1 00:00:02,360 --> 00:00:03,240 Speaker 1: Happy Saturday. 2 00:00:03,720 --> 00:00:07,000 Speaker 2: After this week's episode on teofil Steinland, we thought we 3 00:00:07,040 --> 00:00:10,960 Speaker 2: would return to Molmarch and the French artists there with 4 00:00:11,000 --> 00:00:15,720 Speaker 2: an episode on Marie Lawrence. At the end of this episode, 5 00:00:15,760 --> 00:00:19,000 Speaker 2: we talk about the Marie Lawrence Museum in Japan, which 6 00:00:19,040 --> 00:00:23,040 Speaker 2: closed in twenty nineteen. The museum is still curating a 7 00:00:23,160 --> 00:00:27,200 Speaker 2: large collection of her art though, and the museum collaborated 8 00:00:27,240 --> 00:00:31,040 Speaker 2: with the Barnes Foundation in Philadelphia for an exhibit called 9 00:00:31,120 --> 00:00:35,400 Speaker 2: Marie Lawrence Sefolk Paris, which ran from October of twenty 10 00:00:35,440 --> 00:00:37,960 Speaker 2: twenty three until January of twenty twenty four. 11 00:00:38,720 --> 00:00:40,600 Speaker 1: I went to it. It was lovely. 12 00:00:41,560 --> 00:00:44,239 Speaker 2: That was followed by another version of the exhibit at 13 00:00:44,280 --> 00:00:46,840 Speaker 2: the Columbus Museum of Art later in twenty twenty four, 14 00:00:46,920 --> 00:00:49,960 Speaker 2: so maybe there will be other exhibitions of her artwork 15 00:00:50,000 --> 00:00:53,480 Speaker 2: in the future. This episode originally came out on June 16 00:00:53,520 --> 00:00:59,920 Speaker 2: twenty six, twenty nineteen. Welcome to Stuff You Missed in History, 17 00:01:00,680 --> 00:01:07,880 Speaker 2: a production of iHeartRadio. 18 00:01:08,880 --> 00:01:11,160 Speaker 1: Hello and welcome to the podcast. I'm Tracy V. 19 00:01:11,319 --> 00:01:16,200 Speaker 2: Wilson and I'm Holly Frye. We are just back from Paris. Indeed, 20 00:01:16,800 --> 00:01:19,080 Speaker 2: I I'm sure Holly did this too. Of course I 21 00:01:19,120 --> 00:01:21,800 Speaker 2: came back from Paris with a list of ideas for 22 00:01:21,880 --> 00:01:23,520 Speaker 2: future episodes of the podcast. 23 00:01:23,920 --> 00:01:25,600 Speaker 1: Oh yeah, the list is long. 24 00:01:25,840 --> 00:01:28,759 Speaker 2: Yeah, I'm planning to spread mine out, so it's not 25 00:01:28,840 --> 00:01:33,280 Speaker 2: just like all nineteenth century France all the time, even 26 00:01:33,280 --> 00:01:36,119 Speaker 2: though that is fun. This is more more twentieth century 27 00:01:36,120 --> 00:01:38,840 Speaker 2: than nineteenth. So when we had our trip to Paris, 28 00:01:38,840 --> 00:01:40,720 Speaker 2: I went out just a little early for a little 29 00:01:40,760 --> 00:01:43,640 Speaker 2: extra time, a little jet lag recovery before the trip 30 00:01:43,680 --> 00:01:47,360 Speaker 2: officially started. And one of the places I went during 31 00:01:47,400 --> 00:01:51,200 Speaker 2: that time was the muse de Larangerie, and I and 32 00:01:51,320 --> 00:01:55,080 Speaker 2: my husband had been drawn there by Mona's water lilies. 33 00:01:55,800 --> 00:01:57,040 Speaker 1: But later on in our. 34 00:01:57,040 --> 00:02:01,120 Speaker 2: Visit, I found myself just totally spellbound by five paintings 35 00:02:01,160 --> 00:02:05,320 Speaker 2: by Parisian artist Marie lawrenceon he's run another part of 36 00:02:05,360 --> 00:02:08,320 Speaker 2: the museum. All five of them were of women and 37 00:02:08,440 --> 00:02:12,560 Speaker 2: animals with very simple and willowy limes and this muted 38 00:02:12,680 --> 00:02:15,600 Speaker 2: color palette of pink and blue and green and gray, 39 00:02:15,639 --> 00:02:18,680 Speaker 2: and they just seemed wistful and ethereal, and I just 40 00:02:18,840 --> 00:02:22,480 Speaker 2: loved them. The audio guide had a little bit about 41 00:02:22,480 --> 00:02:24,280 Speaker 2: what I was looking at and who painted them, but 42 00:02:24,320 --> 00:02:26,760 Speaker 2: I really wanted to know more about this woman who 43 00:02:26,840 --> 00:02:30,600 Speaker 2: had created these works, and that proved to be a 44 00:02:30,600 --> 00:02:35,200 Speaker 2: little trickier than I expected. She produced a lot of work, 45 00:02:35,240 --> 00:02:38,320 Speaker 2: and she was really well known and internationally sought after 46 00:02:38,560 --> 00:02:41,040 Speaker 2: in her time, but that is less true today. It 47 00:02:41,120 --> 00:02:45,519 Speaker 2: is especially less true outside of France. Her personal papers 48 00:02:45,560 --> 00:02:47,960 Speaker 2: are in a French library, but they have been censored, 49 00:02:48,040 --> 00:02:50,560 Speaker 2: like with words physically cut out of them, either by 50 00:02:50,680 --> 00:02:53,400 Speaker 2: her or by somebody connected to her estate, and then 51 00:02:53,400 --> 00:02:57,000 Speaker 2: they can also only be accessed with the estate's authorization, 52 00:02:57,680 --> 00:03:00,200 Speaker 2: and one of the conditions of that authorization is it 53 00:03:01,200 --> 00:03:05,040 Speaker 2: unpublished material from her work cannot be directly quoted. So 54 00:03:05,200 --> 00:03:08,760 Speaker 2: her biography has not gotten nearly as much in depth 55 00:03:08,800 --> 00:03:12,200 Speaker 2: attention as some of her contemporaries and a lot of 56 00:03:12,240 --> 00:03:14,840 Speaker 2: what's there is in French. And she also hasn't gotten 57 00:03:14,880 --> 00:03:17,800 Speaker 2: as much attention from art historians because some of the 58 00:03:17,880 --> 00:03:19,760 Speaker 2: nature of her work, which we will be talking. 59 00:03:19,520 --> 00:03:22,519 Speaker 1: About as well. That didn't make any of this impossible. 60 00:03:23,160 --> 00:03:25,640 Speaker 2: It just meant that when my husband was at the 61 00:03:25,639 --> 00:03:28,840 Speaker 2: Fancy library helping me out with getting me a book, 62 00:03:28,880 --> 00:03:31,000 Speaker 2: and he sent me a photo of like, what would 63 00:03:31,000 --> 00:03:35,600 Speaker 2: you like from this shelf? I said, everything in English? 64 00:03:36,000 --> 00:03:36,960 Speaker 1: Bring it all to me. 65 00:03:37,800 --> 00:03:40,480 Speaker 2: It's a little more challenging than normal, but not impossible. 66 00:03:43,160 --> 00:03:48,000 Speaker 2: Still laughing at that, so to begin. Marie Melanie Lanson 67 00:03:48,320 --> 00:03:51,240 Speaker 2: was born in Paris on October thirty first, eighteen eighty three. 68 00:03:51,440 --> 00:03:55,120 Speaker 2: I already love her as a Halloween baby. Her mother, Pauline, 69 00:03:55,440 --> 00:03:58,480 Speaker 2: may have had some Creole ancestry, and her father was 70 00:03:58,520 --> 00:04:02,760 Speaker 2: a government official named Alfred Toulay. Pauline and Alfred were 71 00:04:02,800 --> 00:04:06,520 Speaker 2: not married. Alfred was not particularly present in Marie's young life. 72 00:04:06,800 --> 00:04:09,120 Speaker 2: She actually didn't know he was her father until she 73 00:04:09,200 --> 00:04:10,960 Speaker 2: was in her twenties, and at that point. 74 00:04:10,720 --> 00:04:11,440 Speaker 1: He had died. 75 00:04:11,800 --> 00:04:15,400 Speaker 2: Although he didn't acknowledge Marie as his daughter, Alfred Toulay 76 00:04:15,480 --> 00:04:18,880 Speaker 2: might have given the family some financial support. Pauline was 77 00:04:18,920 --> 00:04:22,120 Speaker 2: able to establish herself as a seamstress and an embroiderer 78 00:04:22,120 --> 00:04:24,599 Speaker 2: and provide herself and her daughter with a pretty middle 79 00:04:24,640 --> 00:04:27,840 Speaker 2: class lifestyle. They lived in an apartment at the foot 80 00:04:27,880 --> 00:04:31,280 Speaker 2: of Malmartra, usually with at least one cat, which is 81 00:04:31,320 --> 00:04:35,679 Speaker 2: another reason to love her. Of course, Pauline was very strict. 82 00:04:35,839 --> 00:04:38,680 Speaker 2: Gertrude Stein described her and Marie as being like a 83 00:04:38,720 --> 00:04:42,520 Speaker 2: pair of nuns living in a convent. Pauline also wanted 84 00:04:42,520 --> 00:04:45,560 Speaker 2: Marie to be educated and cultured, and their apartment was 85 00:04:45,600 --> 00:04:48,280 Speaker 2: filled with books, something that Marie would carry into her 86 00:04:48,279 --> 00:04:51,560 Speaker 2: adult life. She had a library of about five thousand 87 00:04:51,800 --> 00:04:55,040 Speaker 2: volumes by the time that she died. Marie and her 88 00:04:55,080 --> 00:04:58,640 Speaker 2: mother also took frequent trips to the Louver and other museums. 89 00:04:59,000 --> 00:05:01,880 Speaker 2: Pauline loved to s and Marie loved to listen to her. 90 00:05:02,160 --> 00:05:04,719 Speaker 2: She would later say that without her mother's singing, she 91 00:05:04,800 --> 00:05:08,120 Speaker 2: probably never would have picked up a paintbrush. But otherwise 92 00:05:08,320 --> 00:05:11,240 Speaker 2: their life at home was very quiet and almost austere. 93 00:05:11,600 --> 00:05:13,880 Speaker 2: Pauline was really hoping that Marie would grow up to 94 00:05:13,920 --> 00:05:17,920 Speaker 2: be a teacher, but Marie dashed that hope very thoroughly 95 00:05:18,000 --> 00:05:22,000 Speaker 2: by coming in last in every subject, at least Lamartine 96 00:05:22,120 --> 00:05:25,680 Speaker 2: that included art glass. Although Marie was interested in art 97 00:05:25,680 --> 00:05:27,960 Speaker 2: from a young age, by the turn of the century 98 00:05:28,040 --> 00:05:31,640 Speaker 2: she was particularly drawn to the Impressionists, the post Impressionists, 99 00:05:31,640 --> 00:05:37,159 Speaker 2: and the Fovists, including Sezan, Renoir, Manet, Toulouse, Latreq, and Matisse. 100 00:05:37,600 --> 00:05:39,520 Speaker 1: She also wrote poems. 101 00:05:39,000 --> 00:05:41,800 Speaker 2: Some of which were later published under the pseudonym Luise 102 00:05:41,880 --> 00:05:45,680 Speaker 2: la Laan. Without teaching as a possible way to support herself, 103 00:05:45,839 --> 00:05:50,279 Speaker 2: Marie turned to painting, specifically painting on porcelain through the 104 00:05:50,360 --> 00:05:54,120 Speaker 2: Sere's porcelain factory, and this was a challenging path for her. 105 00:05:54,360 --> 00:05:58,440 Speaker 2: She was extremely nearsighted, and eyeglasses were not fashionable in 106 00:05:58,480 --> 00:06:03,240 Speaker 2: Paris in the early twentieth century. Lawnsin used a lorgnette, 107 00:06:03,360 --> 00:06:05,640 Speaker 2: or a pair of lenses on a handle to look 108 00:06:05,680 --> 00:06:08,240 Speaker 2: at her work. She didn't let her vision keep her 109 00:06:08,240 --> 00:06:11,400 Speaker 2: from doing anything, though. She enjoyed fencing, which she would 110 00:06:11,440 --> 00:06:14,000 Speaker 2: do with glasses in one hand and a foil in 111 00:06:14,040 --> 00:06:18,080 Speaker 2: the other. This delighted Paul Poire, previous podcast subject, so 112 00:06:18,200 --> 00:06:20,520 Speaker 2: much that he made her a special costume to do 113 00:06:20,560 --> 00:06:23,599 Speaker 2: it in and let her fence in his apartment. While 114 00:06:23,640 --> 00:06:26,920 Speaker 2: she was studying porcelain painting, Lawrence I was also attending 115 00:06:27,040 --> 00:06:30,359 Speaker 2: regular gatherings hosted by Natalie Barney, who had moved to 116 00:06:30,400 --> 00:06:33,760 Speaker 2: Paris from the United States. Barney was a writer, a poet, 117 00:06:33,800 --> 00:06:36,440 Speaker 2: and an heiress, and she hosted a salon in Paris's 118 00:06:36,520 --> 00:06:39,000 Speaker 2: Latin Quarter that was frequented by some of the city's 119 00:06:39,080 --> 00:06:44,000 Speaker 2: most prominent artists, writers, musicians, and patrons. Barney was also 120 00:06:44,279 --> 00:06:49,600 Speaker 2: unapologetically publicly lesbian, a time when homosexuality was really heavily stigmatized. 121 00:06:49,960 --> 00:06:52,520 Speaker 2: She was actually one of the inspirations for the character 122 00:06:52,640 --> 00:06:56,200 Speaker 2: of Valerie Seymour and Radcliffe Hall's The Well of Loneliness, 123 00:06:56,200 --> 00:06:58,800 Speaker 2: which was one of the first lesbian novels written in English. 124 00:06:59,160 --> 00:07:01,960 Speaker 2: Barney had been the named the Amazon after being seen 125 00:07:02,040 --> 00:07:05,440 Speaker 2: riding a horse by sitting astride it instead of side saddle. 126 00:07:05,960 --> 00:07:08,040 Speaker 2: When she first started the salon, she called it the 127 00:07:08,040 --> 00:07:11,720 Speaker 2: Salon of the Amazon and admitted only women. She held 128 00:07:11,760 --> 00:07:15,320 Speaker 2: other women only events as well, including all women pagan circles, 129 00:07:15,400 --> 00:07:18,960 Speaker 2: and she later established a women's art academy since Lacademie 130 00:07:18,960 --> 00:07:23,080 Speaker 2: Frances admitted only men, but eventually Barney made the Salon 131 00:07:23,120 --> 00:07:26,840 Speaker 2: of the Amazon open to anyone regardless of gender. Lawrencen 132 00:07:27,000 --> 00:07:29,800 Speaker 2: was a regular at the salon and at other gatherings 133 00:07:29,800 --> 00:07:32,880 Speaker 2: at Barney's home. Pierre Louis, who was the author of 134 00:07:33,000 --> 00:07:34,960 Speaker 2: Chanson de Bilitice, attended the. 135 00:07:34,880 --> 00:07:35,840 Speaker 1: Salon as well. 136 00:07:36,320 --> 00:07:39,960 Speaker 2: We talked about Chanson de Bilitice recently in our Safo episode, 137 00:07:39,960 --> 00:07:41,680 Speaker 2: but just in case you missed that one. This was 138 00:07:41,720 --> 00:07:46,200 Speaker 2: a supposedly unearthed set of erotic poems that were purportedly 139 00:07:46,240 --> 00:07:50,280 Speaker 2: by one of Saffo's students. They were really Pierre Louise's 140 00:07:50,320 --> 00:07:55,040 Speaker 2: own creation, though. One of Lawrencen's first produced works of 141 00:07:55,240 --> 00:07:59,320 Speaker 2: art was an etching titled Chanson de bilitics, which she 142 00:07:59,520 --> 00:08:02,520 Speaker 2: printed were repeatedly in nineteen oh four and nineteen oh five, 143 00:08:03,080 --> 00:08:05,880 Speaker 2: really experimenting with colors and techniques as she did it. 144 00:08:06,280 --> 00:08:09,280 Speaker 2: This depicts two women kissing with an oil lamp that 145 00:08:09,320 --> 00:08:11,920 Speaker 2: looks a little bit like a water fowl of some 146 00:08:12,040 --> 00:08:14,440 Speaker 2: sort in the corner. By the time she was doing 147 00:08:14,440 --> 00:08:17,640 Speaker 2: this print work, Laurensn had decided to branch out from 148 00:08:17,680 --> 00:08:22,040 Speaker 2: porcelain painting. She started studying at the Academy Umbeer, which 149 00:08:22,160 --> 00:08:24,440 Speaker 2: was one of the many art academies in the Manmautla 150 00:08:24,520 --> 00:08:28,080 Speaker 2: district of Paris. She learned drawing and printmaking and started 151 00:08:28,120 --> 00:08:31,480 Speaker 2: meeting members of the Parisian avant garde, including Georges Brack, 152 00:08:32,040 --> 00:08:35,160 Speaker 2: with whom she developed a very close friendship. Along with 153 00:08:35,200 --> 00:08:38,319 Speaker 2: Pablo Picasso, Brack was one of the founders of Cubism. 154 00:08:38,960 --> 00:08:43,160 Speaker 2: Brock introduced Laurence to Picasso, and Picasso introduced her to 155 00:08:43,240 --> 00:08:47,280 Speaker 2: Guillome Epouliniers around nineteen oh seven, telling him that she 156 00:08:47,320 --> 00:08:50,680 Speaker 2: would make him a good fiance. Apollinaire was eight years 157 00:08:50,679 --> 00:08:55,400 Speaker 2: older than Lawrence. Born in Rome as Vilhelm Apollinaire de Kestrovitsky, 158 00:08:55,640 --> 00:08:58,199 Speaker 2: he was raised in various parts of southern France before 159 00:08:58,200 --> 00:09:01,719 Speaker 2: finally settling down in Paris. He and Laurence had a 160 00:09:01,760 --> 00:09:04,720 Speaker 2: lot in common. They were both raised by unmarried mothers, 161 00:09:04,920 --> 00:09:08,880 Speaker 2: both connected to Paris's avant garde community, and both passionately 162 00:09:08,960 --> 00:09:12,720 Speaker 2: creative on their own. They started an intense and sometimes 163 00:09:12,800 --> 00:09:16,920 Speaker 2: volatile relationship, both of them seeming to draw creative inspiration 164 00:09:17,040 --> 00:09:21,240 Speaker 2: from each other and from the relationship itself. Sometimes Lawrencen 165 00:09:21,440 --> 00:09:24,800 Speaker 2: is described as a Pollinaire's muse. That's something that was 166 00:09:24,880 --> 00:09:29,440 Speaker 2: possibly inspired and definitely reinforced by Henri Russo's nineteen oh 167 00:09:29,559 --> 00:09:33,360 Speaker 2: nine portrait of them, which is titled the Muse Inspiring 168 00:09:33,400 --> 00:09:36,720 Speaker 2: the Poet. This is actually the picture that is used 169 00:09:36,720 --> 00:09:40,720 Speaker 2: for the artwork on our website for copyright reasons, meaning 170 00:09:40,920 --> 00:09:44,320 Speaker 2: it's the one we had access to because of copyright, 171 00:09:44,840 --> 00:09:47,200 Speaker 2: So if you come to our website, that is what 172 00:09:47,240 --> 00:09:49,120 Speaker 2: you're seeing, not some of. 173 00:09:49,000 --> 00:09:49,960 Speaker 1: Her own work. 174 00:09:50,360 --> 00:09:52,920 Speaker 2: And it is clear that a Pollonaire's work was changed 175 00:09:52,920 --> 00:09:57,760 Speaker 2: significantly while they were together. His early writings were explicit erotica, 176 00:09:57,880 --> 00:10:00,720 Speaker 2: but in nineteen oh nine, he published his first volume 177 00:10:00,760 --> 00:10:04,439 Speaker 2: of poetry. He also became a literary and art critic, 178 00:10:04,600 --> 00:10:07,320 Speaker 2: helping to define the Cubist movement and supporting the work 179 00:10:07,360 --> 00:10:10,560 Speaker 2: of writers and painters all across the world of Parisian 180 00:10:10,679 --> 00:10:14,960 Speaker 2: modern art. A Pollinaire said Lawrence invented poetry for him, 181 00:10:15,280 --> 00:10:18,360 Speaker 2: and he described her as his feminine counterpart. But this 182 00:10:18,559 --> 00:10:21,840 Speaker 2: was not at all a one way street with Lawrence 183 00:10:21,880 --> 00:10:25,360 Speaker 2: and just sort of passively inspiring a Polonaire to greatness 184 00:10:25,480 --> 00:10:28,679 Speaker 2: merely by existing, which is sort of how people imagine 185 00:10:28,720 --> 00:10:31,960 Speaker 2: muses work. They were both really drawing from and challenging 186 00:10:32,000 --> 00:10:34,599 Speaker 2: each other, and she was developing as an artist in 187 00:10:34,720 --> 00:10:37,760 Speaker 2: her own right while they were together. These were really 188 00:10:37,880 --> 00:10:41,559 Speaker 2: formative years for Marine Lawrence. Her work through the nineteen 189 00:10:41,600 --> 00:10:45,560 Speaker 2: teens was stylized somewhat influenced by the Cubists. She was 190 00:10:45,559 --> 00:10:48,600 Speaker 2: often working in color palettes that were dominated by a 191 00:10:48,640 --> 00:10:51,840 Speaker 2: lot of brown, and she was also exploring her technique 192 00:10:51,840 --> 00:10:55,079 Speaker 2: through creating self portraits. She did at least thirty six 193 00:10:55,240 --> 00:10:58,360 Speaker 2: self portraits during her lifetime, those just being the ones 194 00:10:58,400 --> 00:11:01,240 Speaker 2: that were titled as self portraits. A third of those 195 00:11:01,280 --> 00:11:05,160 Speaker 2: were before nineteen fourteen. Lawrencean continued to live with her 196 00:11:05,200 --> 00:11:08,439 Speaker 2: mother during her study of art and her relationship with Apollinaire. 197 00:11:09,000 --> 00:11:10,160 Speaker 1: And we'll get into how. 198 00:11:10,040 --> 00:11:12,800 Speaker 2: These years unfolded after we first take a pause for 199 00:11:12,840 --> 00:11:25,520 Speaker 2: a little sponsor break. The Parisian avant garde community of 200 00:11:25,559 --> 00:11:29,280 Speaker 2: the nineteen hundreds and nineteen teens was really highly interconnected. 201 00:11:29,600 --> 00:11:33,080 Speaker 2: Many painters also wrote poetry, and many poets also painted 202 00:11:33,160 --> 00:11:37,000 Speaker 2: or did some other visual or plastic art. Artists and 203 00:11:37,040 --> 00:11:40,520 Speaker 2: writers were gathering constantly in cafes and coffee shops and 204 00:11:40,559 --> 00:11:44,800 Speaker 2: galleries and people's homes. Lawrenceant was an active and visible 205 00:11:44,840 --> 00:11:47,360 Speaker 2: part of this seed, and although her mother had her 206 00:11:47,400 --> 00:11:51,000 Speaker 2: doubts about Marie's futurism artist, she hosted groups of cubists 207 00:11:51,080 --> 00:11:55,120 Speaker 2: at their Momolta apartment. Laurencean was also frequently at the 208 00:11:55,120 --> 00:11:58,840 Speaker 2: Bateau Lavoire, where Picasso and other cubists had their studios, 209 00:11:59,280 --> 00:12:01,240 Speaker 2: and she was a regular at some of the most 210 00:12:01,280 --> 00:12:06,040 Speaker 2: influential literary salons in the city. She wasn't universally beloved 211 00:12:06,040 --> 00:12:10,160 Speaker 2: by this community, though Paulinaire praised her work really effusively, 212 00:12:10,240 --> 00:12:12,920 Speaker 2: to the point that people sometimes thought that his feelings 213 00:12:12,920 --> 00:12:16,320 Speaker 2: for her were coloring his judgment about her work, but 214 00:12:16,520 --> 00:12:21,080 Speaker 2: Gertrude Stein and Pablo Picasso's girlfriend Fernand Olivier were both 215 00:12:21,120 --> 00:12:25,880 Speaker 2: pretty dismissive and disparaging of her. Both Stein and Olivier 216 00:12:26,000 --> 00:12:29,319 Speaker 2: wrote derisive accounts of an incident in which Lawrencen was 217 00:12:29,400 --> 00:12:33,360 Speaker 2: drunk at a party. Olivier also called her affected and 218 00:12:33,440 --> 00:12:36,199 Speaker 2: a bit silly, and claimed that she was only successful 219 00:12:36,240 --> 00:12:40,120 Speaker 2: because of her connection to a Polonaire. Stein implied that 220 00:12:40,200 --> 00:12:42,560 Speaker 2: Lawrencen didn't really fit in with the rest of the 221 00:12:42,600 --> 00:12:47,360 Speaker 2: community either, writing quote, everybody called Gertrude Stein, Gertrude or 222 00:12:47,400 --> 00:12:52,840 Speaker 2: at most Mademoiselle Gertrude. Everybody called Picasso, Pablo and Fernand Fernand, 223 00:12:52,920 --> 00:12:57,320 Speaker 2: and everybody called Guillome Epollinaire, Guillome and Max Jacob Max, 224 00:12:57,440 --> 00:13:01,360 Speaker 2: but everybody called Marie Lawrence n Lawrence on. It's like 225 00:13:01,400 --> 00:13:04,920 Speaker 2: the opposite of the Madonna thing. She wants all the names. 226 00:13:05,240 --> 00:13:07,920 Speaker 2: If you're wondering why Gertrude Stein refers to herself in 227 00:13:07,960 --> 00:13:11,440 Speaker 2: third person. This is from the autobiography of Alice B. Toklis, 228 00:13:12,040 --> 00:13:14,360 Speaker 2: which was written that way in nineteen oh seven. With 229 00:13:14,400 --> 00:13:19,040 Speaker 2: a Pollinaire's encouragement, Lawrencen exhibited at the Salon des endn Pandon. 230 00:13:19,800 --> 00:13:22,560 Speaker 2: This was an annual exhibition of independent artists that was 231 00:13:22,640 --> 00:13:25,840 Speaker 2: established in eighteen eighty four after the official salon held 232 00:13:25,840 --> 00:13:30,000 Speaker 2: by the Academy Royal repeatedly rejected the work of the Impressionists. 233 00:13:30,559 --> 00:13:33,679 Speaker 2: The Academy Royale later became the e Col de Bouzar, 234 00:13:34,200 --> 00:13:37,400 Speaker 2: and this was the first of many exhibitions for Lawrence. 235 00:13:37,920 --> 00:13:41,040 Speaker 2: In nineteen oh eight, Lawrencen sold her first piece of art, 236 00:13:41,080 --> 00:13:44,199 Speaker 2: which was a painting called Group of Artists. It depicts 237 00:13:44,200 --> 00:13:48,559 Speaker 2: the artist herself with Pablo Picasso and Fernando Olivier arranged 238 00:13:48,640 --> 00:13:53,600 Speaker 2: around Guilme Apollinaire. Also in the painting is Picasso's dog Frika. 239 00:13:54,200 --> 00:13:58,040 Speaker 2: Lawrencen's buyer for this was past podcast subject Gertrude Stein, 240 00:13:58,360 --> 00:14:01,080 Speaker 2: and eventually Lawrencen would also so paint a portrait of 241 00:14:01,120 --> 00:14:04,640 Speaker 2: one of Stein's dogs, that dog being Basket the Second. 242 00:14:04,920 --> 00:14:08,280 Speaker 2: In nineteen oh nine, Lawrencen painted a larger version of 243 00:14:08,320 --> 00:14:11,760 Speaker 2: a similar scene known as Reunion in the Country or 244 00:14:11,840 --> 00:14:16,080 Speaker 2: Apollinaire and his Friends. This larger piece featured Gertrude Stein, 245 00:14:16,280 --> 00:14:19,880 Speaker 2: Fernando Olivier, and an unidentified third woman as the three 246 00:14:20,000 --> 00:14:23,840 Speaker 2: graces on the left hand side of the frame. Guillomapollinaire 247 00:14:24,000 --> 00:14:26,360 Speaker 2: is roughly in the center, and to his right are 248 00:14:26,400 --> 00:14:32,120 Speaker 2: Pablo Picasso, Margeriegio, Maurice Kremnitz, and Marie lawrence On herself. 249 00:14:32,720 --> 00:14:35,040 Speaker 2: There is a dog in this painting as well, facing 250 00:14:35,080 --> 00:14:37,360 Speaker 2: away from the center of the frame, but with its 251 00:14:37,400 --> 00:14:41,200 Speaker 2: head turned back toward a Pollinaire. Lawrencen gave this one 252 00:14:41,200 --> 00:14:43,520 Speaker 2: to a Pollinaire as a gift, and it hung above 253 00:14:43,560 --> 00:14:46,440 Speaker 2: his bed until his death. These two paintings are some 254 00:14:46,480 --> 00:14:49,400 Speaker 2: of the most examined in Lawrencen's work, and they both 255 00:14:49,400 --> 00:14:52,960 Speaker 2: show the influence of Cubism in her early painting, especially 256 00:14:53,040 --> 00:14:55,800 Speaker 2: the earlier years of Cubism before it progressed to being 257 00:14:55,880 --> 00:14:58,440 Speaker 2: just really abstract a lot of the time. They're both 258 00:14:58,560 --> 00:15:01,440 Speaker 2: very flat, with primitive line and lots of brown, gray 259 00:15:01,520 --> 00:15:04,400 Speaker 2: and black, and both of them show Lawrence On is 260 00:15:04,520 --> 00:15:07,480 Speaker 2: part of this group that also included Pablo Picasso. But 261 00:15:07,600 --> 00:15:10,960 Speaker 2: while she was fascinated by the Cubists and was nicknamed 262 00:15:11,000 --> 00:15:15,160 Speaker 2: our Lady of Cubism, Laura's son didn't really consider herself 263 00:15:15,200 --> 00:15:18,880 Speaker 2: to be a Cubist. She counted people like Picasso and 264 00:15:18,960 --> 00:15:22,360 Speaker 2: Matisse as contemporaries and credited them with teaching her what 265 00:15:22,440 --> 00:15:25,160 Speaker 2: she knew about art, but she also thought they would 266 00:15:25,160 --> 00:15:28,240 Speaker 2: be embarrassed by her association with them. On as a 267 00:15:28,320 --> 00:15:32,479 Speaker 2: side note, a Pollinaire was his own potential source of embarrassment. 268 00:15:32,840 --> 00:15:35,920 Speaker 2: On September seventh, nineteen eleven, he was arrested for stealing 269 00:15:36,000 --> 00:15:39,440 Speaker 2: the Mona Lisa from the Louver, which he had not done. However, 270 00:15:39,680 --> 00:15:42,760 Speaker 2: he and Picasso had gotten someone else to steal a 271 00:15:42,800 --> 00:15:46,440 Speaker 2: couple of ancient Iberian busts for them, which Picasso used 272 00:15:46,440 --> 00:15:51,000 Speaker 2: as models for his painting Demoiselle's Damion. A Pollinaire tried 273 00:15:51,000 --> 00:15:53,760 Speaker 2: to anonymously return these busts, and that led to him 274 00:15:53,800 --> 00:15:57,400 Speaker 2: being held for six days for the unrelated Mona Lisa theft. 275 00:15:57,840 --> 00:16:01,480 Speaker 2: He wasn't ultimately prosecuted for the theft of these busts, 276 00:16:01,520 --> 00:16:03,520 Speaker 2: but this did put quite a bit of strain on 277 00:16:03,640 --> 00:16:07,480 Speaker 2: his and Lawrencen's relationship. In nineteen twelve, Lawrence was the 278 00:16:07,520 --> 00:16:10,560 Speaker 2: only woman to be part of La Maison Cubist or 279 00:16:10,640 --> 00:16:13,400 Speaker 2: the Cubist House, which was an art installation for the 280 00:16:13,480 --> 00:16:17,600 Speaker 2: nineteen twelve Salon d'outumes. Like the Salon de s endependent. 281 00:16:17,880 --> 00:16:20,880 Speaker 2: The Salon d'outumes had been established in response to the 282 00:16:20,880 --> 00:16:25,200 Speaker 2: conservatism of the Academy. The Cubist House was an architectural 283 00:16:25,240 --> 00:16:29,200 Speaker 2: installation with a facade full of angles and interior rooms 284 00:16:29,240 --> 00:16:32,640 Speaker 2: adorned with Cubist art. The response in the press was 285 00:16:32,720 --> 00:16:37,000 Speaker 2: incredibly critical. This combination of a structure meant to look 286 00:16:37,040 --> 00:16:40,200 Speaker 2: like a family home filled with avant garde art really 287 00:16:40,200 --> 00:16:42,880 Speaker 2: struck a nerve with the public. In the face of 288 00:16:42,920 --> 00:16:45,640 Speaker 2: all this criticism, Lawrence n and a couple of other 289 00:16:45,680 --> 00:16:51,040 Speaker 2: women stood guard outside, armed with umbrellas. Lawrencen continued to 290 00:16:51,040 --> 00:16:54,120 Speaker 2: make connections and show her work. In the early nineteen teens, 291 00:16:54,600 --> 00:16:56,520 Speaker 2: she was part of the group of artists known as 292 00:16:56,560 --> 00:16:59,720 Speaker 2: the Sexion d'Or, and she exhibited her work with them. 293 00:17:00,160 --> 00:17:03,400 Speaker 2: She had several pieces at the International Exhibition of Modern 294 00:17:03,520 --> 00:17:06,080 Speaker 2: Art in New York City in nineteen thirteen, which came 295 00:17:06,080 --> 00:17:08,679 Speaker 2: to be known as the Armory Show. This was just 296 00:17:08,760 --> 00:17:13,760 Speaker 2: a groundbreaking and incredibly influential exhibition, and it was many Americans' 297 00:17:13,840 --> 00:17:17,840 Speaker 2: first experience with modern art. Lawrensa and a Pollinaire ended 298 00:17:17,880 --> 00:17:21,200 Speaker 2: their involvement in nineteen twelve or nineteen thirteen, after about 299 00:17:21,200 --> 00:17:25,360 Speaker 2: six years together, although he had a reputation as a philanderer. 300 00:17:25,600 --> 00:17:28,520 Speaker 2: They stayed in touch and apparently a Pollinaire thought they 301 00:17:28,520 --> 00:17:32,600 Speaker 2: would get back together until nineteen fourteen. That's when Lawrence 302 00:17:32,880 --> 00:17:37,560 Speaker 2: married German artist Otto van Vettien. Lawrencen said Van Vetien 303 00:17:37,680 --> 00:17:40,200 Speaker 2: reminded her of her mother, who had died at about 304 00:17:40,240 --> 00:17:42,760 Speaker 2: the same time that she broke up with a Pollinaire. 305 00:17:43,400 --> 00:17:46,280 Speaker 2: This was a difficult year or so in her life, 306 00:17:46,720 --> 00:17:50,959 Speaker 2: and this marriage wasn't particularly happy. World War One started 307 00:17:50,960 --> 00:17:53,080 Speaker 2: while the two of them were on their honeymoon, and 308 00:17:53,119 --> 00:17:56,400 Speaker 2: because von Bucken was German, they had to leave France. 309 00:17:56,880 --> 00:17:59,400 Speaker 2: They went to Spain, which was neutral during the war. 310 00:18:00,040 --> 00:18:05,160 Speaker 2: Nissa soon made connections among Spain's modern artists, particularly the Dadaists. 311 00:18:05,760 --> 00:18:08,520 Speaker 2: She also had lots of letters from France and visitors 312 00:18:08,520 --> 00:18:12,240 Speaker 2: from time to time. One eagerly welcomed visitor was fashion 313 00:18:12,280 --> 00:18:16,840 Speaker 2: designer Nicoll Grux, who was Paul Poire's sister. Lawrencein and 314 00:18:16,920 --> 00:18:19,840 Speaker 2: Greux had met in nineteen eleven and they were extremely 315 00:18:19,920 --> 00:18:22,480 Speaker 2: close for the rest of their lives, including a love 316 00:18:22,520 --> 00:18:26,040 Speaker 2: affair during at least some of that time. Nichole's daughter 317 00:18:26,080 --> 00:18:29,240 Speaker 2: Flora was one of Marie Lawrencen's first biographers, and in 318 00:18:29,280 --> 00:18:32,800 Speaker 2: twenty eighteen, Marie and Nichol's relationship with the subject of 319 00:18:32,800 --> 00:18:36,680 Speaker 2: a novel, Je entel desire or I have such a desire. 320 00:18:37,040 --> 00:18:39,920 Speaker 2: While she wasn't totally cut off from her friends in France, 321 00:18:40,080 --> 00:18:44,680 Speaker 2: Lawrencen desperately missed Paris and felt isolated and depressed. Parts 322 00:18:44,720 --> 00:18:47,719 Speaker 2: of the avant garde community had also really heavily criticized 323 00:18:47,760 --> 00:18:50,000 Speaker 2: her for her split with the Polinaire and her marriage 324 00:18:50,040 --> 00:18:53,280 Speaker 2: to a German. She eventually broke off from the Cubists, 325 00:18:53,320 --> 00:18:55,680 Speaker 2: but she continued to work, and she started to really 326 00:18:55,840 --> 00:18:58,520 Speaker 2: establish some of the visual style that she became more 327 00:18:58,560 --> 00:19:00,840 Speaker 2: known for, with lots of pinks and blues and greens 328 00:19:00,920 --> 00:19:03,480 Speaker 2: rather than the browns that had dominated a lot of 329 00:19:03,480 --> 00:19:06,880 Speaker 2: her earlier work, and depictions of women and animals more 330 00:19:06,920 --> 00:19:10,000 Speaker 2: often than her depictions of men. Many of her wartime 331 00:19:10,000 --> 00:19:13,359 Speaker 2: paintings also show how unhappy she was during these years, 332 00:19:13,760 --> 00:19:18,080 Speaker 2: with elements that suggest being trapped or imprisoned. For example, 333 00:19:18,200 --> 00:19:20,720 Speaker 2: the Prisoner shows a woman in blue looking out from 334 00:19:20,720 --> 00:19:24,080 Speaker 2: behind flowing pink curtains with a black pattern that resembles 335 00:19:24,119 --> 00:19:27,720 Speaker 2: a chain link fence, while Lawrencen was away from France, 336 00:19:27,800 --> 00:19:31,080 Speaker 2: Gillon Appollinaire died he was injured in the war, and 337 00:19:31,119 --> 00:19:35,679 Speaker 2: then he died of influenza. Van Vakien also started abusing alcohol, 338 00:19:35,760 --> 00:19:39,280 Speaker 2: and Lawrencen filed for divorce in nineteen nineteen. The split 339 00:19:39,400 --> 00:19:42,280 Speaker 2: was apparently amicable, though they stayed in touch until his 340 00:19:42,400 --> 00:19:45,840 Speaker 2: death in nineteen forty two. Lawrencean was finally able to 341 00:19:45,880 --> 00:19:49,200 Speaker 2: return to France in nineteen twenty one. A year later, 342 00:19:49,280 --> 00:19:52,400 Speaker 2: she underwent surgery to treat stomach cancer, and she also 343 00:19:52,440 --> 00:19:56,880 Speaker 2: had a hysterectomy. Back in France, Lawrencen secured the representation 344 00:19:57,000 --> 00:20:00,800 Speaker 2: of influential art dealer Paul Rosenberg, who all also represented 345 00:20:00,840 --> 00:20:05,080 Speaker 2: people like Pablo Picasso and Ari Matisse. Rosenberg would continue 346 00:20:05,119 --> 00:20:07,639 Speaker 2: to be her art dealer until nineteen forty, when he 347 00:20:07,720 --> 00:20:10,639 Speaker 2: had to flee France in the face of the Nazi occupation. 348 00:20:11,200 --> 00:20:14,240 Speaker 2: From her return to France until about nineteen thirty seven, 349 00:20:14,680 --> 00:20:17,600 Speaker 2: Laura San was at the height of her career. Her 350 00:20:17,640 --> 00:20:20,520 Speaker 2: work was exhibited in London, Paris, and New York, and 351 00:20:20,560 --> 00:20:23,919 Speaker 2: she was financially successful through commissions and the sale of 352 00:20:23,960 --> 00:20:27,919 Speaker 2: her work. She continued to work mainly in pinks, blues, grays, 353 00:20:27,960 --> 00:20:32,200 Speaker 2: and greens, often depicting women and girls in dreamy, slightly 354 00:20:32,240 --> 00:20:35,760 Speaker 2: unreal settings. At one point, she said, quote why should 355 00:20:35,760 --> 00:20:39,280 Speaker 2: I paint dead fish, onions and beer glasses? Girls are 356 00:20:39,359 --> 00:20:42,359 Speaker 2: so much prettier. In the words of an art critic, 357 00:20:42,440 --> 00:20:45,160 Speaker 2: quoted in her obituary in The New York Times, quote 358 00:20:45,240 --> 00:20:47,320 Speaker 2: she can paint a girl with eyes like a dough, 359 00:20:47,480 --> 00:20:50,520 Speaker 2: and a dough with eyes like a girl. Lawrencen also 360 00:20:50,560 --> 00:20:53,520 Speaker 2: started working as a portrait artist, and she was successful 361 00:20:53,640 --> 00:20:56,600 Speaker 2: enough to be selective about who she painted, although her 362 00:20:56,640 --> 00:20:59,399 Speaker 2: dealer repeatedly had to discourage her from just giving her 363 00:20:59,440 --> 00:21:02,800 Speaker 2: painting as a people that she liked. She reportedly charged 364 00:21:02,840 --> 00:21:05,200 Speaker 2: men more than she charged women, and because she found 365 00:21:05,280 --> 00:21:08,760 Speaker 2: blonde women to be the most inspiring, she charged Brunette's 366 00:21:08,800 --> 00:21:11,879 Speaker 2: more than blonde. She would also only paint children if 367 00:21:11,960 --> 00:21:14,919 Speaker 2: she liked them. One of her most famous paintings is 368 00:21:14,920 --> 00:21:19,120 Speaker 2: a French fashion designer, Coco Chanel, done early in Lawrencen's 369 00:21:19,119 --> 00:21:21,720 Speaker 2: career as a portrait artist. This is one of the 370 00:21:21,760 --> 00:21:25,639 Speaker 2: paintings in the Muse de l'ingerie. Chanelle is draped in 371 00:21:25,720 --> 00:21:28,399 Speaker 2: blue and black with a dog on her lap. She 372 00:21:28,480 --> 00:21:30,679 Speaker 2: has her head resting in her hand and she looks 373 00:21:30,960 --> 00:21:35,359 Speaker 2: somewhere between wistful and pensive. Another dog is in the background, 374 00:21:35,440 --> 00:21:38,919 Speaker 2: along with a gray dove. Lauren Son's portraits followed the 375 00:21:38,920 --> 00:21:41,040 Speaker 2: same style as the rest of her art that she 376 00:21:41,160 --> 00:21:43,000 Speaker 2: was doing around this time, so they were not really 377 00:21:43,200 --> 00:21:47,120 Speaker 2: realistic likenesses of her subjects and their clothing. So when 378 00:21:47,119 --> 00:21:49,919 Speaker 2: she saw this painting, Chanelle refused to pay for it 379 00:21:49,960 --> 00:21:53,000 Speaker 2: because it didn't look like her. Then Lawrence I refused 380 00:21:53,000 --> 00:21:55,280 Speaker 2: to do it over and kept the original for herself. 381 00:21:55,840 --> 00:22:00,440 Speaker 2: In spite of this inauspicious start, Laurencen became famous sought 382 00:22:00,480 --> 00:22:04,679 Speaker 2: after for these pastel simplified portraits. People would arrive to 383 00:22:04,680 --> 00:22:08,800 Speaker 2: be painted wearing couture ensalmmes, only for Laurenssan to cover 384 00:22:08,840 --> 00:22:11,159 Speaker 2: them up with scarves and drapes that she had around 385 00:22:11,200 --> 00:22:15,000 Speaker 2: for that purpose. She also had romantic relationships with many 386 00:22:15,040 --> 00:22:18,360 Speaker 2: of her subjects, regardless of their gender, and she did 387 00:22:18,359 --> 00:22:20,959 Speaker 2: a lot besides paintings and portraits of the nineteen twenties 388 00:22:20,960 --> 00:22:22,600 Speaker 2: and thirties. I mean she did a lot of those, 389 00:22:22,680 --> 00:22:25,879 Speaker 2: but other work as well. In nineteen twenty four, she 390 00:22:26,119 --> 00:22:29,320 Speaker 2: designed the costumes and sets for the ballet Russes Les 391 00:22:29,359 --> 00:22:33,360 Speaker 2: Beche or the Does by Sergei Yagilev. When this ballet 392 00:22:33,440 --> 00:22:36,240 Speaker 2: was staged in the United States, dancing in the principal 393 00:22:36,320 --> 00:22:41,360 Speaker 2: role was past podcast subject Maria Tallchief. Lawrencen also designed 394 00:22:41,400 --> 00:22:44,240 Speaker 2: costumes and sets for the comedy Francaise, which is one 395 00:22:44,240 --> 00:22:48,800 Speaker 2: of France's state theaters. Lawrencean was a book illustrator as well. 396 00:22:49,520 --> 00:22:52,080 Speaker 2: Just as a few examples, in nineteen thirty she drew 397 00:22:52,080 --> 00:22:55,040 Speaker 2: a set of illustrations for an edition of Alice in Wonderland. 398 00:22:55,640 --> 00:22:58,760 Speaker 2: She also illustrated The Garden Party and Other Stories by 399 00:22:58,800 --> 00:23:02,880 Speaker 2: Catherine Mansfield and an American edition of Camille by Alexandre 400 00:23:02,920 --> 00:23:06,920 Speaker 2: duma Fice. That last one drew some criticism because all 401 00:23:07,000 --> 00:23:09,960 Speaker 2: twelve of the illustrations she created were of the book's 402 00:23:09,960 --> 00:23:14,000 Speaker 2: main character, Marguerite Gautier. In nineteen thirty one, she became 403 00:23:14,080 --> 00:23:17,560 Speaker 2: a founder member of the French Society of Women Modern Artists. 404 00:23:17,920 --> 00:23:20,720 Speaker 2: She taught at Via Malakoff from nineteen thirty two to 405 00:23:20,800 --> 00:23:24,120 Speaker 2: nineteen thirty five, and she managed to stay financially afloat 406 00:23:24,119 --> 00:23:27,240 Speaker 2: even during the Great Depression. In nineteen thirty seven, a 407 00:23:27,280 --> 00:23:30,920 Speaker 2: retrospective of Lawrencean's work was held at the Great Exhibition 408 00:23:31,040 --> 00:23:34,360 Speaker 2: of Independent Art Masters at the Petit Palais in Paris. 409 00:23:34,760 --> 00:23:38,160 Speaker 2: She also finally started wearing glasses that year, and it's 410 00:23:38,160 --> 00:23:40,720 Speaker 2: around this time that her career started to slow. 411 00:23:41,240 --> 00:23:44,080 Speaker 1: More about that. After another quick sponsor break. 412 00:23:52,440 --> 00:23:55,440 Speaker 2: When World War Two started in Europe, Marie Lawrence stayed 413 00:23:55,440 --> 00:23:59,639 Speaker 2: in Paris. She published a semi autobiographical collection of poetry 414 00:23:59,680 --> 00:24:03,280 Speaker 2: and in nineteen forty two that was called Lcarnette de Nuit, 415 00:24:03,880 --> 00:24:06,320 Speaker 2: and although she continued to work in visual art, her 416 00:24:06,320 --> 00:24:10,160 Speaker 2: output slowed down. As we said earlier, Most critics consider 417 00:24:10,200 --> 00:24:12,560 Speaker 2: her work at this point to be a repeat of 418 00:24:12,600 --> 00:24:15,320 Speaker 2: the techniques and themes that she was developing earlier in 419 00:24:15,359 --> 00:24:19,359 Speaker 2: her career, rather than experimenting or breaking new ground. She 420 00:24:19,440 --> 00:24:22,560 Speaker 2: did start to use some darker, brighter colors rather than 421 00:24:22,560 --> 00:24:24,960 Speaker 2: the pastels that had become her hallmark in the nineteen 422 00:24:25,000 --> 00:24:28,159 Speaker 2: twenties and thirties, and this change in palette may have 423 00:24:28,240 --> 00:24:31,800 Speaker 2: been connected to the ongoing deterioration of her vision. Although 424 00:24:31,840 --> 00:24:34,840 Speaker 2: she was able to stay in Paris, Germans requisitioned her 425 00:24:34,840 --> 00:24:38,040 Speaker 2: apartment during the occupation and she stayed with friends for 426 00:24:38,080 --> 00:24:40,919 Speaker 2: the duration of the war. Some of her art was 427 00:24:40,920 --> 00:24:45,119 Speaker 2: branded degenerate or looted by Nazis. Her politics during this 428 00:24:45,200 --> 00:24:48,280 Speaker 2: time seemed to have been contradictory. She was part of 429 00:24:48,320 --> 00:24:50,840 Speaker 2: an intellectual scene that had lots of connections to the 430 00:24:50,920 --> 00:24:54,639 Speaker 2: Vishi government, and in some ways Lawrence was complicit with 431 00:24:54,720 --> 00:24:58,399 Speaker 2: them and with German authorities. At the same time, she 432 00:24:58,520 --> 00:25:01,640 Speaker 2: tried to personally intervene to save her friend Max Jacob, 433 00:25:01,880 --> 00:25:04,560 Speaker 2: who was a poet and a painter. Jacob was of 434 00:25:04,600 --> 00:25:09,080 Speaker 2: Jewish ancestry but had converted to Catholicism. He was ultimately 435 00:25:09,119 --> 00:25:12,000 Speaker 2: deported to a concentration camp, and he died in nineteen 436 00:25:12,040 --> 00:25:14,720 Speaker 2: forty four. When France was liberated at the end of 437 00:25:14,760 --> 00:25:17,560 Speaker 2: World War Two, Lawrence was arrested as part of the 438 00:25:17,600 --> 00:25:21,600 Speaker 2: wave of arrests and purges known as the Operation or Purification. 439 00:25:22,200 --> 00:25:25,879 Speaker 2: She was briefly incarcerated at Dancing Internment Camp, but was 440 00:25:25,960 --> 00:25:30,160 Speaker 2: ultimately exonerated and released. After the war, Lawrencen was prone 441 00:25:30,200 --> 00:25:34,520 Speaker 2: to cycles of depression and isolation. Her closest companion became 442 00:25:34,560 --> 00:25:38,280 Speaker 2: Suzanne Moreau, who had originally been her maid. It is 443 00:25:38,320 --> 00:25:41,440 Speaker 2: not entirely clear if the two of them were romantically involved, 444 00:25:41,640 --> 00:25:44,960 Speaker 2: or if Lawrencen was more like Moreau's surrogate mother, but 445 00:25:45,000 --> 00:25:49,200 Speaker 2: they were together for almost twenty years. Lawrencen legally adopted 446 00:25:49,240 --> 00:25:52,359 Speaker 2: Moreau in nineteen fifty four, when she was seventy and 447 00:25:52,400 --> 00:25:56,480 Speaker 2: Moreau was forty nine. In nineteen fifty Lawrencen produced a 448 00:25:56,520 --> 00:25:59,639 Speaker 2: series of twenty three etchings for an illustrated collection of 449 00:25:59,640 --> 00:26:03,360 Speaker 2: safe Poetry, which had been translated by Edith de Beaumont 450 00:26:03,640 --> 00:26:06,880 Speaker 2: in her earlier book Illustrations. Her work contended to resemble 451 00:26:06,920 --> 00:26:11,160 Speaker 2: her paintings, with similarly flowing lines and pastel palettes. These 452 00:26:11,280 --> 00:26:15,159 Speaker 2: Sappho illustrations, though, are still flowing in style, but with 453 00:26:15,240 --> 00:26:19,760 Speaker 2: a much simpler black and white design. Marie Lawrencen died 454 00:26:19,760 --> 00:26:22,159 Speaker 2: of a heart attack at her home in Paris on 455 00:26:22,280 --> 00:26:26,280 Speaker 2: June eighth, nineteen fifty six. She was seventy two. She 456 00:26:26,359 --> 00:26:29,879 Speaker 2: was buried in Perliches Cemetery, and at her request, she 457 00:26:29,960 --> 00:26:31,920 Speaker 2: was dressed in white, with a rose in her hand 458 00:26:32,280 --> 00:26:35,480 Speaker 2: and her love letters from Guilloma Pollinaire close to her heart. 459 00:26:36,000 --> 00:26:38,240 Speaker 2: I think one of my few regrets about our trip 460 00:26:38,280 --> 00:26:41,280 Speaker 2: to Paris is that I didn't realize until after we 461 00:26:41,280 --> 00:26:44,840 Speaker 2: were back all of these things about Marie Lawrencen, including 462 00:26:44,840 --> 00:26:48,200 Speaker 2: her burial at Perliches because we were there, but hers 463 00:26:48,280 --> 00:26:49,680 Speaker 2: is not one of the graves. 464 00:26:49,359 --> 00:26:49,960 Speaker 1: That we went to. 465 00:26:50,480 --> 00:26:53,360 Speaker 2: There are so many things to look at in Perliches. 466 00:26:53,400 --> 00:26:55,960 Speaker 2: You cannot fault yourself for missing anything. Well, you could 467 00:26:56,000 --> 00:27:01,080 Speaker 2: be there really all day long, I think at that point, 468 00:27:01,680 --> 00:27:03,400 Speaker 2: because that was one of the things that we sort 469 00:27:03,400 --> 00:27:06,200 Speaker 2: of did on one of our free days while we 470 00:27:06,240 --> 00:27:08,439 Speaker 2: were in Paris. And at that point I think she 471 00:27:08,560 --> 00:27:12,000 Speaker 2: was written in my list of ideas for podcast episodes 472 00:27:12,000 --> 00:27:15,120 Speaker 2: for after the show as something like that painter from 473 00:27:15,200 --> 00:27:18,159 Speaker 2: the Orangery, like I didn't even have her name clearly 474 00:27:18,200 --> 00:27:21,840 Speaker 2: affixed in my mind yet. So anyway, although she had 475 00:27:21,880 --> 00:27:24,640 Speaker 2: been well known and sought after during her lifetime, her 476 00:27:24,680 --> 00:27:28,879 Speaker 2: reputation faded pretty quickly after her death. She left instructions 477 00:27:28,880 --> 00:27:31,320 Speaker 2: to Moreau not to sell her paintings or to allow 478 00:27:31,359 --> 00:27:33,840 Speaker 2: people to research her. So it wasn't really until the 479 00:27:33,920 --> 00:27:37,560 Speaker 2: nineteen seventies, which I think was after Moreau's death and 480 00:27:37,600 --> 00:27:41,199 Speaker 2: when there was renewed interest in women's and LGBT history, 481 00:27:41,240 --> 00:27:43,640 Speaker 2: that people started researching her life and seeking out more 482 00:27:43,680 --> 00:27:46,760 Speaker 2: of her work, especially outside of France. The nature of 483 00:27:46,760 --> 00:27:49,080 Speaker 2: her work also may have acted as a deterrent for 484 00:27:49,160 --> 00:27:53,159 Speaker 2: biographers and art historians. There was a decorative element to 485 00:27:53,200 --> 00:27:57,080 Speaker 2: Laurencean's paintings. She didn't push boundaries in the same way 486 00:27:57,119 --> 00:28:00,840 Speaker 2: that many of her contemporaries did. Many the Cubists, who 487 00:28:00,880 --> 00:28:04,480 Speaker 2: were so important to Lawrencen's early development and artistic network, 488 00:28:04,760 --> 00:28:08,679 Speaker 2: were creating work that was increasingly abstract, and Lawrence, on 489 00:28:08,720 --> 00:28:12,080 Speaker 2: the other hand, ultimately broke away from the Cubists, and 490 00:28:12,160 --> 00:28:14,440 Speaker 2: she painted in a way that was pretty and appealing. 491 00:28:14,960 --> 00:28:17,800 Speaker 2: She wanted to make art that people would enjoy looking at. 492 00:28:18,280 --> 00:28:22,400 Speaker 2: Added to that, Laurensan and her work were explicitly intentionally 493 00:28:22,480 --> 00:28:26,560 Speaker 2: feminine given the gender standards of the day. Her pastel 494 00:28:26,720 --> 00:28:30,719 Speaker 2: color palette and willowy fluid lines impressed people as just 495 00:28:30,880 --> 00:28:34,480 Speaker 2: intrinsically female, and this made it really easy to write 496 00:28:34,520 --> 00:28:36,840 Speaker 2: her off as just girl stuff rather than as a 497 00:28:36,920 --> 00:28:39,680 Speaker 2: serious work of art that was full of nuance and 498 00:28:39,720 --> 00:28:44,280 Speaker 2: symbolism and subtlety and sometimes humor. She clearly had an 499 00:28:44,280 --> 00:28:47,320 Speaker 2: affinity for women in her work in her life as well, 500 00:28:47,400 --> 00:28:50,760 Speaker 2: and that was something that earlier art historians seemed really 501 00:28:50,800 --> 00:28:54,360 Speaker 2: reluctant to explore because of all the stigma surrounding lesbianism 502 00:28:54,360 --> 00:28:58,000 Speaker 2: and bisexuality. Because so much of the interest into women's 503 00:28:58,080 --> 00:29:01,000 Speaker 2: art in the nineteen seventies was coming from the feminist movement, 504 00:29:01,520 --> 00:29:06,440 Speaker 2: Lawrensan's own preferences and opinions complicated things as well. She 505 00:29:06,640 --> 00:29:11,280 Speaker 2: really favored one type of model, one who was young, white, fair, 506 00:29:11,400 --> 00:29:14,200 Speaker 2: and slender, and she also believed that women and men 507 00:29:14,240 --> 00:29:17,959 Speaker 2: were fundamentally different, and that women's art was fundamentally different 508 00:29:17,960 --> 00:29:20,880 Speaker 2: from men's art. She said, quote, if I feel so 509 00:29:21,040 --> 00:29:23,920 Speaker 2: far removed from painters, it is because they are men, 510 00:29:24,400 --> 00:29:27,000 Speaker 2: and in my view, men are difficult problems to solve. 511 00:29:27,680 --> 00:29:30,360 Speaker 2: But if the genius of men intimidates me, I feel 512 00:29:30,360 --> 00:29:34,120 Speaker 2: perfectly at ease with everything that is feminine. That made 513 00:29:34,160 --> 00:29:36,800 Speaker 2: her a less appealing subject of study in the context 514 00:29:36,840 --> 00:29:41,400 Speaker 2: of a movement for women's empowerment, autonomy, equality and independence. 515 00:29:41,760 --> 00:29:45,160 Speaker 2: As a counterpoint to that idea, though, Marie Lawrencean was 516 00:29:45,200 --> 00:29:48,080 Speaker 2: one of very few women artists to hold her own 517 00:29:48,200 --> 00:29:51,880 Speaker 2: in the male dominated world of French modernists. Although she 518 00:29:51,960 --> 00:29:54,600 Speaker 2: was connected to the Cubists and her early work showed 519 00:29:54,640 --> 00:29:58,240 Speaker 2: some Cubist influence, she ultimately broke away from all that 520 00:29:58,320 --> 00:30:02,640 Speaker 2: and developed her own DISTINCTI unapologetically feminine style, and that 521 00:30:02,840 --> 00:30:06,520 Speaker 2: was transgressive in its own way. There's been more interest 522 00:30:06,640 --> 00:30:09,520 Speaker 2: in Marie Lawrencen's life and work in Europe and North 523 00:30:09,560 --> 00:30:13,240 Speaker 2: America over the past few decades, but she's been especially 524 00:30:13,280 --> 00:30:18,040 Speaker 2: beloved in Japan. Japanese collector Masahiro Takano developed an interest 525 00:30:18,120 --> 00:30:20,440 Speaker 2: in her work and acquired a huge amount of it, 526 00:30:20,560 --> 00:30:24,000 Speaker 2: founding the Marie Lawrence and Museum in Nagano, Japan, which 527 00:30:24,040 --> 00:30:26,640 Speaker 2: first opened in nineteen eighty three to mark her one 528 00:30:26,680 --> 00:30:30,320 Speaker 2: hundredth birthday. At the time, it was the only museum 529 00:30:30,360 --> 00:30:33,600 Speaker 2: in the world dedicated to the work of a woman artist. 530 00:30:33,840 --> 00:30:37,520 Speaker 2: The museum closed in twenty eleven for financial reasons. In 531 00:30:37,520 --> 00:30:40,280 Speaker 2: twenty thirteen, pictures from the museum were part of a 532 00:30:40,320 --> 00:30:45,360 Speaker 2: temporary exhibition at the Musei malmotain Monet in Paris. After that, 533 00:30:45,440 --> 00:30:48,680 Speaker 2: the Marie Lawrence and Museum reopened in Tokyo in July 534 00:30:48,840 --> 00:30:53,760 Speaker 2: twenty seventeen. Unfortunately, it closed again on January fourteenth of 535 00:30:53,800 --> 00:30:56,720 Speaker 2: twenty nineteen. When I was looking at the website for it, 536 00:30:56,800 --> 00:31:02,240 Speaker 2: because sometimes I am calendar challenged. Somehow, I thought January fourteenth, 537 00:31:02,280 --> 00:31:05,560 Speaker 2: twenty nineteen had not happened yet, and I was like, 538 00:31:05,600 --> 00:31:07,880 Speaker 2: I got to go to Japan right now, and then 539 00:31:07,880 --> 00:31:12,040 Speaker 2: I realized six months already too late. But yeah, it 540 00:31:13,440 --> 00:31:19,160 Speaker 2: the wording suggests that they're maybe like a future exhibition 541 00:31:19,200 --> 00:31:21,880 Speaker 2: at some point in in the future, and it's also 542 00:31:22,040 --> 00:31:24,160 Speaker 2: clear that the people who have all this art of 543 00:31:24,160 --> 00:31:26,040 Speaker 2: hers really love it and are caring for it, so 544 00:31:26,520 --> 00:31:30,000 Speaker 2: maybe it will be on public view somewhere at some 545 00:31:30,080 --> 00:31:36,640 Speaker 2: point in the future. Anyway, I love her. Yeah, she's great. 546 00:31:37,080 --> 00:31:39,120 Speaker 2: Her art is very pretty. It's not my jam, but 547 00:31:39,160 --> 00:31:42,440 Speaker 2: I appreciate it and think it's beautiful. Yeah, it's I definitely. 548 00:31:42,680 --> 00:31:45,160 Speaker 2: I kind of came around a corner where all five 549 00:31:45,200 --> 00:31:49,719 Speaker 2: of the paintings that were on display all were and 550 00:31:49,760 --> 00:31:51,640 Speaker 2: I was immediately like, I am here for this. 551 00:31:52,600 --> 00:31:53,360 Speaker 1: Yeah. 552 00:31:53,440 --> 00:31:55,920 Speaker 2: That's the beautiful thing about artist when you have that 553 00:31:56,000 --> 00:32:00,520 Speaker 2: like visceral, just unexplainable emotional reaction to it. That is 554 00:32:00,520 --> 00:32:02,760 Speaker 2: why I love art so much. Yeah, and there's also 555 00:32:02,840 --> 00:32:05,160 Speaker 2: we'll have a link in the show notes to the episode. 556 00:32:05,200 --> 00:32:08,280 Speaker 2: Because we couldn't personally put some of her artwork onto 557 00:32:08,360 --> 00:32:09,560 Speaker 2: our website. 558 00:32:09,640 --> 00:32:12,640 Speaker 1: We will have a link to the museum's page. 559 00:32:12,320 --> 00:32:15,960 Speaker 2: On her that has all five I think of the 560 00:32:16,000 --> 00:32:18,280 Speaker 2: paintings that you can look at there. I think they're 561 00:32:18,320 --> 00:32:27,120 Speaker 2: really beautiful. Thanks so much for joining us on this Saturday. 562 00:32:27,280 --> 00:32:29,040 Speaker 2: If you'd like to send us a note, our email 563 00:32:29,080 --> 00:32:33,760 Speaker 2: addresses History Podcast at iHeartRadio dot com, and you can 564 00:32:33,800 --> 00:32:37,280 Speaker 2: subscribe to the show on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, 565 00:32:37,400 --> 00:32:38,320 Speaker 2: or wherever you listen 566 00:32:38,400 --> 00:32:39,520 Speaker 1: To your favorite shows.