Old Titles and New Money: American Heiresses and the British Aristocracy
Past display archive
25 November 2014 - 2 August 2015
Room 23
Free
Jeanette ('Jennie') Churchill (née Jerome), Lady Randolph Churchill
by Nadar
circa 1885
NPG P499
The late nineteenth century saw a boom in industries such as railways, mining and banking, and many fortunes were made. However, in the USA, and particularly New York, these new millionaires discovered that wealth did not necessarily earn them high social status. Ever entrepreneurial, these families looked to Europe to seek noble marriages for their daughters that would ensure their acceptance in high society.
While some American heiresses found their match on the continent, others were drawn to Britain, whose social structures were upheld by primogeniture and entail. This system ensured that the eldest son would inherit the family estate in trust, preventing assets from being broken up. However, these estates were expensive to maintain and so the noble families of Britain welcomed wealthy American ‘Dollar Princesses’ with open arms.
Soon, women from some of the most powerful family dynasties in the USA – the Jeromes, Leiters, Martins and Vanderbilts – became informal diplomats for their country, united by marriage to the ruling political classes of the rising world power of Great Britain.
© National Portrait Gallery, London
Related portraits
- Jeanette ('Jennie') Churchill (née Jerome), Lady Randolph Churchill (NPG P499)
- Mary Carolyn Campbell ('May', née Cuyler), Lady Grey-Egerton (NPG x128422)
- Mary Victoria (née Leiter), Lady Curzon of Kedleston (NPG x3817)
- Mary Victoria (née Leiter), Lady Curzon of Kedleston (NPG x135953)
- Marguerite Hyde ('Daisy', née Leiter), Countess of Suffolk (NPG x136021)
- Cornelia (née Martin), Countess of Craven (NPG x45415)
- Consuelo (née Vanderbilt), Duchess of Marlborough with her sons (NPG x136576)
- Consuelo Montagu (née Yznaga), Duchess of Manchester (NPG D38189)
Related sitters
- Jeanette ('Jennie') Churchill (née Jerome), Lady Randolph Churchill
- Cornelia (née Martin), Countess of Craven
- Mary Victoria (née Leiter), Lady Curzon of Kedleston
- Mary Carolyn Campbell ('May', née Cuyler), Lady Grey-Egerton
- Consuelo Montagu (née Yznaga), Duchess of Manchester
- Consuelo (née Vanderbilt), Duchess of Marlborough (later Mrs Balsan)
- John Albert Edward William Spencer-Churchill, 10th Duke of Marlborough
- Lord Ivor Charles Spencer-Churchill
- Marguerite Hyde ('Daisy', née Leiter), Countess of Suffolk