GLADYS EMMA PETO, Story Book Illustrator (c) By Polly Guerin

Storybook Illustrator Art Deco Era

Dear Gladys Peto: I came upon your delightful illustrations in children’s books where every picture changed the way I would look at the Art Deco era of childhood imagery. Each page is a charming adventure with stylized flowers pressing their fanciful image throughout, story after story of adventures of young girls as never portrayed before. Although you were well-known throughout the United Kingdom in the 1920s and 1930s it’s time to introduce you to American audiences for you were one of the greatest artist of your time. So popular were your illustrations during the ‘30s that it was ‘in fashion’ to wear a Peto dress, printed, of course, with your identifiable designs. Your style was in such demand that you often worked as a costume and set designer for the theater and the transition of your designs from storybook to stage put the spotlight on your unique oeuvre.
PETO’S UNIQUE STYLE
Peto’s work remains appealing today for a whole new generation of admirers. Its unique and inventive Art Deco style, which critics say was ‘clearly influenced by Aubrey Beardsley,’ captures something magical of the world of childhood. As an illustrator of books for children, she is in a class all of her own creative genius and she wrote some of the stories herself introducing a yesteryear of happy romps through childhood. Peto’s images draw the reader to the curious world of sullen young girls with slender limbs, exquisitely dressed as if going to a party, immaculate and poised as if on the brink of some mischief or adventure. Her oeuvre was extensive. In advertising art Peto is best known for illustrations for the infant formula, Ovaltine, as well as a host of other well known products featured in magazines and seen everywhere on posters.
NURSERY WARE
Peto’s fame was spreading into other product areas. Her illustrations were proving so popular that in 1929, the pottery company R H & S Plant Ltd., manufacturers of porcelain and china at the Tuscan Works in Longton, England, produced an adorable range of children’s nursery ware decorated with her artwork. Tea sets, mugs, plates and bowls featured her adorable characters imprinted with sayings such as “Dance just as I do, If you can, the Fairy says to Little Anne.” Peto’s reach into the lives of children took further claim with several ‘handkerchief books’ produced to depict her artwork. These charming publications contained six square children’s handkerchiefs made from Irish linen, and covered subjects such as school time, nursery rhymes and Alice in Wonderland.
PETO’S EARLY LIFE
(1890, Maidenhead, Bershire-1977, Northern Ireland.) Peto did not come from a long line of artists, she was the first in her family. After attending Maidenhead High School and art classes in town, she headed off to London to study at the London School of Art. She took up a daring career path and became a successful commercial artist. Her design style and fashionable imagery caught on and the story book artist was born. Later, in the 1920s she married Cuthbert Lindsay Emmerson, of the Royal Army Medical Corps, and traveled with him to Malta, Cyprus and Egypt. Her travels are strongly reflected in drawings, paintings and writings from this period, and in her travel books, such as “The Egypt of the Sojourner,” published by J.M. Dent in London for their Outward Bound Library.
AN ARTIST OF EXTRAORDINARY ORIGINALITY AND TALENT GLADYS EMMA PETO, AN ILLUSTRATOR AND WRITER SO ACCOMPLISHED, DESERVES TO BE RECOGNIZED FOR HER PIONEERING WORK AS AN ILLUSTRATOR AND FOR CREATING THE CURIOUS WORLD OF YESTERYEAR CHILDHOOD.

Celia Thaxter American Poet by the Sea (c) by Polly Guerin

Celia Thaxter in her island garden painted by Childe Hassam

Dear Celia Thaxter: I discovered the incredibly beauty of your poetry inspired by your life on Appledore, one of the Isles of Shoals off the coast of New Hampshire, when I visited so long ago. Your island garden so painstakingly maintained by the Portsmouth Horticultural Society brings to mind the patience and endurance of a woman whose love for the minutest detail of nature found its way into your poetry and also your watercolors and ceramics. Every flower, leaf, bug, slug, sandpiper, seabird and the mighty gray rocks were your friends and blossomed into poems of joyful recognition for their amazing contribution to a life well lived by the sound of the sea.
THE SOUND OF THE SEA
At first glance the Isles of Shoals seems very sad, stern and bleak, but to you Appledore, where you lived, it was enchanting. You perhaps ascribe your poignant poetry to the sound of the sea to the fact that people forget the hurry and worry and fret of life after living there awhile, and, to the imaginative mind, all things become a dreamy tableau of never ending beauty. The eternal sound of the sea on every side seemingly wears away the edge of preoccupation with the mainland; sharp images become blurred and softened like a sketch in charcoal and tranquility takes over the senses.
A SEASIDE SONNET
By Celia Thaxter: As happy dwellers by the seaside hear In every pause the sea’s mysterious sound, The infinite murmur, solemn and profound, Incessant, filling all the atmosphere, Even so I hear you, for you do surround My newly-waking life, and break for aye About the viewless shores, till they resound With echoes of God’s greatness night and day. Refreshed and glad I feel the full flood-tide Fill every inlet of my waiting soul; Long-striving, eager, hope, beyond control, For help and strength at last is satisfied; And you exalt me, like the sounding sea, With ceaseless whispers of eternity.
AN ISLAND GARDEN
Celia reminisces “All flowers had for me such human interest, they were so dear and precious. I wondered how every flower knew what to do and to be; why the morning-glory didn’t forget sometimes, and bear a cluster of elder-bloom, or the elder hand out pennons of gold and purple like the iris; or the goldenrod suddenly blaze out a scarlet plume, the color of the pimpernel, was a mystery to my childish thought. And why did the sweet wild primrose wait till after sunset to unclose its pale yellow buds; why did it unlock its treasure of rich perfume to the night alone? Few flowers bloomed for me upon the lonesome rock; but I made the most of all I had, and neither knew of nor desired more. Ah, how beautiful they were!” (From “Among the Isles of Shoals, by Celia Thaxter, 1873, J.R. Osgood publisher)
A LIFE SANCTIONED BY THE SEA
Life on the Isles of Shoals, in its remote and pristine beauty vividly colored Celia’s poetry and prose. As I witnessed this sea-locked vista I can tell you that the landscape of the Isles of Shoals has changed little since the time when Thaxter lived there. First as daughter of the lighthouse keeper on White Island Lighthouse and then later on Appledore where her family had the finest island hotel which became an intellectual and literary Mecca drawing artists like Willam Morris Hunt and Childe Hassam to the Shoals as well as well known authors. The burden of caring for her brain-damaged child, Karl, and an invalid husband, Levi, must have weighted heavily on her and would surely have been enough to discourage any writer, but Celia was committed to her role as a poet. She wrote with quiet passion of the place and land that she loved most and gave poetry readings daily throughout the summer season at Appledore.
AMERICA’S FAVORITE POET
Celia Thaxter (1835-1894) reputation as the most popular of America’s women poets far surpassed many other poets’ names better known today. Yet Celia’s fame began to wane around 1894 but is regaining its place with new legions of followers today who have come to appreciate her poignant sentiments. And now I leave you with an excerpt from Celia Thaxter’s poem “Land-Locked.”
O Earth! Thy summer song of joy may soar
Ringing to heaven in triumph. I but crave
The sad, caressing murmur of the wave
That breaks in tender music on the shore.

Posted by Polly Guerin at 8:37 AM 0 comments go to: http://www.poetryfromtheheartpollyguerin.blogspot.com

Corrie Ten Boom's Risky Business (c) By Polly Guerin

Dear Corrie: I often wonder what I would do in the wake of Germany’s invasion of Holland in 1943. Would I protect my friends who were being persecuted because of their faith? Would I step up to the plate and save Jewish people I did not even know? Would I risk my own life to facilitate their escape? These are questions I ask myself, but you did not even consider questioning your benevolent behavior and took a great risk to help Jewish people and you paid dearly for doing so. In the hallmark of remarkable women, determined to succeed, you leave a legacy of unparalleled bravery.

THE TEN BOOM FAMILY

The Ten Boom family was renowned clock and watch masters and Corrie was one of the first women trained as a clock smith, who repaired and improved clocks in Haarlem, Holland where the Ten Boom family lived and were highly respected citizens. Corrie recalls, “Life was so peaceful then when I was growing up in Haarlem. I helped out in my father’s clock repair shop on the bottom floor of our home. Our family was well-liked in our neighborhood. I even taught bible class and started several girls’ clubs that became popular in Holland. It was a peaceful and idealic time, but it drastically changed with the German invasion.”

THE CLOCK/WATCH SHOP

In 1837, Willem Ten Boom founded a clock and watch shop which later passed onto his son Casper, and then to his daughter Cornelia Ten Boom, generally known as Corrie Ten Boom (1892-1983). Casper Ten Boom was a well-liked watch repairman and often referred to as “Haarlem’s Grand Old man.” Their home called Beje (short for Barteljorisstraat) was a happy place where a cultured and religious family and their faith inspired them to serve both the Church and Society at large.

A HIDING PLACE

During World War II, their home Beje became a refuge, a Hiding Place for fugitives and hunted people who were sought by the enemy. By protecting people, father Casper and his daughters Corrie Ten Boom and Elizabeth ten Boom, called Betsie risked their lives. Their undaunted faith led them to hide Jews, students who refused to cooperate with the enemy, and members of the Dutch ‘underground’ resistance movement. The Beje accommodated these refuges until it was ‘safe’ to smuggle them to other families and thereby saved a great many lives.

A SYMBOL OF REFUGE

After the German invasion of Holland in 1943 life began to change dramatically for the Jewish people. Every week there was something they couldn’t do. They lost their jobs, or their businesses were taken away; they were banned from public places; and they were denied food. Jewish men were sent away and never heard of again. Some Dutch people became unkind to their Jewish neighbors because the Germans gave them special privileges, but our family, and many others, knew that we had to help those being targeted. Corrie recalls, “We dedicated their lives in Christian services and our home was ‘an Open house’ for anyone in need of help. Our house, Beje, became a symbol of refuge during WWII. We built a safe room in the wall of our house and even though the Nazis would search hard, they never found the Jews who were hidden there.”

THE ARREST AND INTERROGATION

Corrie recalls, “I had been sick for several days with a bad case of the flu, but I was awakened by screams and the sound of feet rushing toward my room. At first I thought that it was one of the drills we had practiced to hide Jews. But this time , February 28, 1944, it was German soldiers raiding our home, looking for Jewish people that they had heard we were hiding. I leaped from my bed to help our guests hurry into the secret space that had been built inside a wall in my room. Once they were safely hidden, I pretended to be asleep but the soldiers rushed into my room. They wanted to know where the Jews were, but neither my sister, Betsie nor I, would tell them. We were slapped and hit by the soldiers. Blood tricked down our swollen faces, but we were willing to die than tell where they were.”

BETRAYAL AND INTERMENT

After the family was betrayed and the Gestapo raided the house they arrested six members of the family. The Nazis plundered the place, knocked down walls but could not find the Jews. However, they did find enough written material and food cards to send the Ten Boom family to prison. During the next hours about 30 friends, who came to the Beje unaware of the betrayal, were also arrested and taken to Ravenbruck concentration camp. The sister’s ordeal there was sustained by their unwavering Christian faith. They recited the Bible from memory and throughout their incarceration they helped other prisoners to renew their faith and take comfort in the words that would lift up their burden. Corrie’s sister Betsie died at Ravenbrook as did Casper (84), Christiann (24). Willem (60) died shortly after the war.

CORRIE TEN BOOM’S LEGACY

Corrie survived the horrors and deprivation of Ravenbruck concentration camp and when the war was over, she wrote a book, “The Hiding Place,” detailing the Ten Boom family saga. Corrie travelled around the world and encouraged everyone she met with the message that Jesus Christ is Victor over all and everything, even the misery of the concentration camp. Her family home, Beje is again an “Open House,” a living museum memorial to the Ten Boom family of Haarlem, who lived as Christians. The museum keeps alive the spiritual heritage of the family as an inspiration for everyone to learn and savor the truth, the true meaning of a Christian faith. The Ten Boom Clock and Watch shop has been partly restored in the setting of that time period and a watchmaker carries out this meticulous work of repairing watches on the spot in the shop today. http://www.tenboommuseum.org/.

Zelda Fitzgerald Painter and Linguist (c) by Polly Guerin

Dear Zelda: So much noteriety has focused on the life you led with your husband, the celebrated author F. Scott Fitzgerald that you were seemingly cast in his shadow without the rightful recognition you deserve as an independent woman determined to succeed.

Christened the original flapper, your zany cavorting with Scott fed the scandal sheets with regularity. Friends and acquaintances were awe struck by your storied antics. You flouted convention but underlying your unbridled demonstrations was an unprecedented craving for attention, and something to call your own: painting and writing.

CALLING SOMETHING HER OWN

Perhaps that is why you had such urge to excel and as a child took ballet lessons. Later in life trying to claim something of your own you at age 27 you indulged in ballet with wild and unrelenting pursuit. Yet your role as an artist is one of your finest achievements. The watercolor paintings which you produced were well executed subjects that were charming, whimsical and sometimes absurd, but definitely worth discussing here. Zelda was a creative talent who was a dedicated artist, the one artistic expression that she practiced throughout her life. When the Fitzgerald’s moved to Paris in 1924 they became part of a circle of artists including Constantin Brancusi, Ernest Hemingway, Gertrude Stein and Pablo Picasso. It is at this time that Zelda began painting in earnest. Subject matter reveals her appreciation for landscape and flowers, and her unique and wonderful sense of fantasy and theatricality. A large group depicts fairy tales and reveals dynamic reinterpretations of traditional children’s stories. Zelda’s paintings are primarily from the 1930s and 1940s. These works were exhibited once in a New York Gallery in 1934 but were exhibited mostly in private showings. After Scott died in 1940, she created a sentimental series depicting places in New York and Paris. Rediscovering Zelda and her paintings began with a 1974 exhibition at the Montgomery Museum of Fine Arts. Later an exhibition of Zelda’s painting was circulated to museums across the United States under the auspices of International Artists, Washington, D.C.

A BORN LINGUIST

You were a born original linguist. Many of your words and phrases found their way into Scott’s novels. These examples are a mere smattering of the breath of your contribution. In the conclusion of Scott’s “This Side of Paradise, the soliloquy of the protagonist Amory Blaine in the cemetery is taken directly from your personal journal. When you gave birth to your daughter, Frances “Scottie” Fitzgerald, you exclaimed, “I hope it’s beautiful and a fool---a beautiful little fool.” In “The Great Gatsby,” the character Daisy Buchanan expresses the same for her daughter. In the 1930s Zelda created some her best work, including the only novel, “Save Me the Waltz.” Your originality deserves kudos not given to you during your lifetime.

UNDERSTANDING ZELDA

One need only refer to your undisciplined childhood that set the stage for outrageous adult behavior. Spoiled by a doting mother, Minerva “Minnie” Machen no doubt contributed to your willful conduct. Born in Montgomery, Alabama, Zelda Sayre (1900-1948) had a prestigious lineage starting with her father Anthony Dickinson Sayre who was a justice of the Supreme Court of Alabama. The Sayre’s were a prominent southern family with relatives in the United States Senate, and a Montgomery newspaper editor. Despite this staid background during Zelda’s childhood she developed a distinct appetite for attention and scandalized conventional society by dancing the Jazz Age Charleston and fueled rumors that she swam nude by wearing a flesh colored bathing suit. Those were just a smattering of her antics that shocked Montgomery social circle. Always, her father’s reputation saved her from scandal. No wonder she stood out, southern women of the time were supposed to be delicate, obedient and accommodating.

THE FITZGERALD CONNECTION

There was no excuse for her scandalized behavior, but the more flamboyant her antics the more she fueled the gossip mongers in docile Montgomery society who were in for another surprise. At a country club event where she performed, “Dance of the Hours” for the social set the handsome first lieutenant, F. Scott Fitzgerald entered her orbit of entertainment. Courtship swiftly followed, but she only agreed to marry him once his first novel, “This Side of Paradise” was published. It is a known fact that Scott had ransacked Zelda’s diaries and letters for story and novel material and had used verbatim excerpts in his novels. Zelda had a natural talent for writing and Fitzgerald’s penchant for lifting works, written by Zelda, became routine. In fact Zelda was engaged in writing of her own but there was the touchy matter of by-line consideration. Often, therefore, Scott’s name appeared for publication, as his name was known to the reading public and would garner higher fees. There is no doubt, however, that Zelda had certain literary gifts. In the winter of 1928-1929 Zelda completed a series of stories for College Humor, and Scott signed his name to many of them. Zelda’s “the Girl with Talent” and “The Girl the Prince Liked” were inevitably drawn from her natural talent and original voice. She helped Scott write the play The Vegetable, but when it flopped the Fitzgerald’s found themselves in debt, so Scott wrote short stories with a frantic pace, but became burned out the depressed.

LES ENFANTS TERRIBLE OF THE JAZZ AGE

After the success of “This Side of Paradise,” Zelda and Scott became New York celebrities. The couple embodied the fun, exhuberance, and glamour of the 1920’s but their wild behavior and drunkenness led them to be evicted from both the Biltmore and Commodore Hotels. Their social life was flooded with alcohol and to their delight the New York newspapers had a field day reporting their escapades. They became the icons of youth and success. "Flappers," a term Scott Fitzgerald coined to refer to a new breed of modern, independent woman, was inspired in large part by the freethinking, strong-willed Zelda. Scott himself named the decade the "Jazz Age," when Flappers and their swains frequented speakeasies during prohibition home to drinking, dancing and swinging to the sounds of the Jazz Age

DEMISE OF THE LOVELY BELLE

Sadly after a lifetime trying to succeed Zelda was driven to the heights of physical exhaustion. The histrionics and drama of Zelda’s life, and her grueling routine to become a ballerina resulted in a nervous breakdown in 1930. Zelda’s health slowly deteriorated and she was diagnosed as schizophrenic, thus spending 18 years of her life in and out of institutions. Despite her illness she spent the majority of her days painting. One wonders what amazing works of art she might have created had she not died tragically in a hospital fire at the age of 48.

DONA GRACIA NASI, A WOMAN OF THE AGES (c) By Polly Guerin

Portrait of Dona Gracia Nasi


Dear Dona Gracia: As we celebrate your 500th birthday (1510-2010) and your incredible accomplishments you rank among the most noble of women determined to succeed. Dona Gracia Nasi, born in Lisbon, Portugal (1510-1569) was one of the wealthiest Jewish women of the Renaissance who used her personal fortune and powerful contacts to help conversos (forcibly converted Jews) prime victims of the Inquisition to flee to safety in the Ottoman Empire. Dona Gracia Nasi’s negotiating skills, leadership and fierce commitment to her Jewish faith serves as a role model for women of all religious persuasions. Her unwavering courage and leadership is a story worth the telling and inspires women today.
A MODERN WOMAN
Dona Garcia lived at a time in which her actions, setbacks and strategies were surprisingly modern, and that is only one of the reasons I include her in this series on amazing women of the ages. Consider her name, for example, she never known by her husband’s name Mendes and like other women of the l6th century, she retained her birth name, Beatrice de Luna, until she took her original Hebrew name in the Ottoman Empire, where she could live openly as a Jew. Never underestimate the powerful convictions of a woman such as Dona Garcia. She took control of her personal life and never relied on one doctor’s opinion concerning a medical concern but immediately sought another doctor’s opinion.
MARRIES INTO THE NASI DYNASTY
Beatrice de Luna was born into an ancient, venerable family of “Marranos,” (New Christians), that fled Portugal when Spain expelled its Jews in 1492. She married into the eminent international banking and finance dynasty of Mendes, and in 1528 when she was 18 years old, she married Francisco Mendes in a public Catholic wedding and then a Crypto-Judaic ceremony with the signing of a ketubah (a formal contract in a Jewish religious marriage). Francisco, along with his brother Diogo, ran a powerful trading company and bank of world repute with agents across Europe and around the Mediterranean. Following the opening of a sea route to India, they became important spice trader. After her marriage she was known as Dona Beatrice Mendes and in private life, called by her Jewish name, Gracia Nasi. (Dona is a formal title meaning “Mrs.” Gracia is the Spanish equivalent of Hannah)
MANAGING THE FAMILY BUSINESS
Dona Beatrice Mendes was widowed in 1538 leaving her with an infant daughter, Brianda. Following her husband’s death she went to Antwerp, where her brother-in-law Diogo Mendes had moved the family business years earlier. At his death in 1542 she took up the reigns of management and not only ran the family’s banking business but the trading and shipping empire as well. She became a celebrated banker and as Diogo had done before, she continued using the family’s contacts and international resources to help Jews escape the Inquisition, and by doing this act of bravery, her family was also constantly in danger.
A POWERFUL WOMAN
You may rightly wonder what prevented Dona Garcia from re-marrying? Remember she was a woman of her time but she knew the compulsory rules of the day. In the Renaissance Dona Garcia could not remarry and bear more children without making grave sacrifices. The laws of those days would have immediately handed control of her money and business to her new spouse. Instead she became a powerful woman managing the Mendes commercial empire and becoming a successful businesswoman. Legend has it that she was a fierce negotiator, tough and determined when it came to collecting debts, whether from fellow Jews or the royal courts of the day. Her enormous wealth put her into a position to influence kings and popes dealing involved commercial activities, loans and bribes. Payments to the Pope, for example, delayed the establishment of the Inquisition in Portugal. She even maintained her own lobbyist at the Vatican against the expansion and grisly deeds of the Inquisition.
PURSUED BY THE INQUISITION
During her travels through France, Italy, and Turkey the Inquisition pursued her and greedy local rulers attempted to confiscate the family fortune. With amazing determination, business acumen, shrewdness and diplomacy, she managed to escape each assault and continue to build the family business. Dona Beatrice and her family finally reached Turkey in 1553, where they settled near Constantinople, finally free to live as a Jew. She de-Christianized her maiden and married names and was called Garcia Nasi. She built synagogues, yeshivas and hospitals. Gracia Nasi a noble and sainted woman of the ages died near Istanbul in 1569.
A NEW BIOGRAPHY
The remarkable life of Dona Garcia Nasi deserves full disclosure as only a scholar can produce. Andree Aelion Brooks, award-winning author of a new biography of Dona Garcia Nasi called, “The Woman Who Defied Kings,” published by Paragon House (2002), presents the incredible story of Donna Garcia Nasi, the 16th century Jewish woman banker who developed an escape network that saved thousands of her fellow converses from the terrors of the Inquisition. Ms. Brooks is an associate fellow at Yale University and a former contributing columnist to the New York Times. She can be reached at andreebrooks@hotmail.com. A Journey into the Life and Times of "La Senora," the first commemoration in honor of the 500th birthday of Dona Gracia Nasi was presented by
Ms. Brooks at The brotherhood Synagogue on June 6, 2010.

THE PRINCESS OF MONACO, GRACE KELLY (C)

THE PRINCESS OF MONACO, GRACE KELLY

(c) By Polly Guerin

Dear Grace: You were the personification of the well groomed, white gloved, classic beauty, seemingly always in control and turned out with band box perfection. In an era (1950’s) when manners and breeding were paramount characteristics of refined sensibilities you served as an icon for countless women who tried to imitate your style. Born to the role of movie star and princess your brand of kindness and your delightful personality were legendary as was living your life to its fullest with smoldering fire and sexual elegance. As mere admirers other women dreamed of finding their gallant prince but you did, and became Her Serene Highness the Princess of Monaco.

THE PHILADELPHIA DEBUTANT

Even before meeting her prince Grace was a true princess. She was tall, slender, with icy blond hair and cool blue eyes that gazed out at the world with poise and All-American girl perfection. Born in Philadelphia on November 12, 1929 into a charismatic Irish-Catholic family, her father Jack Kelly’s sporty, competitive persona must have inspired Grace’s drive and determined desire to succeed. Despite her parents’ disapproval Grace wanted to be an actress from an early age, but her determination was steadfast and she somehow managed leave home and head for New York City. While attending the renowned American Academy of Dramatic Art at 120 Madison Ave., in the historic Murray Hill enclave of Manhattan, she began taking acting classes and working as a model. Many roles would define her serene persona and in her graduation performance she was aptly cast as Tracy Lord, the privileged heiress in The Philadelphia Story. Grace was talented, albeit aided by her stunningly beautiful face, which gazes out of the photograph posted at the Academy in the graduating class of 1949.

BECOMING A FILM STAR

Grace did not hatch the dream of becoming a movie star without resources. Grace had a theatrical family legacy that included her Uncle Walter Kelly, who was a successful vaudevillian and George Kelly, a Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright. It was George who encouraged her dream of acting but he did warn her about Hollywood’s feudal studio system. Grace’s first small acting roll was in the film “14 Hour,” but this film did not spiral her career forward, it was High Noon, 1952 that put her in the spotlight. The Los Angeles times would write that she “came seemingly out of nowhere,” but the truth of the matter is that her “sexual elegance” caught the eye of John Ford and Alfred Hitchcock. She acted in a couple of films including Mogambo with Clark Gable and Ava Gardner. Grace's rumored romances with leading men fueled the gossip mongers with relish. Undaunted by such knowledge when she and Gable had an affair during the filming of Mogambo, Grace replied nonchalantly: “What else is there to do if you’re alone in a tent in Africa with Clark Gable?” Her rise in Hollywood was swift. She acted in seven movies for Hitchcock, winning two Golden Globe Awards and an Academy Award. She was riding high on her career when her starring role as a film star was serendipitously cast in another direction.

THE PRINCE ARRIVES ON THE SET

As destiny would have it Grace was at the Cannes Film Festival in the South of France when she met Prince Rainier of Monaco. He too, found in Grace Kelly the perfect woman he was looking for. During filming of MGM’s The Swan, she had been exchanging letters with the Prince Rainier Grimaldi, ever since she met him in 1955. Grace seemingly slipped with fairytale ease into love with the Prince. Perhaps the timing was right and cast of lovers perfectly paired because Grace had made it perfectly clear to her intimate circle that she did not want to become an aging beauty in Hollywood.

THE WEDDING OF THE CENTURY

The little principality of Monaco was decked out like a wedding cake; the palace was as pink as a bridesmaid’s gown. The two were married in an extravagant ceremony in 1956. It was the first multi-media press event with a slew of reporters and photographers on the ship that took Grace and her entourage of 66 to Monaco. Her arrival was met with hails of enthusiastic onlookers and greeters. It was a dream come true, a win win situation, the movie star became a Princess and for Grimaldi the prospect of the birth of a child would secure Monaco’s independence from France. The festivities were filmed by MGM and broadcast live to more than 30 million viewers in worldwide.
BIRTH OF THE HERMES’ KELLY BAG

It was during her pregnancy with her first child Caroline that Grace adopted an accessory by Hermes, a large square handbag made of pigskin that she used to shield her belly from the public. In her honor, Hermes christened this bag, ‘the Kelly,’ which even today remains an icon of impeccable good taste. Her role as a mother and as a Royal was consuming, and Rainier discouraged any filmmaking roles. Some say that it was not a ‘fairytale’ marriage, but who knows. Was real life ever meant to be so perfect? Grace’s marriage obviously had the same ups and downs, joys and disappoints as all other women who dreamed of a fairytale marriage.

AU REVOIR TO THE PRINCESS

One never knows what exactly happened that glorious sunny but fateful day of September 13, 1982. Dismissing the chauffeur Grace was driving the car because she was headed for the dressmaker and had put dresses that needed to be altered across the back seat. While driving that treacherous road it seems that she suffered a small “warning’ stroke and she lost control of the car. Sadly that car crash silenced the life of her Serene Highness the Princess of Monaco.

THE PRINCESS GRACE LEGACY

Even today Grace Kelly’s imprint is felt on the world of fashionistas who covet her famous looks, her image of poise and perfection. She dressed cool and collected, her makeup was understated and her hair clean and shining, and her clothes were immaculate, a perfect lesson for any young woman today. No miniskirts for this Princess. She wore knee grazing pencil skirts with tiny waists and sexy jackets, or a simple classic ball gown devoid of jewelry. The effect was stunning and a classic example of controlled elegance. Grace Kelly was in every aspect: classy, sophisticated, discreet and forever remembered as a true Princess.

BELLE da COSTA GREENE, MORGAN'S LIBRARIAN (C)

By Polly Guerin

Dear Belle: Your legend goes far beyond color borders and crossed into history's archives as one of the most revered librarians. You ascended upward into elite society and crossed the great divide as the triumphant African American personal librarian of the prestigious J.P. Morgan Library. At a time when even most white women were denied job opportunities or discouraged from pursing work outside of their home you carved out a remarkable career. The year was 1905 when J.P. Morgan engaged your services, shy of five years before the suffragettes won the vote by the 19th amendment to the Constitution in 1920. Segregation was rampant at the time, but your light complexion enabled you to pass for white. Vivacious, intelligent and shrewd Belle da Costa Greene is an amazing art deco heroine in the annals of American women’s achievements.

BELLE THE LIBRARIAN

In some people’s lives ‘luck’ plays an important card of good fortune, and that was the case with Belle ad Costa Greene. J.P. Morgan had realized that his book collection had become too large for his study and engaged Charles F. McKim to build him a library to the east of his Madison Avenue brownstone. At that time J.P. Morgan’s nephew, Julius Spencer Morgan, a Princeton alumnus who was an advisor to the library, understood his uncle's need for a librarian and introduced Greene to America’s great titan of industry. She did not come to meet J.P. Morgan without credentials. Greene had been working at the Princeton University Library in Princeton, New Jersey and had honed skills that would serve her well at the Morgan Library. No doubt the brainy Belle impressed the great financier, but she was also quite beautiful and possessed a certain sensuous quality due to her exotic complexion, which helped her to pass as white.

AN OPPORTUNISTIC EVENT

The opportunity presented itself and Morgan hired her as his personal librarian. However, over and above her physical attractiveness, Morgan trusted her expertise not only because of her bargaining power with dealers, but also for her keen knowledge of illuminated manuscripts, of which Morgan had a vast collection. Trusting in her expertise, Greene had carte blanche to commit huge portions of Morgan’s fortune to establish the Morgan Library as one of the premier private collections. Throughout her tenure she would spend millions of dollars buying and selling rare manuscripts, books and art.

A LIFETIME CAREER

Greene seems to have passed over the boundaries of the racial divide more for reasons of ambition and opportunity and made the Morgan Library her lifetime career. . Alas, Greene never married but devoted her life to the development of the Morgan Library. In the role of Morgan’s emissary, Greene was determined to make Morgan’s library pre-eminent in the collection of manuscripts, bindings and the classics. She had the enviable position of being in the center of the art world for over 43 years, and every dealer coveted her friendship. As a result she moved with ease in elite society and enjoyed the company of the super rich patrons of the arts.

A FASHIONABLE WOMAN

With Morgan’s largesse, Greene’s unlimited means attracted attention as did her bearing and fashionable style of dressing. Known for her designer wardrobe, she once declared, “Just because I am a Librarian, doesn’t mean I have to dress like one.” On trips to Europe her lifestyle was lavish and unprecedented. When she traveled she stayed at the best hotels—Claridge’s in London and the Ritz in Paris. It is said that she would even take along her thoroughbred horse, which she rode in Hyde Park in London. In friendships she favored affairs with rich or influential men, especially art scholars and dealers. She enjoyed a Bohemian freedom and had a long list of lovers. Asked if she was Morgan’s mistress, she is said to have replied, “We tried!” Rumor had it that she had her most lasting romantic relationship with the celebrated United States art critic, Bernard Berenson.

AN HEIRESS EMERGES

Even after J.P. Morgan died in 1913, Greene continued in her role with J. P. Morgan’s son, who bore the same name, continuing to build and overseeing the collection. Following J. P. Morgan's death she also became the director of the library. Her society and art dealer contacts made her a formidable collector and established her privileged status as the most respected librarian of the era. J.P. Morgan left her $50,000 in his will, reportedly $800,000 in modern money. Not so bad for a woman of African American decent, albeit she passed for white. Her incredible journey spanned 43 years from 1905 to 1948, the year that she retired. She died two years later in New York City.

GREENE’S NEW IDENTITY

Whispers and rumors about Greene’s passing were common throughout her life. In order to pass Greene and her mother, Genevieve Ida Fleet, who also had a light complexion, changed their name. They added “da Costa,” claiming to be part-Portuguese to account for their exotic complexion. Greene was born Belle Marion Greener (1883-1950). The family’s background was solidly-established in Washington, D.C. black bourgeoisie society. Her father Richard T. Greener, also very light-skinned, was a distinguished lawyer and public figure and the first black undergraduate to receive a degree from Harvard in 1870. Greener was also appointed dean of Howard University Law School. He separated from his family in 1890.

GREENE’S GREATEST ACHIEVEMENT

The story of Belle Marion Greener/Belle da Costa Greene reminds us, that underlying her finest achievement as J.P. Morgan’s librarian, was her talent, her shrewd intelligence, her tenacity and drive to realize her goal to make J.P. Morgan’s library the pre-eminent private collection in New York City and one of the most outstanding reference libraries for scholars worldwide.

The Morgan Library & Museum is located at 225 Madison Ave. (36th & 37th Streets) New York, NY 10016. http://www.themorgan.org/.