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All auctions / Arts & Graphics / PAUL CESAR HELLEU (FRENCH 1859-1927), PORTRAIT OF CONSUELO, DUCHESS
PAUL CESAR HELLEU (FRENCH 1859-1927) PORTRAIT OF CONSUELO, DUCHESS OF MARLBOROUGH Drypoint Signed in pencil 39 x 17.5cm (15¼ x 6¾in.) Provenance: Lord Ivor Spencer-Churchill (1898-1956) And by family descent Consuelo Vanderbilt (1877–1964) was an American heiress and socialite who became one of the most famous figures of the Gilded Age. Born in New York City into the enormously wealthy Vanderbilt family, she was the daughter of William Kissam Vanderbilt and Alva Vanderbilt. Her family’s wealth came largely from the railroad empire built by her grandfather, Cornelius Vanderbilt. Consuelo grew up surrounded by luxury, but her childhood was also shaped by strict expectations surrounding social status and marriage. In 1895, at the age of eighteen, Consuelo married Charles Spencer-Churchill, 9th Duke of Marlborough, at St. Thomas’s Episcopal Church in New York. Consuelo was secretly engaged to Winthrop Ruherfurd and initially refused. It was only when her mother claimed that her health was suffering that she agreed to the marriage and so became the greatest of the “Dollar Princesses” by marrying the most eligible bachelor in England and bringing to the union her substantial fortune which in turn allowed the Duke to restore and maintain the majesty of Blenheim Palace. Consuelo and the Duke had two sons, John and Ivor, but their marriage was never a happy one and they separated in 1906, eventually divorcing in 1921. After her divorce, Consuelo married Jacques Balsan, a French aviator and businessman. Unlike her first marriage, this relationship was based more on personal affection and companionship. The couple lived between England, the United States and France where they resided at the Château de Saint-Georges-Motel. They would invite artists, musicians and close friends to come and stay. Paul and Margaret Maze lived at the Mill in the grounds of the Chateau and frequent guests included Winston Churchill, who Consuelo had grown close to while married to his cousin the Duke. Winston would come and paint at the Chateau with Paul Maze and other fellow artists such as Edouard Vuillard, Andre Denoyer de Segonzac and Jean Marchand. This idyllic life abruptly came to an end with the outbreak of World War II. The Balsans fled to America, never to return to Saint-Georges-Motel and settled in Palm Beach Florida. Consuelo died in 1964 and is buried in St Martin’s Church, Bladon, in Oxfordshire, next to her younger son, Lord Ivor Spencer-Churchill. Condition Report: Condition Report Disclaimer, PAUL CESAR HELLEU (FRENCH 1859-1927), PORTRAIT OF CONSUELO, DUCHESS OF MARLBOROUGH, PAUL CESAR HELLEU (FRENCH 1859-1927) PORTRAIT OF CONSUELO, DUCHESS OF MARLBOROUGH Drypoint Signed in pencil 39 x 17.5cm (15¼ x 6¾in.) Provenance: Lord Ivor Spencer-Churchill (1898-1956) And by family descent Consuelo Vanderbilt (1877–1964) was an American heiress and socialite who became one of the most famous figures of the Gilded Age. Born in New York City into the enormously wealthy Vanderbilt family, she was the daughter of William Kissam Vanderbilt and Alva Vanderbilt. Her family’s wealth came largely from the railroad empire built by her grandfather, Cornelius Vanderbilt. Consuelo grew up surrounded by luxury, but her childhood was also shaped by strict expectations surrounding social status and marriage. In 1895, at the age of eighteen, Consuelo married Charles Spencer-Churchill, 9th Duke of Marlborough, at St. Thomas’s Episcopal Church in New York. Consuelo was secretly engaged to Winthrop Ruherfurd and initially refused. It was only when her mother claimed that her health was suffering that she agreed to the marriage and so became the greatest of the “Dollar Princesses” by marrying the most eligible bachelor in England and bringing to the union her substantial fortune which in turn allowed the Duke to restore and maintain the majesty of Blenheim Palace. Consuelo and the Duke had two sons, John and Ivor, but their marriage was never a happy one and they separated in 1906, eventually divorcing in 1921. After her divorce, Consuelo married Jacques Balsan, a French aviator and businessman. Unlike her first marriage, this relationship was based more on personal affection and companionship. The couple lived between England, the United States and France where they resided at the Château de Saint-Georges-Motel. They would invite artists, musicians and close friends to come and stay. Paul and Margaret Maze lived at the Mill in the grounds of the Chateau and frequent guests included Winston Churchill, who Consuelo had grown close to while married to his cousin the Duke. Winston would come and paint at the Chateau with Paul Maze and other fellow artists such as Edouard Vuillard, Andre Denoyer de Segonzac and Jean Marchand. This idyllic life abruptly came to an end with the outbreak of World War II. The Balsans fled to America, never to return to Saint-Georges-Motel and settled in Palm Beach Florida. Consuelo died in 1964 and is buried in St Martin’s Church, Bladon, in Oxfordshire, next to her younger son, Lord Ivor Spencer-Churchill. Provenance:, Condition Report:, Condition Report Disclaimer
Estimate:$1,061.05
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Estimate:
$1,061.05
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