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The many lives of Miss K : Toto Koopman - model, muse, spy PDF

170 Pages·2013·2 MB·English
by  Liaut
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“[E]xuberant … [Koopman’s] life reads like that of a spectacularly well-connected Bond girl.” —PUBLISHERS WEEKLY “When Jean-Noël Liaut becomes interested in a character, you can expect a fascinating study of aesthetics, adventure and a larger than life existence—all perfectly captured.” —VOGUE On Madeleine Castaing “The legendary Saint-Germain des Prés designer could not have dreamed of a more flattering homage than this layered biography that is as informative as it is entertaining—a model for the genre.” —MARIE-CLAIRE On Givenchy “Jean-Noël Liaut’s biography [of Hubert de Givenchy] is as entertaining as a Billy Wilder movie.” —LE FIGARO On Bizarre Angels “A who’s who of the 20th century’s grand eccentric women—Bizarre Angels is the perfect bedtime read.” —LE FIGARO LITTÉRAIRE First published in hardcover in the United States of America in 2013 by Rizzoli Ex Libris, an imprint of Rizzoli International Publications, Inc. 300 Park Avenue South New York, NY 10010 www.rizzoliusa.com This ebook edition © 2013 Rizzoli International Publications, Inc. Originally published in France as La Javanaise © Editions Robert Laffont, S.A., Paris, 2011 All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without prior consent of the publishers. eISBN: 978-0-84784142-4 v3.1 For Floc’h, with affection Contents Cover Title Page Copyright Dedication Epigraph Introduction Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4 Chapter 5 Chapter 6 Chapter 7 Chapter 8 Chapter 9 Chapter 10 Chapter 11 Chapter 12 Chapter 13 Chapter 14 Chapter 15 Chapter 16 Photo Inserts Chapter 17 Chapter 18 Chapter 19 Chapter 20 Chapter 21 Chapter 22 Chapter 23 Chapter 24 Chapter 25 Chapter 26 Chapter 27 Chapter 28 Chapter 29 Chapter 30 Chapter 31 Chapter 32 Chapter 33 Chapter 34 Epilogue Acknowledgments Notes Selected Bibliography “I am more jealous of my own secrecy than of anything in this world. I hate discussing topics that might furnish people with clues about me. I do not want people to get to know me; rather that this should happen, I will build an extra fortress of reserve round myself, I will treble the guard at the gate.” Violet Trefusis Letter to Vita Sackville-West, August 27, 1918 “What does not warrant a second reading does not exert lasting fascination.” Cristina Campo Introduction “It’s Mademoiselle! I never wanted to marry,” countered Catharina “Toto” Koopman to anyone who dared to address her as Madame. It was the same answer she gave throughout her life, a long life of adventure, peril, conflict and intrigue; a life where petty rancor and timid imagination had no place and simplistic dualism had no voice—the extraordinary journey of a beguiling woman. A stunning combination of the British fictional heroines Modesty Blaise and the Madonna of the Sleeping Cars, Toto Koopman (1908– 1991) was the first biracial fashion model to achieve celebrity; she was also a spy, deported for her participation in the Résistance, and the muse for Europe’s most influential art gallery of the second half of the 20th century. From the island of Java to the studios of Vogue, from the Ravensbrück concentration camp to the London art scene of the 1950s and 1960s, this beautiful, multilingual, daring, playful and resolutely free-spirited woman left no one indifferent. While some thought her dissolute and arrogant, others considered her loyal and irresistible. Toto Koopman routinely defied convention in her search for love and adventure. Indifferent to social taboos, she had lovers of both sexes—from Tallulah Bankhead to Lord Beaverbrook— before settling down with Erica Brausen, the visionary German woman who launched the career of artist Francis Bacon. The two women remained together for the rest of their lives. From 1947 to 1973, their art gallery represented the most important contemporary painters and sculptors and played a vital role in the history of art and aesthetics. While parts of Toto Koopman’s life may seem to strain credibility, they are all true. Indeed, I believe many more facts concerning our beautiful and eccentric heroine have yet to be revealed. Capturing her essence for this biography was like trying to extinguish the burning bush—she

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A life of glamour and tragedy, set against the watershed cultural and political movements of twentieth-century Europe. "Toto" Koopman (1908'1991) is a new addition to the set of iconoclastic women whose biographies intrigue and inspire modern-day readers. Like her contemporaries Lee Miller or Vita S
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Most books are stored in the elastic cloud where traffic is expensive. For this reason, we have a limit on daily download.