Winnaretta Singer, Princesse de Polignac, was the half-French, half-American daughter of the 19th century sewing machine magnate, Isaac Singer. From her youth in the late 1880s through to the end of her life in London during the Second World War, she stood at the center of European arts patronage. Working out of her vast and specially designed house in Paris, she funded and supported artists like Degas and Monet, composers like Faure, Stravinsky, Kurt Weill and Poulenc, as well as writers such as Verlaine, Proust and Virginia Woolf. Gerard McBurney will explore the life and career of this fascinating woman, concentrating especially on her work as a patron of music.
This photo is not of Winnaretta Singer. It is a picture of Violet Trefusis.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the correction. It is listed as Winnaretta--I wonder why that is? Have not seen any photos of Winnaretta until I caught this one on the web and then one or two others listed this way. Romaine's drawing of her is not very flattering so I was curious as I know readers are about her.
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