Robert Livingston Cutting Jr. was an American banker and clubman who was prominent in New York Society during the Gilded Age. He was also prominent as a municipal reformer who tried to clean New York
portrait by Raimundo de Madrazo y Garreta
The Four Hundred was a list of New York society during the Gilded Age, a group that was led by Caroline Schermerhorn Astor, the "Mrs. Astor", for many years. After her death, her role in society was f
Robert L. Cutting Jr.
…Committee of Seventy in 1871 which sought to oust the Boss Tweed and his cohorts from city government. In 1892, Cutting was included in Ward McAllister's "Four Hundred", purported to be an index of New York's best families, published in The New York Times. Conveniently, 400 was the number of people that could fit into…
Portrait of Mrs. Astor by Carolus-Duran, in Paris 1890. This painting was placed prominently in Astor's house; she would stand in front of it when receiving guests for receptions. Today, it is held by the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
"Snobbish Society's Schoolmaster." Caricature of Ward McAllister as an ass telling Uncle Sam he must imitate "an English snob of the 19th century" or he "will nevah be a gentleman". Published in Judge, November 8, 1890.
"The European Svengali and the trilbys of the 'Four Hundred' – He hypnotizes 'em every time!" Illustration published in Puck, October 2, 1895.
Photograph of Alva Smith Vanderbilt at her 1883 Ball as "Venetian Renaissance Lady". Alva, the first wife of William Kissam Vanderbilt and second wife of Oliver Belmont, was one of Astor's successors. Photographed by José Maria Mora.