The Gilded Age, a brand-new historical drama from HBO, centers on a young woman who, after her father’s passing, moves from rural Pennsylvania to New York City to live with her aunts.
She encounters up-and-coming social climbers, aspiring artists, and a fair amount of old money/new money friction among Manhattan’s upper class.
The magnificent set and costume design of The Gilded Age’s premiere episode made it a visual delight, but it also introduced some intriguing ideas that we can’t wait to follow.
Who Is George Russell Based On?
Many theories have been made about George Russell, the “robber baron” of new money portrayed in the episode by Morgan Spector.
According to Fellowes on the Gilded Age podcast, Russell is a fictionalized version of an actual historical individual.
Spector has suggested that Jay Gould, a railroad magnate from the late 1800s, might be Russell’s real-life counterpart.
In a promotional film, Spector referred to his character as a “19th-century industrialist, a robber baron” while discussing the similarities between him and the actual Gould. “Gould received a lot of negative press coverage at the time.
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He eventually came to represent the structural inequities of the day. He possesses unfathomable powers, which he occasionally employs to crush inferior people like ants.
There is a side to George that sometimes borders on the horrific in how he gives his wrath unrestrained expression.
Where Was The Gilded Age Filmed?
The Gilded Age was shot primarily in New York and Rhode Island, with Newport, Rhode Island, double casting as New York and itself.
The Preservation Society of Newport County provided the use of several Gilded Age mansions that had been restored to their original splendor.
Mrs. Fish throws a party in Newport at the premiere of The Gilded Age. Her estate, known as Who Is George Russell Based On? The Ledges, was once a summer residence for tea and china dealer Robert Cushing and is currently owned by his heirs.
Rooms from several distinct Newport homes have been incorporated into the Russells’ expansive home.
Part of their ballroom was filmed in the music room of The Breakers, a holiday residence commissioned by Cornelius Vanderbilt and erected in the 1890s. In contrast, other sequences were filmed on Long Island.
The Elms was the summer home of coal magnate Julius Berwind and his wife, and it was from there we snagged these kitchens.
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