Gloria Vanderbilt Instagram Paintings Are Worth At Least Thousands, Her Son Anderson Cooper Says

Gloria Vanderbilt made a name for herself as a model and actor, then designing a line of jeans. Of course, she already had the name she inherited from the Vanderbilt family, who made their money in railroads. Towards the end of her life, Vanderbilt had success as a painter, with her son, Anderson Cooper’s help. She died on June 17, 2019. 

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Cooper was a guest on The Howard Stern Show on May 12 and discussed the details of Vanderbilt’s estate. He also went off on a tangent about her paintings, which many people bought via Instagram. If you have an original Vanderbilt, you might want to know how much others sold for.

Anderson Cooper wants people to know what a good painter Gloria Vanderbilt was

Cooper has been taking care of Vanderbilt’s legacy. He produced and participated in the documentary Nothing Left Unsaid: Gloria Vanderbilt & Anderson Cooper. He’s given tributes and set the record straight after her passing. He really wants people to know about her paintings though.

“She is actually good,” Cooper told Stern. “I don’t even think she got the appreciation as an artist that maybe she should have. I’d like to maybe work on that over the next couple years but yeah, I think she is good.”

Gloria Vanderbilt was modest about her paintings

Vanderbilt worked in oil and acrylic since her 20s, according to Cooper. Towards the end of her life she switched to pastels so she could work on smaller canvases. 

“She would sell paintings, she would have showss but she didn’t care about whether she was popular. I don’t know if it was therapy but it had deep, deep meaning for her. She was reworking things from her past and her childhood through painting for her entire life. She would sell things but she would buy such an expensive frame to put the painting in that the frame was more expensive than the painting she was selling.”

Anderson Cooper helped his mother sell paintings on Instagram

Cooper taught Vanderbilt how to use social media to showcase and sell her paintings. The photography app Instagram allowed Vanderbilt to display her art and list prices with a link to her online studio.

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“It wasn’t until later in life when I started getting involved, she started selling work on Instagram when she was 90,” Cooper said. “I got her on Instagram. I introduced her to Instagram and then she realized she could spend time drawing something and then I would put it on Instagram and it would sell right away. She would have communication with the person who bought it. She just felt this was incredible.” 

Original Vanderbilts are worth thousands

Vanderbilt’s paintings were only for serious art collectors. She set competitive prices that provided a healthy secondary income. If you have one now, they’re worth at least what she charged. Of course, paintings always increase in value after the artist’s passing.

“Toward the end of her life, small drawings she was doing and selling on Instagram, they would be anywhere from $3500 to $8000,” Cooper said. “I would sometimes secretly buy stuff. If I really liked something she was selling on Instagram, I would buy it just to keep it.”

Painting improved the last years of Gloria Vanderbilt’s life

Cooper said he noticed his mother getting depressed in her 90s as many of her friends and contemporaries were passing away. He noticed painting giving her a new purpose.

RELATED: Anderson Cooper Shares Touching Tribute to His Mom Gloria Vanderbilt After Her Death

“She was doing very well that last year of her life and she loved it,” Cooper said. “She was happy to be able to pay expenses and stuff. It gave her a reason to get out of bed. It was very, very gratifying for her and it’s really lovely. It’s on Instagram still. It’s not for sale but it’s really lovely.”

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