If you have never visited Hillwood in northwest Washington, you are missing out. The house was the home of the late Marjorie Merriwether Post, who used her wealth to save many Romanov treasures, as well as other art.
October 3rd was a lovely, warm autumnal day, when a group of twelve friends from the USA, the UK, and Australia traveled to Hillwood for a tour of the house and gardens and to see the exhibit on Natalie Paley, the daughter of Grand Duke Paul and his second wife, Olga Pistikors. This was a morganatic marriage. Olga was styled as Princess Paley, a princely title also given to her three children by Paul: Vladimir, Irina, and Natalie.
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| Grand Duke Vladimir |
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| Heading up the stairs. Catherine the Great is in the middle |
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| King Peter II of Yugoslavia, King George VI & Queen Elizabeth , Queen Astrid of the Belgians |
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| I spy King Haakon VII |
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| 2 Faberge eggs. Earlier in the week, several of us traveled to the Virginia Fine Arts Museum, which has the most extensive Faberge collection outside of St. Petersburg, Russia. |
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| Crown Prince Harald (now) King of Norway |
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| King Haakon VII |
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| The kitchen |
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| Marjorie's breakfast tray |
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| Marjorie's jewels |
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| Marjorie's dress |
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| Nuptial crown worn by Princess Alix of Hesse and by Rhine when she married Nicholas II |
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| Our group on the staircase |
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Grand Duchess Charlotte and Prince Felix of Luxembourg
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Now the garden tour -- a selection of formal and informal gardens
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| Eagles on the roof. Marjorie would not be thrilled with the current owner of Mar-a-Lago |
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| Washington Monument in the distance |
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| A variety of roses in the Rose Garden |
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| The Ivy is from Buckingham Palace |
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| A 6 hole golf course |
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| Japanese garden |
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| Back up the stairs |
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| Prince Vladimir Paley's knife |
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| Irina Paley |
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| Natalie's brother Vladimir, was killed by the Bolsheviks |
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| Orchids in the Green House |
The exhibition's companion book, The Belle Époque Life in Paris Olga Paley and Paul of Russia
This latter event will be held on October 21st.
2 comments:
Fascinating report, Marlene. I had no idea that the Paleys had purchased some of their own belongings from the Soviet sales.
I have now added Hillwood to my ‘must visit’ list when we are in the Washington area.
An amazing collection. I read a biography of MMP years ago. It talked about her routing through warehouses loaded with treasures and picking out what she wanted to buy. Her husband was the ambassador to the Soviet Union which gave her that opportunity. Great photos. Thanks you.
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