/8 × 25 7/8 in. (96.2 × 65.7 cm)
Credit LineF. V. du Pont Acquisition Fund, 1986
Object number1986-50
On View
Not on view
ClassificationsDRAWING
Label TextReaders from all walks of life favored coverage of high-society social events at the turn of the twentieth century, reflecting the ever-popular American sense that anyone could rise to be financially - and thus socially - successful. This illustration's caption refers to socialite Caroline Webster Schmerhorn Astor, who staged an elaborate ball in New York every year. An invitation indicated acceptance into the city's elite. LIke many illustrators of his time, Walter Granville-Smith was also an exhibiting artist, known especially for his landscapes and seascapes.

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