Social Victorians/People/Henry White

John Singer Sargent Mrs Henry White, 1883

Also Known As

• Family name: White
• Henry White
• Daisy (Margaret Stuyvesant) Rutherford White (shown at right at about 30 years old)

Organizations

Henry White

• American Legation in London
  • Second Secretary (1883–1886)
  • First Secretary (1886 – October 1893)
• American Embassy
  • First Secretary (1896 – )
• American Ambassador to London
• The Souls, "charter members"
• Knickerbocker Club (1876 – 15 July 1927)

Timeline

1879 December 3, Henry White and Margaret "Daisy" Stuyvesant Rutherford married.

1885 or so to 1905 or so, Mr. Henry White seems to have been American Ambassador to London. What about Hay?

1897 July 2, Friday, Mr. and Mrs. Henry White attended the Duchess of Devonshire's fancy-dress ball at Devonshire House. (Henry White is #310 on the list of people who were present; Daisy White is #151.)

1897 December 30, The "Ladies Lilian and Norah Spencer Churchill, the Hon. Mrs. A. Bourke, Mr. and Mrs. Henry White, and Mr. H. Milner" were at a party at Blenheim Palace in December 1897 in which people did tableaux that got reported on, many of whom wore the costumes from the Duchess of Devonshire's ball.

1899, Daisy White became ill with a degenerative nerve disease; when she was absent Muriel White filled in hostessing duties for her mother.

1920, Henry White and Emily Thorn Vanderbilt Sloane married.

Costume at the Duchess of Devonshire's 2 July 1897 Fancy-dress Ball

"A Diplomatic Cousin" (Henry White), Vanity Fair, 16 March 1899

Mr. Henry White and Daisy White attended the Duchess of Devonshire's 2 July 1897 fancy-dress ball. According to the newspapers, Henry White was dressed as Giovanni Felici in the 17th-century procession. The newspaper reports (in the Times and the Morning Post) do not agree with the commemorative Album on how he was dressed. The Album says he was dressed as Henri de Lorraine, Duc de Guise. The newspapers do not mention Daisy White at all.

A caricature portrait (right) of Henry White called "A Diplomatic Cousin" by Leslie Ward ("Spy") appeared in the 16 March 1899 issue of Vanity Fair, as Number 741 in its "Men of the Day" series, giving a sense of how he looked at about the time of the ball.

John Singer Sargent painted Daisy White as Mrs Henry White (top right) in 1883.

Costumes at the Ball

Daisy White as Morosina Morosini, Dogaressa of Venice and Henry White as Henri de Lorraine, Duc de Guise. ©National Portrait Gallery, London.

The portrait of Henry and Daisy White (left) is photograph #19 in the album presented to the Duchess of Devonshire and now in the National Portrait Gallery. The printing on the portrait says, "Mr. Henry White as Henri de Lorraine, Duc de Guise. Mrs. Henry White as Morosina Morosini Dogaressa of Venice," with a Long S in Dogaressa. The National Portrait Gallery describes the portrait in this way: "Henry Van der Weyde's portrait of Margaret ('Daisy') Stuyvesant Rutherford White (née Rutherfurd) as Morosina Morosini, Dogaressa of Venice and Henry White as Henri de Lorraine, Duc de Guise in costume."

Durupt, Assassination of Henry I, Duke of Guise, by Henry III, in 1588

The Historical Henri de Lorraine, Duc de Guise

Because the House of Guise was "founded as a cadet branch of the House of Lorraine," Henry I, Duke of Guise (1550–1588) could logically be called de Lorraine. Charles Durupt painted (right) the Assassination of Henry I, Duke of Guise, by Henry III, in 1588 (or Henri III poussant du pied le cadavre du duc de Guise) in the first half of the 19th century. It is likely not the original, if one exists, of Henry White's costume, but some elements of what Henri I is wearing in this painting are related, including what appears to be the Star of the Order of the Holy Spirit pendant from the blue ribbon around his neck. White was 47 years old at the time of the ball, and Henri was 33.

Tintoretto, Dogaressa Morosina Morosini-Grimani, 1597

The Historical Morosina Morosini

Morosina Morosini was Morosina Morosini-Grimani (1545 – 1614). Painted by Domenico Tintoretto in 1597, the portrait of her (lower right) shows her at about 43 years old, but it is not the original, if one exists, of the costume worn by Daisy White, who was 44 at the time of the ball.

Assuming, possibly incorrectly, that the Whites would have had more control over what got said in the Album than in the newspaper reports, more weight can be assigned to the Album than the newspapers. The fact that two newspapers have the same information is not necessarily meaningful, as it cannot represent confirmation of that information.

Demographics

• Nationality: American

Family

• Henry White (29 March 1850 – 15 July 1927)
• Daisy (Margaret Stuyvesant) Rutherford White (7 October 1854 – 2 September 1916)

1. Muriel (Margaret Muriel) White (12 October 1880 – 15 March 1943)
2. John Campbell White (17 March 1884 – June 1967)

• Emily Thorn Vanderbilt Sloane (31 January 1852 – 28 July 1946)

Notes and Questions

1. Mr. Henry White was in the diplomatic offices of the American Ambassador to London, c. 1885–1905, missing only a little time after 1895, as appointments were changed in Washington for political reasons. Both he and Ambassador Hay were at the Duchess of Devonshire's ball.