Brilliant Exiles: American Women in Paris 1900-1939
December 15, 2024 7:14 AM Subscribe
"The brilliant exiles it refers to, those creative American women who went to Paris between 1900 and 1939, were not really exiled in the French capital. Rather, they were liberated from convention and expectation in the US, finding new freedom to live their lives as they wished in early 20th-century Paris."
I just saw this exhibition yesterday, and it was fantastic. More than just a "portrait of some artist types," it covers a range of women doing a range of things, including leaving the U.S. to escape restrictions due to their gender, sexuality, and/or race.
Exhibition home page.
It's traveling: A touring exhibition of works to accompany this book is at the National Portrait Gallery, Washington DC, until 23 February 2025, the Speed Art Museum, Louisville, from 29 March to 22 June 2025, and the Georgia Museum of Art from 19 July to 12 October 2025.
I just saw this exhibition yesterday, and it was fantastic. More than just a "portrait of some artist types," it covers a range of women doing a range of things, including leaving the U.S. to escape restrictions due to their gender, sexuality, and/or race.
Exhibition home page.
It's traveling: A touring exhibition of works to accompany this book is at the National Portrait Gallery, Washington DC, until 23 February 2025, the Speed Art Museum, Louisville, from 29 March to 22 June 2025, and the Georgia Museum of Art from 19 July to 12 October 2025.
Just bought this for my 83 year-old Paris-loving mother. She's been there many, many times, but she's getting frail and probably cannot navigate Parisian streets anymore. It's available at Powell's online. Thanks for this post. I will read it after my mom does.
posted by SoberHighland at 8:02 AM on December 15 [1 favorite]
posted by SoberHighland at 8:02 AM on December 15 [1 favorite]
Ezra [Pound] founded something called Bel Esprit with Miss Natalie Barney who was a rich American woman and a patroness of the arts. Miss Barney had been a friend of Remy de Gourmont who was before my time and she had a salon at her house on regular dates and a small Greek temple in her garden. Many American and French women with money enough had salons and I figured very early that they were excellent places for me to stay away from, but Miss Barney, I believe, was the only one that had a small Greek temple in her garden.- Ernest Hemingway, A Moveable FeastThe Forgotten LGBT Queen of Paris and Her Secret Masonic Temple
posted by Lemkin at 8:14 AM on December 15 [8 favorites]
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posted by Lemkin at 7:50 AM on December 15 [2 favorites]