Maxime de la Falaise
Encyclopedia
Maxime de la Falaise was a 1950s model, and, in the 1960s, an underground movie actress. She is also remembered as a cookery writer and "food maven" and a fashion designer for Chloé and Gérard Piparthttp://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2009/may/09/obituary-maxime-de-la-falaise. In her later years she pursued a career as a furniture and interior designer.
as a vendeuse mondaine which she explained as "a sort of muse who was supposed to encourage sales to the rich English". She modelled for photographers such as Georges Dambier, Jack Robinson
, and Cecil Beaton
.
She "dressed with uninhibited chic
" and according to The Independent
, Cecil Beaton
once called her "the only truly chic Englishwoman
".
magazine which she hoped to develop into a television cookery programme. In 1980, she published a collection of these columns, with her own illustrations, under the title Food in Vogue. In 1973 she published Seven Centuries of English Cooking: A Collection of Recipes. She also wrote the foreword
to My Kingdom of Books (1999) by Richard Booth
.
envisioned Maxime de La Falaise as part of Andy Warhol's Nothing Serious, his 1971 video project designed for television. Warhol included her along with such personalities as Candy Darling
and Brigid Berlin
in his 1973 black-and-white video Phoney (later incorporated into the 1991 Andy Warhol's Video & Television Retrospective), and in his 1974 film Dracula.
According to the New York Times in 1977, Warhol had La Falaise design a menu for Andymat, Warhol's version of the automat
, which included onion tarts, shepherds' pie
, fish cakes, Irish lamb stew, key lime pie
and a "nursery cocktail" of milk on the rocks. Her association with Warhol was such that one source called her "The Factory
mother".
as Maxine Birley. She changed her first name to Maxime after her first marriage, to Alain R. Le Bailly de la Falaise, Count de La Falaise, in 1946. She was known as Maxime de la Falaise McKendry, for a while, after her second marriage to John McKendry, Curator of Prints and Drawings at the Metropolitan Museum.).
Maxine Birley was born into a family of successful artists, businesspeople, and academics. She grew up in Hampstead
, and later at Charleston Manor in Sussex. Her father, Sir Oswald Birley
, was a celebrated portrait painter known for his portraits of royalty and others. Her mother was Rhoda Vava Mary Lecky Pike of County Carlow, Ireland, a celebrated gardener and successful artist in her own right. Maxine's brother, Mark Birley
(1930-2007), became an entrepreneur known for his investments in the hospitality industry.
During the Second World War, she worked as a minor codebreaker at Bletchley Park
, before being invalided out after developing kleptomania
.
.http://ww.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2009/may/09/obituary-maxime-de-la-falaise A writer and translator, he was a younger brother of Henry de La Falaise, Marquis de La Coudraye, a film director and third husband of American actress Gloria Swanson
, and a son of an Olympic gold medallist in fencing
, Georges, Count de La Falaise
(1866—1910). They had two children:
Maxime de La Falaise married, as her second husband, John McKendry, curator
of prints and photography
at the Metropolitan Museum of Art
, who died in 1975.(During the marriage he had an affair with photographer Robert Mapplethorpe
, while she had one with J. Paul Getty III; her lovers included artist Max Ernst
and film director Louis Malle
.)http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2009/may/09/obituary-maxime-de-la-falaisehttp://www.blackbookmag.com/article/because-the-night/3525http://www.tate.org.uk/servlet/ViewWork?cgroupid=999999788&workid=97267&searchid=9675 La Falaise is said to have aided Robert Mapplethorpe
's entry "into high society, European and American."
, on 30 April 2009. Her companion in her last years was an Englishwoman, Sarah St. George, daughter of industrialist Edward St. George.http://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/22/t-magazine/22talk-petkanas-t.html?pagewanted=allhttp://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/1480049/Edward-St-George.html
Fashion
In the 1950s, Maxime de la Falaise worked for Elsa SchiaparelliElsa Schiaparelli
Elsa Schiaparelli was an Italian fashion designer. Along with Coco Chanel, her greatest rival, she is regarded as one of the most prominent figures in fashion between the two World Wars. Starting with knitwear, Schiaparelli's designs were heavily influenced by Surrealists like her collaborators...
as a vendeuse mondaine which she explained as "a sort of muse who was supposed to encourage sales to the rich English". She modelled for photographers such as Georges Dambier, Jack Robinson
Jack Robinson (photographer)
Jack Robinson, Jr. was an American photographer and stained glass designer. Robinson was freelance photographer for Vogue and The New York Times from the 1950s to the early 1970s before he left New York to return home to the American South and pursue a career as a stained glass...
, and Cecil Beaton
Cecil Beaton
Sir Cecil Walter Hardy Beaton, CBE was an English fashion and portrait photographer, diarist, painter, interior designer and an Academy Award-winning stage and costume designer for films and the theatre...
.
She "dressed with uninhibited chic
Chic (style)
Chic , meaning 'stylish' or 'smart', is an element of fashion.-Etymology:Chic is a French word, established in English since at least the 1870s...
" and according to The Independent
The Independent
The Independent is a British national morning newspaper published in London by Independent Print Limited, owned by Alexander Lebedev since 2010. It is nicknamed the Indy, while the Sunday edition, The Independent on Sunday, is the Sindy. Launched in 1986, it is one of the youngest UK national daily...
, Cecil Beaton
Cecil Beaton
Sir Cecil Walter Hardy Beaton, CBE was an English fashion and portrait photographer, diarist, painter, interior designer and an Academy Award-winning stage and costume designer for films and the theatre...
once called her "the only truly chic Englishwoman
English people
The English are a nation and ethnic group native to England, who speak English. The English identity is of early mediaeval origin, when they were known in Old English as the Anglecynn. England is now a country of the United Kingdom, and the majority of English people in England are British Citizens...
".
Writing
While living in New York Maxime de La Falaise wrote a food column for VogueVogue (magazine)
Vogue is a fashion and lifestyle magazine that is published monthly in 18 national and one regional edition by Condé Nast.-History:In 1892 Arthur Turnure founded Vogue as a weekly publication in the United States. When he died in 1909, Condé Montrose Nast picked up the magazine and slowly began...
magazine which she hoped to develop into a television cookery programme. In 1980, she published a collection of these columns, with her own illustrations, under the title Food in Vogue. In 1973 she published Seven Centuries of English Cooking: A Collection of Recipes. She also wrote the foreword
Foreword
A foreword is a piece of writing sometimes placed at the beginning of a book or other piece of literature. Written by someone other than the primary author of the work, it often tells of some interaction between the writer of the foreword and the book's primary author or the story the book tells...
to My Kingdom of Books (1999) by Richard Booth
Richard Booth
Richard George William Pitt Booth, MBE , is a Welsh bookseller, known for his contribution to the success of Hay-on-Wye as a centre for second-hand bookselling...
.
Andy Warhol
Andy WarholAndy Warhol
Andrew Warhola , known as Andy Warhol, was an American painter, printmaker, and filmmaker who was a leading figure in the visual art movement known as pop art...
envisioned Maxime de La Falaise as part of Andy Warhol's Nothing Serious, his 1971 video project designed for television. Warhol included her along with such personalities as Candy Darling
Candy Darling
Candy Darling was an American actress, best known as a Warhol Superstar. A male-to-female transsexual, she starred in Andy Warhol's films Flesh and Women in Revolt , and was a muse of the protopunk band The Velvet Underground.-Early life:Candy Darling was born James Lawrence Slattery in Forest...
and Brigid Berlin
Brigid Berlin
Brigid Berlin is an American artist and former Warhol superstar.-Early years:Berlin was the eldest of three daughters born to socialite parents, Muriel Johnson "Honey" Berlin and Richard E. Berlin, into a world of Manhattan privilege. Her father was chairman of the Hearst media empire for 32 years...
in his 1973 black-and-white video Phoney (later incorporated into the 1991 Andy Warhol's Video & Television Retrospective), and in his 1974 film Dracula.
According to the New York Times in 1977, Warhol had La Falaise design a menu for Andymat, Warhol's version of the automat
Automat
An automat is a fast food restaurant where simple foods and drink are served by coin-operated and bill-operated vending machines.-Concept:Originally, the machines took only nickels...
, which included onion tarts, shepherds' pie
Cottage pie
Cottage pie or shepherd's pie is a meat pie with a crust of mashed potato.The term cottage pie is known to have been in use in 1791, when the potato was being introduced as an edible crop affordable for the poor Cottage pie or shepherd's pie is a meat pie with a crust of mashed potato.The term...
, fish cakes, Irish lamb stew, key lime pie
Key lime pie
Key lime pie is an American dessert made of key lime juice, egg yolks, and sweetened condensed milk in a pie crust. The traditional Conch version uses the egg whites to make a meringue topping. The dish is named after the small key limes that are naturalized throughout the Florida Keys...
and a "nursery cocktail" of milk on the rocks. Her association with Warhol was such that one source called her "The Factory
The Factory
The Factory was Andy Warhol's original New York City studio from 1962 to 1968, although his later studios were known as The Factory as well. The Factory was located on the fifth floor at 231 East 47th Street, in Midtown Manhattan. The rent was "only about one hundred dollars a year"...
mother".
Background
She was born in West Dean, West SussexWest Dean, West Sussex
West Dean is a village and civil parish in the District of Chichester in West Sussex, England located north of Chichester on the A286 road just west of Singleton. The parish includes the hamlets of Binderton and Chilgrove....
as Maxine Birley. She changed her first name to Maxime after her first marriage, to Alain R. Le Bailly de la Falaise, Count de La Falaise, in 1946. She was known as Maxime de la Falaise McKendry, for a while, after her second marriage to John McKendry, Curator of Prints and Drawings at the Metropolitan Museum.).
Maxine Birley was born into a family of successful artists, businesspeople, and academics. She grew up in Hampstead
Hampstead
Hampstead is an area of London, England, north-west of Charing Cross. Part of the London Borough of Camden in Inner London, it is known for its intellectual, liberal, artistic, musical and literary associations and for Hampstead Heath, a large, hilly expanse of parkland...
, and later at Charleston Manor in Sussex. Her father, Sir Oswald Birley
Oswald Birley
Sir Oswald Hornby Joseph Birley, MC, RA was an English portrait painter in the early part of the 20th century.-Biography:...
, was a celebrated portrait painter known for his portraits of royalty and others. Her mother was Rhoda Vava Mary Lecky Pike of County Carlow, Ireland, a celebrated gardener and successful artist in her own right. Maxine's brother, Mark Birley
Mark Birley
Marcus Lecky Oswald Hornby Birley , known as Mark Birley, was a British entrepreneur known for his investments in the hospitality industry...
(1930-2007), became an entrepreneur known for his investments in the hospitality industry.
During the Second World War, she worked as a minor codebreaker at Bletchley Park
Bletchley Park
Bletchley Park is an estate located in the town of Bletchley, in Buckinghamshire, England, which currently houses the National Museum of Computing...
, before being invalided out after developing kleptomania
Kleptomania
Kleptomania is an irresistible urge to steal items of trivial value. People with this disorder are compelled to steal things, generally, but not limited to, objects of little or no significant value, such as pens, paper clips, paper and tape...
.
Marriages
On 18 July 1946, Maxine Birley became the second wife of Count Alain Le Bailly de La Falaise (1905—1977); they divorced in 1950, following a series of her infidelities, including an affair with British ambassador Duff CooperDuff Cooper
Alfred Duff Cooper, 1st Viscount Norwich GCMG, DSO, PC , known as Duff Cooper, was a British Conservative Party politician, diplomat and author. He wrote six books, including an autobiography, Old Men Forget, and a biography of Talleyrand...
.http://ww.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2009/may/09/obituary-maxime-de-la-falaise A writer and translator, he was a younger brother of Henry de La Falaise, Marquis de La Coudraye, a film director and third husband of American actress Gloria Swanson
Gloria Swanson
Gloria Swanson was an American actress, singer and producer. She was one of the most prominent stars during the silent film era as both an actress and a fashion icon, especially under the direction of Cecil B. DeMille, made dozens of silents and was nominated for the first Academy Award in the...
, and a son of an Olympic gold medallist in fencing
Fencing
Fencing, which is also known as modern fencing to distinguish it from historical fencing, is a family of combat sports using bladed weapons.Fencing is one of four sports which have been featured at every one of the modern Olympic Games...
, Georges, Count de La Falaise
Georges de la Falaise
Comte Louis Gabriel Venant de La Falaise, known as Georges de La Falaise was a French fencer who competed in the late 19th century and early 20th century....
(1866—1910). They had two children:
- Louise Vava Lucia Henriette ("Loulou") Le Bailly de La FalaiseLoulou de la FalaiseLoulou de La Falaise was a fashion muse and designer of fashion, accessories, and jewelry associated with Yves Saint-Laurent. Author Judith Thurman, writing in The New Yorker magazine, called La Falaise "the quintessential Rive Gauche haute bohémienne"....
(1948—2011) also became a fashion model and, later, a muse to Yves Saint LaurentYves Saint LaurentYves Saint Laurent may refer to:* Yves Saint Laurent , French fashion designer* Yves Saint Laurent , a luxury fashion house founded by Yves Saint Laurent and his partner, Pierre Bergé...
and a fashion designer herself. Loulou de La Falaise's first husband was Desmond FitzGerald, 29th Knight of GlinDesmond FitzGerald, 29th Knight of GlinDesmond John Villiers FitzGerald, 29th Knight of Glin , was an Irish hereditary knight and president of the Irish Georgian Society.-Career:...
, with whom she had no children; they married in 1966, separated in 1967, and divorced in 1970. In 1977 she married the writer Thadée Klossowski de Rola, a son of the painter BalthusBalthusBalthasar Klossowski de Rola , best known as Balthus, was an esteemed but controversial Polish-French modern artist....
, by whom she had a daughter, Anna.
- Alexis Richard Dion Oswald Le Bailly de La Falaise, Marquis de La Coudraye, (died 2004) was a furniture designer who also appeared in the Warhol film Tub Girls. Alexis' son, Daniel de la Falaise, Marquis de La Coudraye, is a chef, while his daughter, Lucie de La Falaise, has worked as a model. Lucie is married to Marlon Richards, son of Keith RichardsKeith RichardsKeith Richards is an English musician, songwriter, and founding member of the Rolling Stones. Rolling Stone magazine said Richards had created "rock's greatest single body of riffs", and placed him as the "10th greatest guitarist of all time." Fourteen songs written by Richards and songwriting...
and Anita PallenbergAnita PallenbergAnita Pallenberg is an Italian-born actress, model, and fashion designer. She was the romantic partner of Rolling Stones multi-instrumentalist and guitarist Brian Jones and later the partner of the guitarist of the same band Keith Richards, from 1967 to 1979, by whom she has two surviving...
.
Maxime de La Falaise married, as her second husband, John McKendry, curator
Curator
A curator is a manager or overseer. Traditionally, a curator or keeper of a cultural heritage institution is a content specialist responsible for an institution's collections and involved with the interpretation of heritage material...
of prints and photography
Photography
Photography is the art, science and practice of creating durable images by recording light or other electromagnetic radiation, either electronically by means of an image sensor or chemically by means of a light-sensitive material such as photographic film...
at the Metropolitan Museum of Art
Metropolitan Museum of Art
The Metropolitan Museum of Art is a renowned art museum in New York City. Its permanent collection contains more than two million works, divided into nineteen curatorial departments. The main building, located on the eastern edge of Central Park along Manhattan's Museum Mile, is one of the...
, who died in 1975.(During the marriage he had an affair with photographer Robert Mapplethorpe
Robert Mapplethorpe
Robert Mapplethorpe was an American photographer, known for his large-scale, highly stylized black and white portraits, photos of flowers and nude men...
, while she had one with J. Paul Getty III; her lovers included artist Max Ernst
Max Ernst
Max Ernst was a German painter, sculptor, graphic artist, and poet. A prolific artist, Ernst was one of the primary pioneers of the Dada movement and Surrealism.-Early life:...
and film director Louis Malle
Louis Malle
Louis Malle was a French film director, screenwriter, and producer. He worked in both French cinema and Hollywood. His films include Ascenseur pour l'échafaud , Atlantic City , and Au revoir, les enfants .- Early years in France :Malle was born into a wealthy industrialist family in Thumeries,...
.)http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2009/may/09/obituary-maxime-de-la-falaisehttp://www.blackbookmag.com/article/because-the-night/3525http://www.tate.org.uk/servlet/ViewWork?cgroupid=999999788&workid=97267&searchid=9675 La Falaise is said to have aided Robert Mapplethorpe
Robert Mapplethorpe
Robert Mapplethorpe was an American photographer, known for his large-scale, highly stylized black and white portraits, photos of flowers and nude men...
's entry "into high society, European and American."
Death
Maxime de la Falaise died of natural causes, aged 86, at her home in ProvenceProvence
Provence ; Provençal: Provença in classical norm or Prouvènço in Mistralian norm) is a region of south eastern France on the Mediterranean adjacent to Italy. It is part of the administrative région of Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur...
, on 30 April 2009. Her companion in her last years was an Englishwoman, Sarah St. George, daughter of industrialist Edward St. George.http://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/22/t-magazine/22talk-petkanas-t.html?pagewanted=allhttp://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/1480049/Edward-St-George.html
External links
- Maxime de la Falaise - Daily Telegraph obituary