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Danielle van Ark, ‘Everything fell into the right hands’, 2009 – 2011.
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Gustave Doré - Dante Alighieri - Inferno - Plate 22 (Canto VII - Hoarders and Wasters)
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By Philippa Campsie
“Mona (or Frances) Strader was the daughter of a Kentucky horse breeder and trainer, Robert Strader. Her parents divorced when she was four or five years old. She lived first with her maternal grandmother, then with her paternal grandmother. The former was later declared insane and sent to an asylum. An uncle suffered the same fate. Another uncle shot a prostitute and then turned the gun on himself. A third uncle died in a hunting accident. Only her father seemed to be a steady influence in Mona’s life, and he was not always around.
The only way out of this nightmare was marriage. Mona’s starter husband was Henry James Schlesinger, son of the richest man in Wisconsin. She’d met him through her father’s racing contacts. She was 19; he was 39. The marriage was not a success. In 1920, Mona sought a divorce after three years of marriage, and left her young (and only) son in her husband’s custody in Milwaukee.
At this point, she had already met husband No. 2, a wealthy banker called James Irving Bush, said to be the “handsomest man in America.” The two married in New York in 1921; she was 24; he was 38. Fairly soon, Mona discovered that her new husband behaved appallingly when he was drunk, and he was often drunk. This time she went to Paris to obtain a divorce.
Back in New York, Mona started up a fashion venture with a friend called Laura Curtis, who was engaged to be married to Harrison Williams, one of the richest men in the United States (a big step up from the richest family in Wisconsin). Rumours abounded that Mona “stole” Harrison’s affections while her friend was out of town. In fact, Laura Curtis jilted Harrison Williams, leaving him free to marry Mona. But the rumours won and it took Mona some time to live them down.
Three years later, the stock market crash reduced her husband’s fortune of $680 million to a paltry $5 million. The Harrison Williamses apparently failed to notice their change in fortunes. They had a Long Island mansion at Oak Point; a New York town house on Fifth Avenue; an all-white house decorated by Syrie Maugham in Palm Beach; a Paris apartment on the rue Pouquet; and a villa with a large garden on the Island of Capri in the Bay of Naples called Il Fortino.
Meanwhile, Mona had become the darling of the fashion mavens. Cecil Beaton never tired of photographing or drawing her, although he said he could never fully capture the beauty of her huge aquamarine eyes and extraordinary silver hair.
Vogue and Harper’s Bazaar published endless stories about her exquisite life and clothes. And in 1933, the Paris couturiers Molyneux, Lanvin, Vionnet, Chanel and Lelong voted her the world’s “best-dressed woman.”
Mona was a “dandy” in the sense that her greatest creation, her work of art, was her own appearance and her lifestyle. That was what she did. That was all she did. Nobody ever saw her reading a book. Nobody ever credited her with a witty remark. If she wrote letters, they were unquotable. She never learned French or Italian, despite years spent in those countries.
What Mona created was herself. After her chaotic and unhappy childhood, her achievement was to control every aspect of her life. Her houses were perfect. Her clothes were perfect. Her dinners were perfect. Her flowers were perfect (she loved gardening and grew her favourite flowers from Kentucky and England in the gardens in Capri, even though every drop of fresh water had to be brought from the mainland). Nothing less than perfection was acceptable.
In 1943, Dali painted her in an extraordinary portrait. In the first version, he painted her naked, but she objected, so he painted her wearing rags (but with her ever-present pearls), surrounding by objects from antiquity that evoke a certain menace. Apparently Mona loved it and it graced her Paris house on the avenue New York until a few weeks ago.Salvador DalÍ's portrait of Mona Bismarck
Harrison Williams died in 1953. His obituary in the New York Times noted: “The only reason the Harrison Williamses don’t live like princes…is that princes can’t afford to live like the Harrison Williamses.”
The following year, Mona acquired the final feature her life had lacked: an aristocratic title. She married Count Edward von Bismarck, the grandson of the German chancellor of that name. Eddie was thought to be gay, but he had been Mona’s long-time friend and confidant. He apparently believed that he was dying of stomach cancer, and she may have married him assuming it would be a very short marriage and a long widowhood. Eddie lived for another 16 years.
By this time, Mona had lost her trademark silver hair. In the 1950s, according to most sources, she started to dye her hair brown, and her friends were astonished that she would give up her most recognizable feature. Maybe, in middle age, she no longer wanted to be so recognizable.
Eddie died in 1970. Mona then married his doctor, Umberto de Martini, 14 years her junior. Big mistake. She thought he would look after her as she aged, as he had looked after Eddie; he thought she would fund his extracurricular activities, which included a mistress in England. When in 1979, he accidentally drove his Alfa Romeo off a bridge near Naples (her friends made the inevitable joke about “Martini on the rocks”), she was delivered from a burdensome marriage. She went back to using Bismarck as her surname.
She lived for four more years, dying in 1983 at her house on the avenue New York, aged 86. The terms of her will would have created an arts foundation that encompassed her Paris house and the artworks in her villa at Capri. But she had forgotten her son by her first marriage, who contested the will and demanded an inheritance larger than the measly million or so she had assigned him. The Capri villa and its contents had to be sold, along with other parts of her collection.
Mona created herself. And when she died, her greatest achievement in life disappeared. Beauty and a glamorous lifestyle do not survive when the individual who brings them to life has gone. And exotic gardens may not survive the death of a gardener. This, I think, is why so few people have written about her, and why there is no full-length biography.
Be careful what you wish for. She wished for riches and control; she had riches during her life, but she could not quite control her legacy.
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Goldsmiths, Jewellers and St. Eligius
Saint Eligius (also Eloy or Loye) (French: Éloi) (c. 588 – 1 December 660) is the patron saint of goldsmiths, other metalworkers, and coin collectors.
‘Understanding Goldsmithing Through Depictions of St. Eligius’,
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Thesauri
Abundantia: from Latin ăbundo ăbundans abundantis meaning “overflowing, abundant, plenty, riches” - Divine personification of abundance and prosperity.
Aphnology or Aphenology from Aplnios, Aphcnos, Afthnos, or Aphenos: Expresses wealth in the largest sense of general abundance and well-being. Rare the science of wealth.
Argentarius and Argentarii: Derived from argent(um) (“silver”) + -ārius (“dealer in”). Private individuals (or individuals of a private organization) that served as bankers (depositories), and money changers. Such individuals were members of a collegium, or guild. Many individuals entrusted all their capital to them. Individuals could deposit funds with a banker, and pay their debts using a draft or check from the bank. If both the debtor and creditor had an account with the same bank it was easy for the bank to internally transfer the funds between the accounts.
Bank Banco: In early Ancient Rome Money-lenders would set up their stalls in the middle of enclosed courtyards called macella on a long bench called a bancu.
Bancherius: [from Latin Bancum Banchus] In Genoa meant money changer, the name referring to the carpet covered table or bench at which the money changer conducted his business of exchanging foreign and domestic coins.
Chrematistics: [from Greek, from khrēmatizein to make money, from khrēma money] the art of getting rich, as coined by Thales of Miletus. The study of wealth, any theory of wealth as measured in money.“la gran crematística […] maximizar la riqueza y el dinero.“
Chrysology: [from Ancient Greek khrusós Gold] Rare the branch of political economy relating to the production of wealth. The study of the production of wealth, especially as attained from precious metals.
Copia: [From co- + ops, opis “power, ability, resources”] Roman Goddess of Abundance or Plenty.
Cornucopia: [from Latin cornu copiae Horn of Plenty] Symbol of abundance and nourishment, commonly a large horn-shaped container overflowing with produce, flowers or nuts. The horn of Amalthea, the goat that suckled Zeus. Attribute of several Greek and Roman deities, particularly those associated with the harvest, prosperity, or spiritual abundance, such as personifications of Earth (Gaia or Terra); the child Plutus, god of riches and son of the grain goddess Demeter; the nymph Maia; and Fortuna, the goddess of luck, who had the power to grant prosperity. In Roman Imperial cult, abstract Roman deities who fostered peace (pax Romana) and prosperity were also depicted with a cornucopia, including Abundantia, “Abundance” personified, and Annona, goddess of the grain supply to the city of Rome. Hades, the classical ruler of the underworld in the mystery religions, was a giver of agricultural, mineral and spiritual wealth, and in art often holds a cornucopia.
Denarius: [from the Latin dēnī "containing ten"] Origin of several modern words such as the currency name dinar; it is also the origin for the common noun for money in Italian denaro, in Slovene denar, in Portuguese dinheiro, and in Spanish dinero.
Dis Pater or Dis also Father Dis (The Wealthy One): [from dives], suggesting a meaning of “father of riches” or “Rich Father”. Originally a god of riches, fertile agricultural land, and underground mineral wealth, he was later commonly equated with the Roman deities Pluto and Orcus.
Economic development is the process by which a nation improves the economic, political, and social well-being of its people.
Economic mobility is the ability of an individual, family or some other group to improve (or lower) their economic status—usually measured in income.
Gentleman thief: A gentleman or lady thief usually has inherited wealth and is characterised by impeccable manners, charm, courteousness, and the avoidance of physical force or intimidation to steal. As such, they do not steal to gain material wealth but for the thrill of the act itself, often combined in fiction with correcting a moral wrong, selecting wealthy targets, or stealing only particular rare or challenging objects.
Goldsmith: Accepted jewellery and plate for safekeeping. They also accepted deposits of coin. Coins of the same nominal value varied greatly in weight, because many had been clipped or "sweated" to remove some of the gold. They sorted through the coins deposited with them for the ones nearest full weight. They then melted these down and exported them as Gold Bullion. Since this activity was quite profitable, they were happy to pay interest on deposits of coin. By 1660, the receipts that goldsmiths issued for deposits of coin had become transferrable, and they began to circulate informally as money. The goldsmiths took advantage of this and started to issue receipts with the express intention that they circulate.
Moneta: [from Latin monēre] which means to remind, warn, or instruct, or more likely from the Greek “moneres” meaning “alone, unique”.
Money changer: weighed, tested, sorted and exchanged foreign and domestic coins.
Money scrivener: Originally public letter writers and copyists, they evolved into legal practitioners who specialized in drawing up documents, including loan contracts. This work naturally led them into brokering loans, especially mortgages. As part of this business, clients would deposit money with them until they found a suitable investment
Nouveau poor: ["new poor"], refers to a person who had once owned considerable wealth, but has now lost all or most of it. These people may or may not actually be poor, but compared to their previous rank, it seems as if they are. Also Nouveau Pauvre.
Other People’s Money (OPM): A common expression used when talking about the multiplying effect of using borrowed funds to purchase property rather than paying all cash. Informal term for the use or investment of borrowed funds
Pecunia: [from pecū "cattle"] Flocks were the first riches of the ancients.
Pluto: Mythology The god of the dead and the ruler of the underworld, identified with the Greek Hades. Not only a god of the dead, he is identified as a god of the earth’s fertility, because he ruled the deep earth that contained the seeds necessary for a bountiful harvest. He was also called the God of Wealth due to the precious metals hidden in the earth. plutology Geology the study of the interior of the earth. / Latin, from Greek Ploutōn, literally: the rich one.
Plutus: [from Ploutos wealth:] from the belief that the underworld was the source of wealth from the ground.
Plouton: giver of wealth.
Plutology: [ploutologie “Science de la richesse”] Economics.the scientific study or theory of wealth; the branch of economics that studies wealth. Also called plutonomy Economics the study of economics or the production of wealth
Plutonomics: the study of wealth management.
Plutologist: Economics obsolete a person who has expertise in plutology
Political economy: Obsolete “In the late 19th century, the term economics gradually began to replace the term political economy.”
Temple of Juno Moneta: it was the place where Roman coins were first minted. Thus, moneta came to mean mint.
Thrift: Wise economy in the management of money and other resources.
Sources: Google Books, TheFreeDictionary.com, Wikipedia, Wiktionary.
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