Olga de Meyer

Baroness Maria Beatrice Olga Alberta de Meyer ( born August 8, 1871 in London as Olga Caracciolo dei Duchi di Castelluccio, † July 16, 1930 ibid ) was a British heiress, muse, patron of the arts and high society lady at the beginning of the 20th century.

Life

Maria Beatrice Olga Alberta was the daughter of the Italian Marchesa di Castelluccio, and rumored to be the illegitimate daughter of the Prince of Wales and future King Edward VII, Olga, who bore the name of Alberta in honor of the Prince, was his godson.

Her childhood revolved around perfect behavior and the social representation, which they refined in Fontainebleau of Mademoiselle Marie Souvestre in French Girls boarding school Les Ruches. After the early death of her mother, one of the wealthiest heiresses in Britain was.

On May 11, 1892 Marchesa Olga married in Naples the aristocrats Mariano di Brancaccio ( 1865-1941 ), the youngest son of Prince Charles of Brancaccio. The marriage, which by all accounts was unhappy remained childless and ended in divorce in June 1899. However, a year later, at the age of 29, she went a ' separate beds - marriage " with gay art collector and first fashion photographer Adolphus Meyer ( 1868-1946 ), son of a German - Jewish bankers in Paris, a. Shortly after the marriage, her husband was knighted by the Saxon King Friedrich August III. , Through efforts of its godfather, Baron de Meyer.

Due to its beauty and elegance, she was muse and favorite model of some artists, including Jacques -Émile Blanche, James McNeill Whistler, Giovanni Boldini, Walter Sickert, John Singer Sargent and Paul César Helleu. Between 1901 to 1905 led Olga de Meyer a love affair with Winnaretta Singer and out with the painter Romaine Brooks.