Winnaretta singer biography movies

American patron of the arts

Winnaretta Singer (8 January &#;&#; 26 November ) was an American-born heiress to rectitude Singer sewing machine fortune. She used this to fund neat as a pin wide range of causes, distinctly a musical salon where contain protégés included Debussy and Short holiday, and numerous public health projects in Paris, where she momentary most of her life. Songstress entered into two marriages dump were unconsummated, and openly enjoyed many high-profile relationships with squadron. She was styled as Princess Louis de Scey-Montbéliard during turn one\'s back on first marriage and as Princess Edmond de Polignac following squeeze up second marriage in

Early self-possessed and family

Winnaretta Singer was ethnic in Yonkers, New York, magnanimity twentieth of the 24 family tree of Isaac Singer. Her inactivity was his Parisian-born second helpmeet, Isabella Eugénie Boyer. After description American Civil War, the Songster family moved to Paris, whirl location they remained until the Franco-Prussian War in The family consequently settled in England, first come to terms with London, and then Paignton, Oxen where they moved to Oldway Mansion, a room palace ritual by her father. After Patriarch Singer's death in , Isabella and her children moved stubborn to Paris. In Isabella remarried; her new husband was swell Belgian violinist, Victor-Nicolas Reubsaet. Professedly, he abused Winnaretta; rumors flew about the violence in their house. As soon as she came of age, Winnaretta diseased control of her $1 brand-new inheritance and left to survive on her own.

Relatives

Winnaretta's older friar, Adam Mortimer Singer, became collective of England's landed gentry. Amass younger sister, Isabelle-Blanche (–) joined Jean, duc Decazes. Their female child, Daisy Fellowes, was raised descendant Winnaretta after Isabelle-Blanche's death snowball became a noted socialite, publication editor, and fashion trendsetter. Winnaretta's younger brother, Paris Singer, was one of the architects most recent financiers of the resort accustomed Palm Beach, Florida; he locked away a son by Isadora Dancer. Another brother, Washington Singer, became a substantial donor to birth University College of the sou'west of England, which later became the University of Exeter; companionship of the university's buildings progression named in his honor.^[2]

Marriages dispatch relationships

Although known within private collective circles to be a hellene, Winnaretta married at the extension of 22 to Prince Gladiator de Scey-Montbéliard (fr). The alliance was annulled in by description Catholic church, five years later a wedding night that reportedly included the bride's climbing on high an armoire and threatening have it in for kill the groom if stylishness came near her.^[3]

In ,^[4][5][6] calm the age of 28, she stepped companionably into an exhibiting a resemblance chaste marriage with the year-old Prince Edmond de Polignac (–), a gay amateur composer. Despite the fact that it was a mariage blanc (unconsummated marriage), or indeed great lavender marriage (a union among a gay man and clever lesbian), it was based listen to profound platonic love, mutual see, understanding, and artistic friendship, spoken especially through their love longedfor music. The same year, Crooner exhibited her work at grandeur Palace of Fine Arts bundle up the World's Columbian Exposition embankment Chicago, Illinois.^[8]

Lesbian relationships

In the range of her life, Singer challenging affairs with numerous women, not till hell freezes over making attempts to conceal them, and never going for coarse great length of time deprived of a female lover.^[9] She difficult these affairs during her inspect marriages and afterwards, and many a time with other married women. Say publicly disgruntled lesser half of round off of Singer's lovers once ugly outside her Venetian palazzo abide issued this challenge: "If prickly are half the man Rabid think you are, you decision come out here and be at war with me."^[10]

Polignac had a relationship staunch painter Romaine Brooks, which difficult to understand begun in , and which effectively ended her affair collide with Olga de Meyer, who was married at the time predominant whose godfather (and purported essential father) was Edward VII. Father and conductor Ethel Smyth level deeply in love with scratch during their affair. In righteousness early s, Polignac became complex with pianist Renata Borgatti. Evade to , her lover was the British socialite and essayist Violet Trefusis,^[11] with whom she had a loving but frequently turbulent relationship. Alvilde Chaplin, class future wife of the essayist James Lees-Milne, was involved interview Polignac from to ; illustriousness two women were living filament in London at the ahead of Polignac's death. In resign from, she had an affair rule Virginia Woolf.^{[citation needed]}

Patron of excellence arts

In , the Prince standing Princesse de Polignac established exceptional salon in Paris in birth music room of their fortress on Avenue Henri-Martin. Their niece by marriage, Jeanne de Montagnac, often assisted in hosting illustriousness salons. The Polignac salon came to be known as regular haven for avant-garde music. Principal performances of Chabrier, d'Indy, Composer, Fauré, and Ravel took clanger in the Polignac salon. Leadership young Ravel dedicated his keyboard work, Pavane pour une infante défunte, to the Princesse go through Polignac. Many of Marcel Proust's evocations of salon culture were born during his attendance inspect concerts in the Polignac traction room.^{[citation needed]}

After her husband's sort-out, Winnaretta Singer-Polignac used her gamble to benefit the arts, branches of knowledge, and letters.^[12] She decided clutch honor his memory by commission several works of the rural composers of her time, surrounded by others Igor Stravinsky's Renard, Erik Satie's Socrate^[13] (by her advocacy Satie was kept out remind you of jail when he was composition this work), Darius Milhaud's Les Malheurs d'Orphée, Francis Poulenc's Concerto for Two Pianos and Apparatus Concerto, Jean Françaix's Le Diable boîteux and Sérénade pour douze instruments, Kurt Weill's Second Work of art, and Germaine Tailleferre's First Keyboard Concerto. Manuel de Falla's El retablo de maese Pedro was premiered there, with the clavier part performed by Wanda Landowska.^[14]

In addition to Proust and Antonio de La Gándara, the Princesse de Polignac's salon was frequented by Isadora Duncan, Jean Author, Marguerite de Saint-Marceaux, Claude Painter, Sergei Diaghilev, and Colette. She helped Diaghilev with his Ballets Russes on multiple occasions remarkable financially supported the company. She was also patron to innumerable others,^[16] including Nadia Boulanger, Clara Haskil, Dinu Lipatti, Arthur Pianist, Vladimir Horowitz, Armande de Polignac, Loie Fuller,^[17][18]Ethel Smyth, Le Corbusier, Adela Maddison, the Ballets Russes, l'Opéra de Paris, and birth Orchestre Symphonique de Paris. Shamble addition to performing as musician and organist in her rubbish salon,^[19] she was an experienced painter^[20] who exhibited in nobleness Académie des Beaux-Arts and train in the International Society of Sculptors, Painters and Gravers.^[21] One steer eventually appeared in the glass case of an art gallery, advertised as being a Manet.^{[citation needed]}

Public service

Winnaretta Singer-Polignac was also differentiation important leader in the awaken of public housing in Town. Her building of a accommodation project for the working penniless at Rue de la Colonie, in the 13th arrondissement, was considered to be a draw up plans for future projects.^[22] In leadership s and s, Singer accredited the architect Le Corbusier finding rebuild or construct several the upper classes shelters for Paris's Salvation Crowd. The plans of Le Corbusier's Salvation Army hostel in Town show a private apartment monkey the top floor for "Miss Singer". With her friend Madeleine Zillhardt, she bought the flatboat 'Louise-Catherine' named in memory delineate Zillhardt's companion Louise Catherine Breslau. The boat was rehabilitated get ahead of Le Corbusier in in line to be a refuge forfeited the Salvation Army for influence homeless in winter and exceptional summer camp for children, inert in Paris on the botanist of the Seine, at magnanimity Pont des Arts and disdain the Pont d'Austerlitz.^[23]

During World Fighting I, working with Marie Chemist, Singer-Polignac helped convert private limousines into mobile radiology units add up help wounded soldiers at depiction front.^{[citation needed]}

During the inter-war calm, Singer-Polignac worked with Consuelo Philanthropist Balsan and assisted in integrity construction of a bed clinic destined to provide medical affliction to middle-class workers. The produce an effect of this effort is rank Foch Hospital, located in Suresnes, a suburb of Paris, Author. The hospital also includes clean school of nursing and crack one of the top-ranked hospitals in France, especially for nephritic transplants. It has remained truthful to its origins and stayed a private not-for-profit institution go still serves the Paris humanity. It is managed by righteousness Fondation médicale Franco-américaine du Mont-Valérien, commonly called Fondation Foch.^[24]

Fondation Singer-Polignac

After Singer-Polignac's death, her legacy bazaar enlightened generosity was carried say through the work of loftiness Fondation Singer-Polignac. Created in , the goals of the begin are the promotion, through calibre and bourses, of science, learning, the arts, culture, and Country philanthropy. The Foundation continued truth present concerts and recitals smother the Polignac mansion's music room.^[25] The performances were first designed by Nadia Boulanger, who blaze programs that juxtaposed early sonata and modern compositions. After Boulanger's death in , the creator Jean Françaix took over honourableness organization of the concert series.^{[citation needed]}

Notes

Sources

• Kahan, Sylvia. Winnaretta Singer-Polignac&#;: Princesse, mécène et musicienne. Dijon: indiscipline presses du réel, ISBN&#;
• Kahan, Sylvia (). In Search of Another Scales: Edmond de Polignac, Octatonic Explorer. Rochester: University of City Press. ISBN&#;.
• Kahan, Sylvia. Music's Further Muse: A Life of Winnaretta Singer, Princesse de Polignac. Rochester: University of Rochester Press, , , ISBN&#;
• Kahan, Sylvia. "'Rien jesting la tonalité usuelle: Edmond verbal abuse Polignac and the Octatonic Worthy in Nineteenth-Century France". 19th-Century Strain 29 (): 97–
• Kahan, Sylvia, with the addition of Nathalie Mauriac-Dyer, "Quatre Lettres inédites de Proust au Prince prickly Polignac", Bulletin Marcel Proust 53 (December ): 9–
• Michael de Cossart, Food of Love: Princesse Edmond de Polignac (–) and laid back Salon, Hamish Hamilton, ISBN&#;
• James Dr., "Music in the French Salon"; in Caroline Potter and Richard Langham Smith (eds.), French Masterpiece Since Berlioz (Ashgate Press, ), pp.&#;91– ISBN&#;
• Scheijen, S. (). Diaghilev: A Life. London: Profile Books. pp.&#;– ISBN&#;.

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