# Flora Miller Biddle

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**Flora Miller Biddle** (born 1928) is an American author, honorary chairman, and former president of the [Whitney Museum of American Art](/source/Whitney_Museum_of_American_Art), serving from 1977 to 1995.[1] She is a granddaughter of [Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney](/source/Gertrude_Vanderbilt_Whitney), the founder of the Whitney Museum.[2][3]

## Biography

Biddle was born to [Flora Payne Whitney](/source/Flora_Payne_Whitney), a daughter of [Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney](/source/Gertrude_Vanderbilt_Whitney) and [Harry Payne Whitney](/source/Harry_Payne_Whitney). Gertrude was a great-granddaughter of Commodore [Cornelius Vanderbilt](/source/Cornelius_Vanderbilt) while Harry was a son of [William Collins Whitney](/source/William_Collins_Whitney), former [United States Secretary of the Navy](/source/United_States_Secretary_of_the_Navy) in the [first Cleveland administration](/source/First_Cleveland_administration), and a descendant of [Eli Whitney](/source/Eli_Whitney), inventor of the [Cotton gin](/source/Cotton_gin).[4]

She attended [Barnard College](/source/Barnard_College) but dropped out in 1947 to marry Michael Henry Irving (1923-2003), a Harvard graduate who served in the Navy. He later received a degree from [Columbia Graduate School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation](/source/Columbia_Graduate_School_of_Architecture,_Planning_and_Preservation) and became an architect. Irving was the son of Carolyn Mann Irving (1891-1987) and Evelyn duPont Irving (1886-1968), a nephew of [Washington Irving](/source/Washington_Irving) and descendant of [Éleuthère Irénée du Pont](/source/%C3%89leuth%C3%A8re_Ir%C3%A9n%C3%A9e_du_Pont), founder of the [DuPont](/source/DuPont_(1802%E2%80%932017)) company.[5] They married in June 1947 and had four children.[6][7]

She became a museum trustee in 1958 and president of the Whitney in 1977.[6][8] During her tenure as president of the [Whitney Museum of American Art](/source/Whitney_Museum_of_American_Art), she worked closely with director [Thomas N. Armstrong III](/source/Thomas_N._Armstrong_III) to expand the museum's modern art collection and was responsible for the fundraising.[2] Biddle once rode in the trunk of a [Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus](/source/Ringling_Bros._and_Barnum_%26_Bailey_Circus) elephant on [Madison Avenue](/source/Madison_Avenue) in a nationally publicized stunt to help acquire *[Cirque Calder](/source/Cirque_Calder)* into the museum's permanent collection*.*[2][9] She also oversaw the moving of the museum into the [Marcel Breuer](/source/Marcel_Breuer)-designed structure on 945 Madison Avenue on the [Upper East Side](/source/Upper_East_Side).[8]

Biddle obtained her degree from [Manhattanville College](/source/Manhattanville_College) in 1978. From 1980 to 1990, she served on the New York City Art Commission.[10]

She divorced Irving in 1979 and married Sydney Francis Biddle (1918-2004), a lawyer turned artist trained at [Harvard College](/source/Harvard_College) and [Columbia Law School](/source/Columbia_Law_School). Biddle was a member of the [Biddle family](/source/Biddle_family) of [Philadelphia](/source/Philadelphia) and a nephew of [Francis Biddle](/source/Francis_Biddle), who was [Attorney General of the United States](/source/United_States_Attorney_General) during [World War II](/source/World_War_II) and the main American judge during the [Nuremberg trials](/source/Nuremberg_trials).[11][12][13]

She stepped down as president and chairman during the mid-1990s. Her daughter, Fiona Donovan, a [Barnard College](/source/Barnard_College) and [Columbia University](/source/Columbia_University)-trained art historian,[14] served as trustee until 2003. Donovan was brought back to the board in 2014 by director [Adam D. Weinberg](/source/Adam_D._Weinberg).[2][15] Biddle's granddaughters, fifth-generation members of the [Whitney family](/source/Whitney_family), Flora Donovan and Flora Irving, were also made trustees of the Whitney in the same year.[2]

## Written works

- *The Whitney Women and the Museum They Made: A Family Memoir*, Arcade Publishing, 1999
- *Embers of Childhood: Growing Up a Whitney*, Arcade Publishing, 2019

## References

1. Biddle, Flora Miller. (2017). *The Whitney Women and the Museum They Made : a Family Memoir*. Skyhorse Publishing. ISBN 978-1-62872-809-5. [OCLC 1076476310](https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/1076476310)

1. Kazanjian, Dodie. ["Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney's Heirs Are Back on the Board at the Family's Spanking-New Museum"](https://www.vogue.com/article/new-whitney-museum-gertrude-vanderbilt-whitney-heirs). *Vogue*. Retrieved August 9, 2020.

1. ["Michelle Obama: The Whitney Is for 'Dreaming'"](https://www.vulture.com/2015/04/michelle-obama-the-whitney-is-for-dreaming.html). *Vulture*. 30 April 2015. Retrieved August 9, 2020.

1. Columnist, DR TOM MACK (31 July 2020). ["ARTS AND HUMANITIES: Aiken-based memoir republished last year"](https://www.aikenstandard.com/lifestyle/arts-and-humanities-aiken-based-memoir-republished-last-year/article_4c43a506-d10c-11ea-bc55-733598438e5a.html). *Aiken Standard*. Retrieved August 9, 2020.

1. ["Hagley Museum and Library: Carolyn M. Irving collection of prints and photographs (1969.065) -- Audiovisual Collections and Digital Initiatives Department"](https://findingaids.hagley.org/xtf/view?docId=ead/1969_065.xml). *findingaids.hagley.org*. Retrieved August 9, 2020.

1. ["The Whitney Women and the Museum They Made"](http://movies2.nytimes.com/books/first/b/biddle-whitney.html). *The New York Times*. Retrieved August 9, 2020.

1. ["Patricia Rainford Wed To Michael H. Irving"](https://www.nytimes.com/1981/07/12/style/patricia-rainford-wed-to-michael-h-irving.html). *The New York Times*. July 12, 1981. [ISSN 0362-4331](https://www.worldcat.org/issn/0362-4331). Retrieved August 9, 2020.

1. Weber, Nicholas Fox (February 13, 2000). ["Inheriting a Museum"](https://www.nytimes.com/2000/02/13/books/inheriting-a-museum.html). *The New York Times*. [ISSN 0362-4331](https://www.worldcat.org/issn/0362-4331). Retrieved August 9, 2020.

1. ["CALDER'S CIRCUS: The Artist as Reporter and Inventor"](https://journal.voca.network/calders-circus/). *Voices in Contemporary Art*. Retrieved August 9, 2020.

1. ["Flora Biddle"](https://web.archive.org/web/20220528174438/http://kentpresents.org/presenters/flora-biddle.php). *kentpresents.org*. Archived from [the original](https://kentpresents.org/presenters/flora-biddle.php) on May 28, 2022. Retrieved 2020-08-09.

1. ["Paid Notice: Deaths BIDDLE, SYDNEY FRANCIS"](https://www.nytimes.com/2004/12/07/classified/paid-notice-deaths-biddle-sydney-francis.html). *The New York Times*. December 7, 2004. [ISSN 0362-4331](https://www.worldcat.org/issn/0362-4331). Retrieved August 9, 2020.

1. Biddle, Geoffrey. (2009). *Sydney and Flora*. New York City: Turtle Point Press. ISBN 978-1-933527-30-7. [OCLC 318877218](https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/318877218)

1. ["biddle-descendants - Main"](http://www.picton.us/biddle/biddle-descendants). *www.picton.us*. Retrieved August 9, 2020.

1. ["FIONA IRVING BECOMES A BRIDE"](http://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1985/06/02/021749.html?pageNumber=57). *The New York Times*. Retrieved August 9, 2020.

1. ["Whitney Stories: Fiona Donovan"](https://whitney.org/media/140). *whitney.org*. Retrieved August 9, 2020.

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Flora Miller Biddle](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flora_Miller_Biddle) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flora_Miller_Biddle?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.