angel
Romaine Brooks
Natalie called her: My Travelling Angel
Self portraitI belonged to everyone, she belonged to no one: we considered ourselves quite different, and yet in our loneliness we were alike.
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Relationship to Natalie: her life partner for 50+ years, she lived with her until the last year of her life when Natalie attempted to bring home yet another love at the age of 93, upon which she packed her things and left, discarding her attempts at sending letters and locking the door on her when she visited.
My angel and cruel love. After half a century of being our nearest, why do you treat me like an unwelcome stranger? Do please I beg of you and our everlasting friendship, reassure me, or let me come to you. To hold your head on my shoulder and carry out whatever wish you may express – to your ever loving and faithful friend, Natalie.
Affairs:
Ida Rubenstein, actress
Renata Borgatti, pianist
Renée, with whom she had a short affair before she and Natalie ever met: Romaine recalled listening to Renée complain about Natalie in bed.
Mimi
Rivals:
Dolly, whom she kicked out of the rue Jacob but later an uneasy alliance
Élisabeth, the only woman with which she didn't seem to mind sharing
Romaine drew:
- Miss Natalie Barney, 'l'Amazone' (1920, Musée Carnavalet)
- Élisabeth de Gramont (c. 1924) – "Ingresque"
- Dolly Wilde – drawing (undated)
Romaine wrote:
- No Pleasant Memories (unpublished), a memoir which contained word-portraits of Natalie and Renée.
Written about Romaine:
- Adventures of the Mind (1929) – Adventures, Romaine Brooks
- Souvenirs Indiscrets – which is dedicated to her
- Women Lovers, or the Third Woman, in which she appears as Natalie's 'Dearest Friend,' with letters signed 'R.'
Others
- Élisabeth de Gramont – wrote the introduction to the only published catalogue of her paintings
- Dolly, in her letters to Natalie
Diana Souhami, Wild Girls
Chelsea Ray & Melanie Hawthorne, introduction to Women Lovers, or the Third Woman (2016)