we had a reason for living on this rock

Winnaretta Singer, Prince Edmond de Polignac and their artistic salon

At age 10, Winnaretta became a millionairess. Her father, Isaac Singer, built a world-famous sewing machine empire; when he died in 1875, each of his 24 children received a fat slice of the $18 million Singer fortune.

Winnaretta later spent that inheritance creating one of the 20th century’s greatest artistic salons, hosting writers like Marcel Proust and funding the works of some of my personal favorite composers: Claude Debussy, Maurice Ravel and Eric Satie, among others.