Party at Ermenonville

Harry and Caresse obtained a 20-year lease on a mill outside of Paris in the grounds of the Château d’ Ermenonville, France, which belonged to their friend Armand de la Rochefoucauld, for 2,200 dollar gold pieces (about $33,222 today). They named it “Le Moulin du Soleil” (“The Mill of the Sun”). Friends were invited frequently for intimate or wild parties.

Artist in atelier in front of ‘Party at Ermenonville’

Never no’ was the motto of Caresse Crosby (born Mary Phelps Jacob; April 20, 1892 – January 24, 1970) and is the title of a series of paintings inspired by her life. She was the inventor of the modern bra, but somehow that was only a minor detail in her extravagant life. She was a notorious figure in 1920s Paris, embracing the bohemian life with indulgences like booze, opium and wild parties. She was the patron to the literary Lost Generation, moved in the highest artistic circles (Dali, Picasso), owned a castle, but unfortunately her story has been largely forgotten.