Especially for Russophiles, there's no time to waste to get to Hillwood and see its exhibition, From Exile to Avant-Garde: The Life of Princess Natalie Paley which closes Sunday, Jan. 4, 2026.
Princess Natalie Pavlovna Paley was the daughter of Grand Duke Paul Alexandrovich, who was a first cousin and uncle of Czar Nicholas II.
Her mother was Princess Olga Valerianovna Karnovich, her father's second wife whose scandalous affair and marriage led Czar Nicholas to ban his uncle from Russia for 12 years.
Princess Paley was born near Paris in 1905 while her father was in exile. She and her family lived a luxurious life in France with the help of about 16 servants.
For the Romanovs' tercentenary, the Czar relented on his banishment of the Grand Duke and welcomed him back to Russia in 1912. Once there, Paul renewed his close relationship with the Royal Family and was the one, according to Wikipedia, who told Empress Alexandra of her husband's abdication.
(The Grand Duke's son from his first marriage, Dmitri, was involved in Rasputin's murder in 1916.)
Eventually, the Bolsheviks killed Natalie's father and only brother, Vladimir, both members of the military. Vladimir was only was 21 when he died and was close to Natalie and her sister, Irina.
The girls and their mother escaped to Finland.
Princess Natalie's good looks and talents shaped her life as a socialite, a Vogue model and influential fashion designer, but her short film career was not successful.
Over decades and living in France and New York, and becoming a naturalized American citizen, Princess Natalie married twice, both times to homosexuals attracted to her style and influence in the world of fashion and society and her positive effects on their businesses.
From Hillwood's website: "Paley was known for her exquisite taste, someone ethereal and glamorous who dictated her own fashion trends.... (and) embodied the cool, discrete Hollywood allure of the 1930s."
Hats and gloves became her de rigueur accessories, seen in photographs in Hillwood's display.
The exhibition includes bits and pieces of the princess's life, fascinating and appealing to those able at Hillwood to gain another glimpse of a Romanov's life.
Portraits, linens and documents are some of the 335 new items which Hillwood obtained three years ago, many which fill the dacha outside the Hillwood mansion.
After her second husband, Broadway producer John C. Wilson died in 1961, Princess Paley spent the last 20 years of her life as a recluse in Manhattan where she died in 1981 after a fall at her home.
What: From Exile to Avant-Garde: The Life of Princess Natalie Paley
When: Now through Sunday, Jan. 4, 2026, 10 a.m. - 5 p.m. Closed on Mondays. (After January 4, Hillwood will close for the month of January for annual cleaning.)
Where: Hillwood Estate, Museum & Gardens, 4155 Linnean Avenue, NW, Washington, D.C. 20008
Admission: Suggested donations are $20 (adults), $17 (seniors), $10 (college students), $5 (child, ages 6 -18) and free for members and those under age 6. $3 discounts are available for adults and seniors who make reservations online for weekdays.
Directions via bus, rail, car
Parking: Free and on-site
For more information: 202-686-5807
Café onsite
patricialesli@gmail.com
Posts
