Around 1932, reportedly finding life at Biltmore too dull, she moved to New York City to briefly study art, leaving her husband to manage Biltmore.

Cornelia Vanderbilt, the only child of George Washington Vanderbilt II, left the Biltmore Estate in 1934 following a series of personal and social shifts. After her father's death and the strain of the Great Depression, she reportedly felt overwhelmed by the spotlight and the expectations of managing the massive estate. Her marriage to British diplomat John Cecil began to falter, and following their divorce, she made the dramatic decision to leave Asheville entirely. She sought a life of personal reinvention and artistic pursuit, moving first to New York and then to Europe. She eventually settled in England, changed her name, dyed her hair pink, and lived a much more private, eccentric life away from the public scrutiny of her American heritage. She never returned to live at the Biltmore, leaving the stewardship of the estate to her two sons, George and William.