Harry Kendall Thaw - Obsession With Stanford White

Obsession With Stanford White

After his expulsion from Harvard, Thaw’s sphere of activity alternated between Pennsylvania and New York. In New York, Thaw was determined to place himself amongst those privileged to occupy the summit of social prominence and take his rightful place as bona fide member of its rarefied atmosphere. His application for coveted membership in the city’s elite men’s clubs: Metropolitan Club, the Century Club, the Knickerbocker Club, the Players' Club were all rejected. His membership in the Union League Club of New York was summarily revoked when he rode a horse up the steps into the club’s entrance way; “behavior unbefitting a gentleman.” All these snubs, Thaw was convinced, were directly or indirectly due to the intervention of the city's social lion, lauded architect Stanford White, who would not countenance Thaw’s entre into the hallowed halls of masculine supremacy. Thaw’s narcissism rebelled at such a state of affairs and ignited a virulent animosity towards White. This was the first identifiable incident in a long line of perceived indignities heaped on Thaw; Thaw maintaining the unshakable certainty his victimization was all orchestrated by Stanford White.

A second incident subsequently occurred furthering Thaw’s paranoiac obsession with White. A disgruntled showgirl whom Thaw had publicly insulted reaped revenge when she sabotaged a lavish party Thaw had planned—by hijacking all the female invitees and transplanting the festivities to Stanford White’s infamous Tower room. Thaw, stubbornly ignorant of the real cause of the train of events, once again blamed White for single-handedly destroying his revelries. Thaw’s social humiliation was complete when the episode was reported in the gossip columns; Thaw left with a stag group of guests, and a glaring absence of “doe-eyed girlies.”

The reality was that Thaw both admired and resented White’s social stature. More significantly, he recognized that he and White shared a passion for similar life styles. However, unlike Thaw, who had to operate in the shadows, White could carry on without censure, and seemingly, with impunity.