Gwen Le Gallienne

Gwen Le Gallienne (born Gwendolyn Hinton Perry; 5 November 1898–21 November 1990)[1][2] was a French-born, American-raised, England-based painter and sculptor.[3][4] She was the first woman allowed to sketch battlefield scenes by the British War Office.[5]

Gwen Le Gallienne
BornGwendolyn Hinton Perry
1897
France
Died1990
Kensington, London, England
OccupationArtist, Painter, Sculptor
RelativesRichard Le Gallienne (step-father)
Eva Le Gallienne (step-sister)

Life

Gwendolyn was born to Irma Perry (née Hinton) and Roland Hinton Perry in 1897. Her parents were first cousins. She was Richard Le Gallienne's step-daughter, and took the name Gwen Le Gallienne.[3] Her mother Irma was Richard Le Gallienne's third wife, and Irma and Richard married in 1911.[3][6] Gwen was considered somewhat of a celebrity, starting in the 1920s, due to her nonconformity to sexual and social norms which led her to stand out.[3] Her personality was even notable among the Montparnasse bohemian circle.[3] Gwen was noted for having an affair with Louise Bryant. Gwen was friends with Stephen Ward during this time.[7] Gwen and Bryant started their affair early in 1928, which caused much strain in Bryant's marriage.[8] Allegedly, Bryant's husband (former U.S. diplomatic envoy to Soviet Russia, William C. Bullitt) found Louise's personal notes about her affair with Gwen and this caused their divorce.[9][10][11] Gwen was also involved with artist Yvette Ledoux, daughter of Urbain Ledoux ("Mr. Zero"), but Ledoux became involved with (and later married) the Surrealist painter Georges Malkine on a trip they all took in January 1929.[3] Her closing years were spent in the Distressed Gentlefolks Association's nursing home in Vicarage Gate, Kensington, London.

Career

Gwen was exhibiting her art by her twenties.[12][13] She had multiple solo shows of her work.[14] In 1940, Le Gallienne was the first female painter who was allowed by the United Kingdom's War Office to go to war sites and paint scenes of battles.[5][15] Gwen also served in British intelligence during the war.[7]

References
  1. "Guendolyn Geneviève Perry in the Paris, France, Births, Marriages, and Deaths, 1555-1929". Ancestry. Ancestry. Retrieved 14 June 2023.
  2. "GRO online indexes". GRO online indexes. General Register Office. Retrieved 14 June 2023.
  3. Glassco, John (2012). Memoirs of Montparnasse. New York Review of Books. ISBN 9781590175378. Retrieved 25 March 2018.
  4. Hansen, Arlen (2014). Expatriate Paris: A Cultural and Literary Guide to Paris of the 1920s. New York City: Skyhorse Publishing, Inc. ISBN 978-1611456998. Retrieved 25 March 2018.
  5. "Woman Artist Back in England". Newspapers.com. The Winnipeg Tribune. Retrieved 31 March 2018.
  6. Wichkam Legg, E.G.; Williams, E.T., eds. (1959). Dictionary of National Biography. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Retrieved 31 March 2018.
  7. Summers, Anthony; Dorril, Stephen (2014). The Secret Worlds of Stephen Ward: Sex, Scandal, and Deadly Secrets in the Profumo Affair. Open Road Media. ISBN 9781480466982.
  8. Srodes, James (2012). On Dupont Circle: Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt and the Progressives Who Shaped Our World. Counterpoint. p. 173. gwen le gallienne.
  9. Gallagher, Dorothy. "Radically Chic". The New York Times. No. February 11, 1996. The New York Times. Retrieved 31 March 2018.
  10. Simkin, John. "Louise Bryant". Spartacus Educational. Spartacus Educational. Retrieved 31 March 2018.
  11. Gardner, Virginia (1982). "Friend and Lover": The Life of Louise Bryant. Horizon Press. gwen le gallienne.
  12. "Untitled". Newspapers.com. The Greenwood Commonwealth. Retrieved 31 March 2018.
  13. "Arts Magazine, Volumes 1-2". 1926. Retrieved 31 March 2018.
  14. "The Pittsburgh Press - July 7, 1935". Newspapers.com. The Pittsburgh Press. Retrieved 31 March 2018.
  15. "Untitled". Newspapers.com. The Wilkes-Barre Times Leader. Retrieved 31 March 2018.
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