ELISABETH COUNTESS OF GREFFULHE: (1860-1952)

ELISABETH COUNTESS OF GREFFULHE: (1860-1952)
ELISABETH COUNTESS OF GREFFULHE: (1860-1952) Elisabeth de Riquet de Caraman-Chimay. French noble and art Patron. Known as queen of the Paris salons. She was Proust´s inspiration for the character of the Duchesse de Guermantes in his major work A la Recherche du Temps Perdu. A good A,L.S., `Comtesse Greffulhe´, six pages, 8vo, on her personal printed stationery, Bois Boudran, Nangis, n.d., 1900, to Georges Petit, in French. The Countess reports on a painting exhibition she has organized, explains to her correspondent about the progress, her meetings with the minister, about the catalogue, etc.. stating in part `I would have liked that you would have annotated on the catalogue the approximate prices for some available paintings at the exhibition.´ VG £150-200 Countess of Greffulhe´s patronage included Diaghilev´s Russian ballets in Paris, Auguste Rodin, James Whistler, and Marie Curie.