At a time when American millionaires and institutions invested only in European art, Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney took the risk of collecting and showing the paintings of American contemporary artists. In 1931, the institution called The Whitney Museum of American Art was officially born. After Gertrude's death in 1943, her daughter Flora took the helm, which she in turn passed on to her daughter, Flora Biddle, who here chronicles the life and times of three generations of Whitney women. Today, the museum is thriving as one of the most prestigious homes for American art.