See Hillwood's Russian glories and gardens

The entrance to Determined Women at the dacha at Hillwood Estate, Museum and Gardens/by Patricia Leslie

The Hillwood Estate, Museum and Gardens is a respite of soothing and enchanting glorious springtime colors where guests may wander lush grounds, and walk green pathways to admire endless flower gardens.

A sense of peace and serenity prevails; time is unhurried.

One pathway leads to a small Russian dacha*, built about 1969 and the setting of an exhibition of 100 pieces from the collection of Marjorie Merriweather Post (1887-1973) who lived and died at Hillwood and made it what it is today: luxurious galleries and a museum of incredible works of art.

The Grand Duchesses, the four daughters of Nicholas II and Alexandra Feodorovna of Russia, Olga, Tatiana, Marie and Anastasia, 1916, two years before they were murdered.

 Empress Alexandra Feodorovna, 1906, whose daughters are pictured above.

Left:  Star of the Order of Saint Anna, 19th cent. St. Petersburg, silver, diamonds and enamel. Translated from the front:  To those who love justice, piety, and faith. In the center is the Russian imperial eagle.

Right:  Badge of the Order of Saint Anna, 19th cent. Russia, gold, diamonds, enamel/by Patricia Leslie

Ms. Post's inheritance as the only child of her parents no doubt made possible her philanthropic efforts and marshaled her business smarts (she founded General Foods with her second husband**).

At age 27 she was the richest woman in the U.S.

Her father had founded the Post cereal company.

Georgii Musikiiskii (miniaturist), after Johann Gottfried Tannauer, Abraham Heydrich (watchmaker), 1725, watch with miniature portrait of Catherine I, Peter the Great's second wife, gold, silver, diamonds, enamel, copper, St. Petersburg. The ceiling lights at the exhibition are reflected on the watch/by Patricia Leslie

Back of the watch above/By Patricia Leslie

Her admiration of influential women and their designs, works, and artistry form the basis of the exhibition, Determined Women: Collectors, Artists, and Designers at Hillwood which begins in the 1700s and continues to present day. (A curator has added recent pieces about, for example, Stacey Abrams.)

For any cultural and history Russophile like me, the dacha brimming with priceless, historical pieces is another magnificent "find" in Washington, D.C.

After Elisabeth Louise Vigee-Lebrun, Portrait of Marie Antoinette and Children, after 1787, at Versailles with the jewel cabinet of Marie Antoinette on the right.

Christina Sanders Robinson (1796-1854), Portrait of Nicholas I, 1840, Russia. His grandmother was Catherine the Great.

Two evening dresses of Ms. Post, the one on the left by Thum (1865-1954), 1920-1925, and the one on the right, by Hattie Carnegie (1886-1956), 1935-1940/by Patricia Leslie

Embroidery by Aunte Mollie Post, Marjorie Merriweather Post's baby bonnet, n.d./by Patricia Leslie

Viktor Mikhailovich Vasnetsov, designer, altar cloth, c. 1899, Russia/by Patricia Leslie

 

 Needlework by Caroline Lathrop Post, 1854/by Patricia Leslie

Joseph E. Davies was Ms. Post's third husband who took her to Moscow when he was U.S. ambassador to Russia, 1937-1938. Those years coincided with the 20th anniversary of the Russian Revolution and Joseph Stalin's sale of Russian imperial and pre-revolutionary works, money he needed for his industrial agenda.

Carpe diem!

And Ms. Post did! Now, outside of Russia, her Russian collection is considered the best in the world. (What would Mr. Putin exchange for it? Or, some of it?)

Many more Russian artifacts are on display in the mansion.

From left: Maid of Honor Cypher Pin, 1796-1801.  The cypher states for Empress Maria Feodorovna, wife of Emperor Paul I.  These pins were worn on the left side of the breast by Maids of Honor to the Empress. Gold, diamonds, Russia.

Center: Another Maid of Honor Cypher Pin, 1907. Attributed to the firm of Karl Karlovich Hahn.  The pin consists of the ciphers in Russian letters of the last two Empresses, Maria Feodorovna and Alexandra Feodorovna. It was given in 1907 to Irene Rimsky-Korsakoff (1883-1972) (Madame Mishtowt of D.C.). The ciphers are topped by the imperial cleft crown of Russia, all set in diamonds with gold and silver, St. Petersburg

Right: Attributed to Carl C. Blank, Lady of Honor Insignia with miniature portraits of Dowager Empress Maria Feodorovna and Empress Alexandra Feodorovna, 1912. Gold, diamonds, silver, silver gilt, glass, St. Petersburg/by Patricia Leslie

Three busts of Empress Catherine II. 

From left, by Felix Chopin (1813-1892), made in Russia, c. 1867. 

In the center is a marble by an unknown sculptor, made in Russia, after 1771. 

On the right, by August Spiess, designer (1817-1904), the Imperial Porcelain Factory, St. Petersburg, after 1872 after a model by Jacques-Dominique Rachette (1744-1809) based on a marble original by Fedot Ivanovich Shubin (1740-1805)/by Patricia Leslie

Mather Brown (1761-1831), King Louis XVI Saying Farewell to his Family, 1793, U.S.A.

A pathway at Hillwood/by Patricia Leslie

At Hillwood/by Patricia Leslie

Determined Women at Hillwood/by Patricia Leslie

Despite its small size, the exhibition packs two rooms with photographs, paintings, sculpture, jewelry, embroidery and more, a "must see" for Russian cultural aficionados.

But you don't have to love Russian history, culture, and people to want to come since it's more than all things Russian. Artists and designers from other nations, especially France, are represented, along  with dress designers of her own whom Ms. Post admired.  And, I am guessing it was a relative who made Ms. Post's baby bonnet.

Pictures, descriptions and locations of all the objects in the exhibition may be found here. 

After she and Mr. Davies divorced in 1955, Ms. Post established Hillwood where she is buried on the grounds. (She reclaimed her maiden name after her fourth and last marriage.)

Of note: Ms. Post built and owned Mar-A-Lago in Florida, another of her "notable" five homes before Donald Trump, the present owner, bought it in 1985 for about $10 million. She had willed it to the National Park Service which deemed it too expensive to maintain. Forbes places the current value around $160 million.

The Hillwood exhibition accompanies a new publication, The Houses and Collections of Marjorie Merriweather Post ($60, hardcover; $30, paperback).

*A dacha is a small Russian country house or villa. In 2017, approximately 60 million Russians or more than 40 percent of the population of 145 million, were estimated to own one.

**Ms. Post's husbands were, in order:

Edward Bennett Close (married 1905; divorced 1919)

Edward Francis Hutton (m. 1920; d. 1935)

Joseph E. Davies (m. 1935; d. 1955)

Herbert A. May (m. 1958; d. 1964)

What: Determined Women: Collectors, Artists, and Designers at Hillwood

When: Now through Sunday, June 18, 2023, 10 a.m. - 5 p.m. Closed Mondays.

Where: Hillwood Estate, Museum & Gardens, 4155 Linnean Avenue, NW, Washington, D.C. 20008

Admission: Suggested donations are $18 (adults), $15 (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, and $1 off, for weekends. For busy times (Mother's Day, anyone?), reservations are highly recommended.

Directions via bus, rail, car

Parking: Free and on-site

For more information: 202-686-5807

Café onsite

patricialesli@gmail.com

Last weekend to steak out a Renaissance artist at the National Galley of Art

     

"Come in to my abode, my pretty, and see what jewels I have to show you." One of Vittore Carpaccio's dragons, considered to be the devil.

Vittore Carpaccio, Saint George and the Dragon and Four Scenes from the Martyrdom of Saint George (detail), 1516, oil on canvas, Abbazia di San Giorgio Maggiore, Benedicti Claustra Onlus, Venice

The first retrospective exhibition ever held outside Italy of a Renaissance artist's paintings and drawings will close Sunday at the National Gallery of Art.

Because few museums in the U.S. can boast of having any of his works, the name of Vittore Carpaccio (c.1460/1466–1525/1526) is unfamiliar to most Americans who more likely recognize his surname, chosen by a Venetian restauranter in 1963 for a special dish he cooked up for an ill countess.

Based on the artist's unique reds, the cook anointed  his special dish of raw meats, "steak carpaccio."

Vittore Carpaccio, Portrait of a Woman Holding a Book, c. 1500-1505, Denver Art Museum Collection, gift of the Samuel H. Kress Foundation

The National Gallery show has mounted a glorious show of 45 paintings and 30 drawings by Carpaccio, a native Venetian, who made them for societies, churches, and wealthy families.

He painted large, colorful religious scenes from Bible chapters, and for individual patrons, his works were mostly secular, all in the era's style of flat faces, mostly lacking expressions (except when it comes to bored women).

For the wealthy, Carpaccio's figures are, naturally, dressed in the finest fashions of the day.

Carpaccio made several portraits which included women with books, which is commendable that patrons wanted him to paint subjects in intellectual pursuits, however, most women then didn't read to gain knowledge per se but to learn how to teach their children how to read. 

Wealthy families hired tutors to educate their daughters.  

Carpaccio's characters occasionally hint at a smile as in Portrait of a Woman Holding a Book, above, compared to Leonardo da Vinci's Mona Lisa, whose mouth is more flirtacious than Carpaccio's Portrait. I suppose one must strain to catch a glimmer of a smile in Carpaccio's Woman, but my imagination permits me to see one because I want to see one. Rather like hearing what you want to hear other than what is really said. 

Since the two Italian artists lived about the same time [da Vinci, 1452-1519], might they have been trained in the same school?

Vittore Carpaccio, Two Women on a Balcony, c. 1492/1494, Fondazione Musei Civici di Venezia, Museo Correr,  Venice.This work has been reunited with its partner, Fishing and Fowling on the Lagoon, c. 1492/1494, from the J. Paul Getty Museum. Both were painted on the same wooden panel and believed to have been part of a folding door at a Venetian palace.  In the 1700s, the works were split in two but reunited to introduce the exhibition. The forlorn, sculpted women wait patiently on their husbands who are out fishing. (More than 500 years later, things remain the same.) 

Vittore Carpaccio, A Young Knight, 1510, Museo Thyssen-Bornemisza, Madrid. This is a large painting, filled with symbols. Pick them out before you check the link

Another large painting is Carpaccio's The Martyrdom of the Ten Thousand Christians on Mount Ararat, 1515, loaned by the Gallerie dell'Accademia, Venice. It is based on the lives of the saints and 10,000 Christian converts killed by Romans and Muslims with whose empires Venice was engaged in conflict. Vasari mentions The Martyrdom in his 16th century Lives of the Most Famous Painters, Sculptors, and Architects.

Vittore Carpaccio,The Martyrdom of the Ten Thousand Christians on Mount Ararat, (detail) 1515, loaned by the Gallerie dell'Academia, Venice

Vittore Carpaccio, Allegorical Figure, (detail) c. 1498, private collection. She's probably "Virtue"; read below.

Vittore Carpaccio, Youth in a Landscape, (detail) c. 1498, Accademia Carrara, Bergamo. He is probably Hercules who weighs whether to follow "Virtue" (the woman above) or "Vice," pictured on another panel which is missing, and, of course, a woman. For all good Venetian fellows, Hercules chose "Virtue," laying the groundwork for them to follow.  A flowing landscape also connects these works, probably part of a chest. Giorgione was thought, originally, to have been the artist, according to the catalog. Until the 1930s, they were in a private Venetian collection, but the two female panels entered the New York art market in 1939 where "Vice" was swallowed up by...? And since absent from the public.  

Wherefore are thou, "Vice"?  To show up on "Antiques Roadshow"? Check your attic.  "Vice" looks like a twin of "Virtue" (disguised, per usual), looking in the opposite direction towards Hercules, according to an illustration found in the catalog.  "Virtue" and "Vice" originally appeared on either side of our hero, much like you see the morning "tee-hee" talk show hosts positioned on CNN and Fox.  Without a doubt, those producers studied Carpaccio to design their sets.

At the exhibition's exit,  one of Carpaccio's dragons bids "arrivederci" to departing guests. 

On the exhibition website, NGA’s John Strand writes Carpaccio drew his dragons smaller than imagination, likely because they could be more easily "defeated." Dragons were a symbol of the devil and Carpaccio makes them into scary creatures with the  teeth of daggers. 

Carpaccio is a favorite son of Venice which, at the turn of the 16th century, was a thriving marketplace, equivalent to New York City today and what was Hong Kong. The city looks forward to the artist's return March 18 to the Pacazzo Ducale, where his works will be on view through June 18, 2023.

A large catalog with 300 illustrations, many in color, has over 340 pages and is available in the shops, or it was. Since I now cannot find it, perhaps it's sold out and once seen, readers will understand why!

I nominate Susan Marsh and her team of book designers for the Academy Award in Book Covers for their magnificent choices of Carpaccio's, Two Women on a Balcony, c. 1492/1494, who grace the cover and look longingly towards the book's spine where, on the back cover, Carpaccio's men enjoy a sporting good time fishing and boating in Fishing and Fowling on the Lagoon, c. 1492/1494.

If you can't find the catalog, the National Gallery has plenty of other Carpaccio items for you to consider, ranging from prints, magnets, china, cards, and (the symbol of Venice) the Lion of St. Mark Corset Cuff Bracelet, made especially for NGA ($370, choice of red or blue with gold).

Valentines, anyone?

Peter Humfrey of the University of St. Andrews was the curator, in collaboration with Andrea Bellieni from the Museo Civici di Venezia and NGA's Gretchen Hirschauer.

What: Vittore Carpaccio: Master Storyteller of Renaissance Venice

When: Through February 12, 2023. The National Gallery hours are 10 a.m. - 5 p.m. daily.

Where: West Building, Main Floor National Gallery of Art, 6th and Constitution, Washington

How much: Admission is always free at the National Gallery of Art.

Metro stations for the National Gallery of Art:
Smithsonian, Federal Triangle, Navy Memorial-Archives, or L'Enfant Plaza

For more information: (202) 737-4215

Accessibility information: (202) 842-6905

patricialesli@gmail.com

Vermeer is worth the wait

The Lacemaker, oil on canvas, National Gallery of Art, Andrew W. Mellon Collection

Woman Holding a Balance, c. 1664, oil on canvas, National Gallery of Art, Widener Collection

The truth comes out.

Whether it’s fake Vermeer or real Vermeer, the wait at the National Gallery of Art is worth it. 

A few Sundays ago the delay to get in the Vermeer galleries was 20 minutes.

Between Christmas and New Year's, the wait had increased to about  two hours, with reservations closing for the day at 2 p.m., a docent told me.

She advised getting on the virtual list to see Vermeer (this is the last weekend!) no later than noon, and even better,  10 a.m. when the Gallery opens. 

The National Gallery closes every day at 5 p.m. and she said going through the show takes only 15 minutes but like my experience, "there's a lot of reading, and folks are staying longer."

A Lady Writing, c. 1665, oil on canvas, National Gallery of Art, Gift of Harry Waldron Havemeyer and Horace Havemeyer, Jr., in memory of their father, Horace Havemeyer

The Smiling Girl  , oil on canvas, National Gallery of Art, Andrew W. Mellon Collection

The Vermeer galleries are not large, only big enough to accommodate a precious few at one time.

The museum's website says visitors may get on the virtual list at any of the information desks.

Girl with the Red Hat, c. 1669, oil on panel, National Gallery of Art, Andrew W. Mellon Collection

Girl with a Flute, c. 1669/1675, oil on panel, National Gallery of Art, Widener Collection

In October, the Gallery announced that what had been thought to be a Vermeer is not a Vermeer, discovered after decades of research by curators, conservators, and scientists.

Who said covid was all bad? 

The covid time break permitted the Vermeer team to conduct exhaustive research, expanding a half-century of technical study, to reveal that the work was rendered by an associate, a freelancer, or even a family member at a possible Vermeer school. 

Because only 35 Vermeers are known to exist, researchers have thought for years that  Vermeer had no students, but that was before a deep dive which used X-ray fluorescence imaging spectroscopies to prove that Vermeer experimented with new techniques, post-dating one work from 1666-1667 to c. 1669.

The National Gallery owns three (previously four) Vermeer originals which rarely go off-view. 

Can you pick out the real Vermeers from the ones shown here? (Answers are at the end.*)

Once you see the differences, it's not terribly difficult to recognize the genius from "Vermeer nots," two which were found to be forgeries after they were admitted to the museum in 1937. 

Go here to read about more about the mysterious Dutch artist (1632-1675) who produced many works with light coming from a window on the left, mostly of women, some with men who seem to be trying to get the young women drunk. (Some things never change!)

Vermeer's Secrets was organized by the National Gallery of Art and curated by Marjorie E.  Wieseman, curator and head, and Alexandra Libby, associate curator, department of Northern European painting, National Gallery of Art.

Conservation research and technical imaging at the National Gallery were provided by Dina Anchin, associate paintings conservator; John K. Delaney, senior imaging scientist; Kathryn A. Dooley, imaging scientist; E. Melanie Gifford, conservation scientist (retired); and Lisha Deming Glinsman, conservation scientist (retired).

Enjoy!

What: Vermeer's Secrets

When: Through January 8, 2023. The National Gallery hours are 10 a.m. - 5 p.m. daily.

Where: West Building, Ground Floor, G33-G34, National Gallery of Art, 6th and Constitution, Washington

How much: Admission is always free at the National Gallery of Art.

Metro stations for the National Gallery of Art:
Smithsonian, Federal Triangle, Navy Memorial-Archives, or L'Enfant Plaza

For more information: (202) 737-4215

Accessibility information: (202) 842-6905

* "Vermeer nots":  Girl With a Flute (new discovery!). Two long-ago discovered forgeries after they entered the museum's collection in 1937 are The Smiling Girl and The Lacemaker, both c. 1925.

patricialesli@gmail.com

'Princess Grace' bows out of Hillwood this weekend

Welcome to Grace of Monaco, Princess in Dior , Hillwood Estate, Museum & Gardens/Photo by Patricia Leslie

At Grace of Monaco, Princess in Dior , Hillwood Estate, Museum & Gardens/Photo by Patricia Leslie

At Grace of Monaco, Princess in Dior , Hillwood Estate, Museum & Gardens/Photo by Patricia Leslie

Here Princess Grace is pictured in a silk crepe on the cover of Elle, August 17, 1967 wearing the dress above. At Grace of Monaco, Princess in Dior , Hillwood Estate, Museum & Gardens/Photo  of the cover by Patricia Leslie

The Princess wore this gown (the back, pictured below) of silk georgette, pearls, and sequins when she was a presenter at Frank Sinatra's first "farewell" celebration at the Los Angeles Music Center in 1971 and at the American Film Institute Life Achievement Awards ceremony for director John Ford in 1973. At Grace of Monaco, Princess in Dior , Hillwood Estate, Museum & Gardens/Photo by Patricia Leslie

The back of the gown on the left, described above. The Princess wore the orange gown on the right at the Motor Yacht Club de la Cote d'Azur Gala in Cannes in 1970 and to the Cannes Film Festival in 1972 when she was escorted by director Alfred Hitchcock. At Grace of Monaco, Princess in Dior , Hillwood Estate, Museum & Gardens/Photo by Patricia Leslie

At Grace of Monaco, Princess in Dior, Hillwood Estate, Museum & Gardens/Photo by Patricia Leslie

This is one of my favorites in the show (the other one, shown below).  It's called, according to the label copy, a "Diorama" cocktail dress of silk chiffon, from 1965.  At Grace of Monaco, Princess in Dior, Hillwood Estate, Museum & Gardens/Photo by Patricia Leslie

See Princess Grace wearing this gown as she was pictured on the cover of Paris Match below.  At Grace of Monaco, Princess in Dior , Hillwood Estate, Museum & Gardens/Photo by Patricia Leslie

At Grace of Monaco, Princess in Dior , Hillwood Estate, Museum & Gardens/Photo by Patricia Leslie

The Princess is pictured in the dress above on the cover of Paris Match, Jan. 26, 1957. At Grace of Monaco, Princess in Dior, Hillwood Estate, Museum & Gardens/Photo of the cover by Patricia Leslie

The Princess wore this day dress of silk twill to the first European backgammon tournament in Monte Carlo in 1973.  At Grace of Monaco, Princess in Dior , Hillwood Estate, Museum & Gardens/Photo by Patricia Leslie

Detail from the day dress above at Grace of Monaco, Princess in Dior , Hillwood Estate, Museum & Gardens/Photo by Patricia Leslie

Does this strike you as rather dowdy for a princess...or for anyone? Yet Princess Grace wore this day dress of silk crepe at the civil wedding ceremony of her eldest daughter, Princess Caroline and Philippe Junot, in Monaco in 1978.  Maybe, Princess Grace was trying to express her lack of joy at the marriage which only lasted two years. At Grace of Monaco, Princess in Dior,  Hillwood Estate, Museum & Gardens/Photo by Patricia Leslie

At Grace of Monaco, Princess in Dior , Hillwood Estate, Museum & Gardens/Photo by Patricia Leslie

The Princess wore this green gown on several occasions, including the Nice Opera in 1976 and the Literary Council of Monaco dinner in 1973.  At Grace of Monaco, Princess in Dior , Hillwood Estate, Museum & Gardens/Photo by Patricia Leslie

This was part of the Princess's wardrobe in 1970, an evening tunic in silk crepe and tassels. At Grace of Monaco, Princess in Dior , Hillwood Estate, Museum & Gardens/Photo by Patricia Leslie

Her hair design was created by Alexandre de Paris for the Bal des Petits Lits Blancs (Ball of the Little White Beds) in Monaco in 1966. At Grace of Monaco, Princess in Dior, Hillwood Estate, Museum & Gardens/Photo of the design by Patricia Leslie

Pictured with Prince Rainier at the Bal des Petits Lits Blancs (Ball of the Little White Beds) in Monaco in 1966. At Grace of Monaco, Princess in Dior, Hillwood Estate, Museum & Gardens/Photo of a photo by Patricia Leslie

Her hair design was created by Alexandre de Paris for the Bal de la Croix Rouge (Red Cross Ball) where she is pictured below.  At Grace of Monaco, Princess in Dior , Hillwood Estate, Museum & Gardens/Photo of the design by Patricia Leslie

With Frank Sinatra at the Bal de la Croix Rouge Ball in 1980. At Grace of Monaco, Princess in Dior exhibition, Hillwood Estate, Museum & Gardens/Photo of a photo by Patricia Leslie

The bracelet on the top is about 1925, and the brooches, 1910 - 1925, all made of diamonds and platinum. The christening bracelet (bottom) is from 1982, of diamonds and white gold.  At Grace of Monaco, Princess in Dior exhibition, Hillwood Estate, Museum & Gardens/Photo by Patricia Leslie

The evening bags are of woven gold, platinum, diamonds, gold mesh, sapphires, pearls, white and pink diamonds, metallic silk, gold, and turquoises.  The larger compact between the purses is engraved "For Grace, November, 1968." At Grace of Monaco, Princess in Dior exhibition, Hillwood Estate, Museum & Gardens/Photo by Patricia Leslie

That's a gold wristwatch and a Cartier brooch of turquoise, citrine, diamonds, and gold, both from 1970 at Grace of Monaco, Princess in Dior,, Hillwood Estate, Museum & Gardens/Photo by Patricia Leslie

Welcome to Grace of Monaco, Princess in Dior , Hillwood Estate, Museum & Gardens/Photo by Patricia Leslie

Welcome to Grace of Monaco, Princess in Dior , Hillwood Estate, Museum & Gardens/Photo by Patricia Leslie

Welcome to Grace of Monaco, Princess in Dior , Hillwood Estate, Museum & Gardens/Photo by Patricia Leslie

The entrance to the Hillwood Estate/Photo by Patricia Leslie

Readers, if you care anything about fashion, this is a "must-see" exhibition with gowns, daywear (different from yours and mine), hair styles, jewelry, and fashion accessories in the first Princess Grace wardrobe showing in North America. On display are designs made from her enduring relationship with the house of Christian Dior (1905-1957) whose clothes made up about a third of the Princess's wardrobe.  

The items are on loan from the Palace of Monaco.

Princess Grace was married to Prince Rainier III of Monaco (1923-2005) for 26 years.  They married in 1956, a true love affair cut short by her death in 1982 as a result of a traffic accident when she suffered a stroke. Prince Rainier never remarried and in photographs after her death, always appeared wistful and lost without his mate. A love tale ending too soon as they all do.

According to Wikipedia, Grace (1929-1982) was inaugurated into the International Best Dressed List Hall of Fame in 1960, and in 1955 the Custom Tailored Guild of America listed her as the "Best-Tailored Woman."  Numerous exhibitions have been held of her life and clothing including an exhibition at the Philadelphia Museum of Art to mark the 50th anniversary of her marriage in 2006 which displayed her wedding dress, which took 35 tailors six weeks to finish. 

A retrospective of her wardrobe was held at London's Victoria and Albert Museum in 2010 and at other venues. 

In 2009, a plaque was placed on the "Rodeo Drive Walk of Style" in recognition of her contributions to style and fashion.

Before she married the Prince, Grace Patricia Kelly won an Academy Award in 1954 for her role in The Country Girl, and appeared in ten other movies and more than 60 television shows

It is fitting rapprochement that Grace appears at Marjorie Merriweather Post's elegant mansion for the two had much in common with their haute couture choices and refined living.  

Go and mingle with glamour and feel shared sophistication! It is true, darling. The refinement of the apparel worn by Princess Grace of Monaco  and the grandeur found at Hillwood Estate, Museum & Gardens has a noble afterglow for visitors who can assume the style and "grace" presented.

The exhibition was organized by the Christian Dior Museum of Granville and curated by Florence Müller, Avenir Foundation Curator of Textile Art and Fashion, Denver Art Museum.

What:  Grace of Monaco:  Princess in Dior

When:  Now through Sunday, January 8, 2023, 10 a.m. - 5 p.m. 

Where:  Hillwood Estate, Museum & Gardens, 4155 Linnean Avenue, NW, Washington, D.C. 20008

Tickets:  $18 (adults), $15 (seniors), $10 (college students), $5 (child, ages 5 -18) and free for members and those under age 6.

Parking:  Free, on-site

For more information:  202-686-5807

Metro station: Van Ness/UDC station on the Red Line, then walk a (mostly uphill) mile and burn off calories.  (Taxis, available.)

Metro bus stop: The L1 or L2 bus stops at the corner of Connecticut and Tilden streets, NW, about a half mile walk (mostly uphill) to Hillwood.

patricialesli@gmail.com