C.1720 Portrait of a Lady in Blue Holding a Flower, Marie-madeleine De Chamillart; Studio of Robert Levrac-tournières (1667-1752), Oil on Canvas Painting

This work formed part of the collection of paintings and family heirlooms of Baron Hugues Alfred Frèdéric de Cabrol de Moute (1909-1997) and his wife, Baroness Marguerite (1915-2011). The couple had unimpeachable and enviable family backgrounds, and were descendants of ancient princelings; together they were one of the most prominent high-society couples of the twentieth century, and counted the Duke of Duchess of Windsor amongst their closest friends.

The sitter is Marie-Madeleine de Chamillart (died 28 May 1751) nee Nicolas de Lusse. She had a daughter, Anne, in 1692. In 1700 she married Clément Chamillart (1663-1708), President of the Accounts of the King's Chamber. The couple had a daughter, Madeleine (born 1701), who married Louis, the only son of Guillaume de Guitaut and Antoinette de Vertamont in 1719. Guillaume de Guitaut resided at Château d'Époisses in Burgundy France and his descendants still live today. A portrait of our sitter is still held at the Château.

Clément Chamillart died in 1708 and our sitter remarried Jean-Baptiste de Johanne de la Carre (1678-1726), marquis de Saumery, maréchal de camp, in 1713. This marriage produced two daughters, Marguerite (died 1729) and Marie Madeleine (born 1720).

Baron Hugues Alfred Frèdéric de Cabrol de Moute (1909-1997) was one of the more engaging personages in that delightful social constellation of social figures who animated what has become known as "Cafe Society" which was international but predominantly in Paris from the 1920's until the 1960's. He married Marguerite d'Harcourt (1915-2011), known as Daisy, in Paris in 1937. The Harcourt family belongs to the circle of the oldest families in France; the founder of the family, Bernard le Danois, received the seigniory of Harcourt in the tenth century. In the 11th century, his descendants took part in the conquest of England alongside William the Conqueror. Later, the Harcourt family was divided into a French branch and an English branch (the titles of barons, viscounts, and counts). Daisy descended from Nicolas Soult, one of Napoleon's Marshals and three times Prime Minister of France.

The couple became friends of the Duke and Duchess of Windsor in 1947, and were invited to the Chateau de la Croë, their rented house on Cap d'Antibes. She and Fred were among the few allowed to see the Duchess laid out after her death in 1986.

Daisy was a considerable hostess, giving a ball every year for her charity, L'Essor. At one, she entertained Charlie Chaplin, the Begum Aga Khan, and the Windsors. According to Nancy Mitford, the guests all wore £1,000 dresses and leant forward, "bottoms out, arms wildly waving", as they skated on the ice ring, which at the end of the evening was scattered with stray diamonds.

She moved in the world of Marie-Hélène de Rothschild, wife of Baron Guy de Rothschild. She felt trapped when on Niarchos's yacht, alongside Douglas Fairbanks Jr., when Niarcho refused to moor the yacht for bathing, while serving daily rations of caviar. "Nobody can eat caviar for eight days in a row," she said of the voyage. Fred and Daisy are remembered for the extraordinary scrapbooks in which they created of the balls and house parties they gave and attended; one resplendent photo is Fred alongside Elizabeth Taylor.

The couple's Paris residence was “one of the most beautiful residences in Paris” alongside the Rothschilds, and the Marquis and Marquise de Boisgelin. At their house in Grosrouvre, south-west of Paris, were two flagpoles flying her arms and those of Fred.

Our portrait was consigned to a sale upon the Baronne de Cabrol’s death.

With special thanks to Beatrix de Guitaut, Château d'Époisses, for her assistance with the identification of the sitter and biography.

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