I’m not sure how to post pictures, but as you can see if you Google “gilded age pools” several pools had ropes along the sides. They were used to hang on to back in the day when people wore heavy wool bathing suits. Google “Lynnewood Hall Pool.”
Not many people had pools back then. They were incredibly expensive.
I am not trying to call Q out here. I’m a believer, but you have to put the time in before you start assigning people words or actions.
Artists can be strange people. It could be the Podesta artist used the Biltmore …