ELYSIAN Summer 2023 "White/Blanc" Issue

ELYSIAN Women Inspiring Women

DISPLAY UNTIL AUGUST 21, 2023

EVEY FINE ART / PALM BEACH artevey.com

D.C. Series 350, 2014 pastel, oil and charcoal on canvas 55 x 105 in

by Marta Estrems

Back Study Gray Oil on Canvas 40h x 30w in

By Catherine Woskow

764 MIAMI CIRCLE, SUITE 132 ATLANTA, GEORGIA 30324 (404) 352-8775

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Torso Frontal Mixed Media on Museum Board, 2020 39h x 20w in

By Catherine Woskow

118 La Femme

Effortless confidence and timeless beauty is at the essence of Dana Harel’s ulra romantic La Femme collection.vBY SAMANTHA PAIGE

ELYSIAN

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VOLUME 9 • ISSUE 2 • THE WHITE / BLANC ISSUE / ÉTÉ 2023 • L’ÉDITION BLANC

Mrs. White

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First lady of television. BY KATE MCMULLEN

Love Under a Blue Sky

Greece 100 128 Marriage & romance in Santorini.

BY CORA WALDEN / PHOTOGRAPHY BY KAREN KAPER

The art, history, and romance. BY HELEN ARDEN

Inspiring Women Annabel Monaghan page 130 Deborah Royce page 140 INTERVIEWED BY KAREN FLOYD

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home garden

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The white garden. BY LAURIE BOGART WILES

food&dining Cheval Blanc. BY CAROLINE RYAN

shopping

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White as ice. BY SINDIE FITZGERALD-RANKIN

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art&culture

168 mind&body The wonder of white: A supreme shade throughout the ages. BY HUNTER HOLLIDAY

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Milk baths­—se baigner de blanc.

BY SONIA HENRY

philanthropy Fond Blanc: Rooted & established in love.

BY MARCY DUBROFF

on the cover

Rhonda Wilkins Fischer photographed by Michael Paniccia.

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architecture&interiors White Done Right. BY CHRISTY NIELSON

© FERRISRAFAULI.COM/

c r e at o r - i n - c h i e f

publisher

Karen Floyd

Ryan Stalvey

o p e r at i o n s

d i g i ta l

special events

comptroller

Phillip Wright

Celia Wise Cooksey

Sarah Smith

Anna Christian

philanthropy i m pa c t

&

business development

special projects

Juls Bindi

Joey Iannetta

Kimberli Scott web

design

& development

Elliot Derhay

media

& production

marketing design

managing editor

Amber Edwards

Jason Spencer

Rob Springer

editorial

c o m m u n i t y a f fa i r s

d i g i ta l

lead photographer

Rita Allison

Ann Bible

Caleb Chilcutt

Michael Paniccia

post-production

post-production

d i g i ta l a d v e r t i s i n g

e x e c u t i v e a s s i s ta n t

Elise Rimmer

Ty Yachaina

Christiana Purves

Tracie Bailey

contributing writers

Helen Arden, Marcy Dubroff, Sindie Fitzgerald-Rankin, Sonia Henry, Hunter Holliday, Kate McMullen, Christy Nielson, Samantha Paige, Caroline Ryan, Cora Walden, Laurie Bogart Wiles copy editors

Nancy Brady, Monya Havekost, Diane High, Hadley Inabinet c i r c u l at i o n s p e c i a l i s t

Greg Wolfe

d ata b a s e

& deployment

Mark Trombetta

c o o r d i n at o r

c o n s u lta n t

Paula Fender

Carmel Fauci

w w w . r e a d e ly s i a n . c o m ELYSIAN Magazine is published four times per year by Palladian Publications LLC., 113 W. Main St., Spartanburg, SC 29306.

For subscription information, call 864-342-6500.

All rights reserved. Printed in the USA.

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THE OBJECT WE CALL A BOOK IS NOT THE REAL BOOK, BUT ITS POTENTIAL, LIKE A MUSICAL SCORE OR SEED. IT EXISTS FULLY ONLY IN THE ACT OF BEING READ; AND ITS REAL HOME IS INSIDE THE HEAD OF THE READER, WHERE THE SYMPHONY RESOUNDS, THE SEED GERMINATES. A BOOK IS A HEART THAT ONLY BEATS IN THE CHEST OF ANOTHER.”

W

— REBECCA SOLNIT

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With love,

Karen Floyd Publisher

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PHOTOGRAPH BY LAWLOR MEDIA GROUP

riters present the purest form of creation. They take a simple, clean, crisp white sheet of paper and fill it with intricate shapes and sizes, all of which translate into marks . . . that combined in unison . . . tell stories.

So too is the making of a magazine. It begins with a word . . . an idea . . . a concept . . . a theme . . . and then begins the complexity of organizing the magazine content in a way that keeps a reader interested throughout approximately two hundred pages. If successful, the creator must simultaneously parlay the visual with the written word, with tremendous agility, almost like a dance to unheard music.

Just like “paper never refuses ink,” innovation is dependent on the curious mind and those brave souls who dare to take the road less traveled. Invention is much like hearing a song that no one else can recognize, or even understand. I often think about Virginia Woolf, who commented on the complexity of the creative mind and the isolative nature of listening to the quiet voices within.“Literature is strewn with the wreckage of those who have minded beyond reason the opinion of others,” she wrote.

“Blanc,” the French word for white, is coincidentally defined as the absence of color in the strictest sense. The complex use of white as seen in both interior design and art recognizes an open-mindedness of true creation. How does one generate interest with no color, one might ask? Just look to Dana Harel, who crafted wedding gowns like none other . . . or Van Gogh’s illustrious White Roses.

In keeping with our theme, Shakespeare himself asked,“What is in a name? That which we call a rose/By any other name would smell so sweet.” In these pages, the life of the enigmatic icon Betty White is brought to light. Strong, authentic, beautiful and brilliant, her life story encourages and inspires others.

Fundamental to ELYSIAN is a core belief that every woman has a story to share, even the storytellers. To compliment the blanc theme, talented and multidimensional authors Annabel Monaghan and Deborah Goodrich Royce were clad in white and joined me in the foyer of my home as we filmed The Women Who Inspire Us interviews. Capturing facets of their inspiring life’s journey, each of these enigmatic women galvanize the reader with their authentic, in-depth, and unique experiences.

We dedicate the “Blanc” issue to the innovative spirit. Creative women like ELYSIAN’s former Graceful Living Editor, Rhonda Wilkins Fischer, manifest their talents in a sundry of unique ways. We are privileged to share Rhonda’s captivating and elegant wedding with our readers. Not only did Fischer imagine and conceptualize the wedding of a lifetime on the magnificent Greek island of Santorini, but she executed a weekend of memories for friends and family. The forever experience set the highest of bars for other destination white weddings.

Finally, one-of-a-kind experiences are often the results of those imaginators who simply dare to be different.

Whether milk baths, known to ease skin conditions and lauded for manifesting a universal calm, or culinary delights and the scrumptious gastronomic experience of Cheval Blanc in Basel Switzerland, the originality and unusual risk-taking of the creator sets them apart.

As with every issue, ELYSIAN Impact (our charitable focus) recognizes Fond Blanc, a home to 54 orphaned children from Haiti. In 2010 an orphanage in Port au Prince was demolished by earthquake, leaving the children homeless.

Pastor Jean Claude coalesced those who aided in fulfilling his vision to develop a community for orphaned and homeless children on land he owned in the mountain area of Fond Blanc.

What begins with a white sheet of paper, the gift of creating . . . lands in a heart that only beats in the chest of another.

Thank you for taking the journey with us.

danahareldesign.com

White Done Right

BY CHRISTY NIELSON

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© TALCIKDEMOVICOVA.COM

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white An all-white room can be striking yet serene, refined while at the same time inviting, timeless as well as adaptable, as illustrated here and on the previous pages, in this exquisite Parisian apartment designed by Talcik & Demovicova.

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© TALCIKDEMOVICOVA.COM

is a versatile and classic choice for interior design, and all-white can make for an extremely stunning space. From the Isles of Greece to the penthouses of London, the coast of California, and a multitude of points in between, white weaves a thread of relevancy, timelessness, and beauty. The neutral/non-color is a solid choice for everything from walls and cabinets to textiles and furniture. Additionally, an all-white scheme works well in all sorts of spaces – crisp kitchens, serene bedrooms, sparkling bathrooms, and tranquil living rooms can all pull off the monochromatic look.

“White is definitely universal,” says Los Angeles interior designer and TV personality, Breegan Jane. “It has an adaptability that allows it to be used in a myriad of styles.” She adds that white can be the focal point of a design or used as the backdrop, depending on the mood you are hoping to achieve. “Whether I want to highlight a particular style or spotlight accents, I’m able to begin with a clean canvas and build upon it easily,” she notes.

Vanessa DeLeon, the founder of award-winning Vanessa DeLeon Associates in New York and New Jersey, agrees. “I think white is relevant in any space or setting. It can serve any aesthetic quite successfully, and can adhere to almost any arrangement,” she explains.

Iconic Canadian designer and artist Ferris Rafauli says he often incorporates the color white in design because it helps to create a sense of spaciousness, brightness, and sophistication. “White gives a feeling of freshness and cleanliness, all while being luxurious,” he states. “White is the perfect color for interior design because it is incredibly versatile, timeless, and can be used to create a range of moods, depending on the shade and how it is used. White is perfect for creating a bright, airy atmosphere, while using darker shades can add a cozy, warm feeling to a room. White also works well with any other color, making it easy to add accent pieces and other design elements.”

In many cultures, white conjures up feelings of simplicity, luxury, and cleanliness. The brightness of the shade, when chosen correctly and on the cooler end of the spectrum in particular, can create a sense of spaciousness, especially in smaller rooms that do not have much natural light. The snowy hue also evokes feelings of freshness and is a powerful color in feng shui where white symbolizes purity and precision. In this practice of arranging living spaces to create balance with the natural world, white is connected to the metal element and is thought to inspire clarity and cleansing.

Interestingly though, white in its purest form is technically not a color at all. It is the lack of prisms that creates this shade, which is officially categorized as achromatic or having no hue.

“The challenging part of white and why it is excruciatingly elusive to most people is because it actually has tonalities of color—there is always going to be an undertone in it,” explains self-described “color nerd” Jennifer Guerin, principal of JG Color Studios in California and an IACC-NA certified color consultant. “White tones will have the most

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A stunning room—refreshing and bright—designed by Vanessa DeLeon, who attests, “I think white is relevant in any space or setting. It can serve any aesthetic quite successfully, and can adhere to almost any arrangement.”

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. . . the simplicity of the colour white. I often incorporate the colour white in design because it helps to create a sense of spaciousness, brightness, and sophistication. White gives a feeling of freshness, cleanliness all while being luxurious.”

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RASHCHEKTAYEV / SHUTTERSTOCK.COM • OPPOSITE PAGE: © FERRISRAFAULI.COM/

Few rooms and entryways make such an indelible impression on the viewer as those designed in stark white.

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— FERRIS RAFAULI

shade options because white mixes with all other pigments to create the shade variants.”

White can be one of the most difficult shades to deal with because you can’t always see these secondary undertones a shade of white encompasses until it is placed in your room or painted on your walls. When the light hits it just right and the other tones in the room reflect against it, you could be in for an unpleasant surprise.

“Whites are tricky to pick, and if chosen wrong they can really affect how you feel psychologically and psychosomatically in a space,” Guerin reveals. If you have ever struggled to select the justright shade of white from the surprisingly endless range of options on a paint sample fan deck, you understand precisely the difficulty of this seemingly simple shade.

However, a good designer will know how to use the hue effectively for the space they are creating.

We surveyed some of the best in the business to get their thoughts and tips on designing all-white interior spaces and asked them to share their success stories with the shade. They did not disappoint!

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A mesmerizing treatment of a stairwell by Kelly Hoppen at Villa Beaulieu, Monaco. The subtle shades of beige and grey offsetting stark white creates a delicatness of form not unlike the inner turns of a sea conk.

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PHOTOGRAPH ©YVAN GRUBSKI

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“Something is calming, peaceful, and timeless about an all-white home. “It’s clean, it’s fresh and it provides a beautiful slate for you to work off of,” — Christine Vroom. Two remarkable bathrooms—elegant and refreshing—(opposite page-Christine Vroom Designs.

WHITE WALLS & SURFACES

Our experts are nearly unanimous in their favorite use of white in interior design—put it on the walls.

“I really love a white wall because it makes everything feel clean and fresh,” says celebrity interior designer Lonni Paul. “I love to add color through art, decorative objects, and pillows.”

Christine Vroom of Christine Vroom Interiors agrees. “I think walls are definitely the safest in terms of creating a clean base for your palette,” she says. “I love a beautiful, soft white color for a wall to keep it feeling warm and cozy, yet bright and airy.”

White can create a wow factor on other household surfaces, as well, including those in the kitchen and bathrooms. “I have used white stone on countertops, and I’ve even run a slab up to use it as a luxe backsplash,” Jane recounts. “It’s also extremely easy to keep clean, contrary to popular belief.”

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Something is calming, peaceful, and timeless about an all-white home. “It’s clean, it’s fresh and it provides a beautiful slate for you to work off of,” Vroom contends. “I think the best way to design an all-white space is to actually layer several notes of white so that it feels like a really gorgeous, curated, neutral palette.”

Jane told us she is a huge fan of neutrals, and white in particular is a color she uses throughout home design. “An all-white interior allows for maximum versatility as nothing clashes or competes with it. You can easily incorporate various hues and patterns.” She adds, “One of the greatest benefits of an all-white interior is the calming effect it brings to a space. When you think of a spa or resort, you can usually envision a space with creamy white walls. That’s because white allows the mind to take a break from overstimulation. It really does offer endless opportunities for design.”

For understated glamour, you can’t beat the simplicity of a tone-on-tone decorating scheme in shades of fresh white, according to multi-award-winning UK designer Kelly Hoppen CBE. “Think of an allwhite interior with cool stone, marble, or resin floors, and furnishings in crisp cottons and pale linens, with billowy sheer curtains at the shuttered windows,” she describes. “This style of a room is almost synonymous with hot, sunny climates, but whites work well in colder regions, too.”

Lonni Paul says white is a classic choice that you are likely to enjoy living with for a long time because it feels fresh, crisp, and new. “But if you do decide to change it, you can add color because anything goes with white!” she reminds us.

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MONOCHROMATIC & MARVELOUS

KRYZHOV / SHUTTERSTOCK.COM

“White is definitely universal,” says Los Angeles interior designer and TV personality, Breegan Jane, designer of this spectacular room. “White can be the focal point of a design or used as the backdrop, depending on the mood you are hoping to achieve. “Whether I want to highlight a particular style or spotlight accents, I’m able to begin with a clean canvas and build upon it easily.”

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PHOTOGRAPH ©YVAN GRUBSKI • OPPOSITE PAGE: © FERRISRAFAULI.COM/

A key element to making white work is accents, to which Kelly Hoppen sets and arranges with mastery. PHOTOGRAPH ©YVAN GRUBSKI • Opposite: A breath-taking design by award-winning, master designer, and artist Ferris Rafauli. Rafauli conceives, designs, and creates ultra-luxury dwellings and lifestyle creations for an elite clientele worldwide.

WHITE AS A SCENE-SETTER

Using white sets the stage for other decorative elements to stand out and make a statement in your room. “Plain white walls create a gallery-like backdrop that is ideal for showcasing art, photographs, and displays,” explains Hoppen. “Using darker frames and furniture lines can define the ‘grid’ scheme to create a harmonious layout in your home.”

Adding an element of surprise will help keep an all-white space interesting. “Maybe it’s an outline of black, a white-on-white pattern, or adding in different dimensions like beams and moldings,” DeLeon remarks. “I think the key to success with your white monochromatic palette is to make it somewhat fun and unexpected.”

Jane says she incorporates natural elements like woods, rattans, and greenery for a warm, organic feeling in the white spaces she designs. “White will always make an ideal backdrop for anything you put with it, so pops of bright color work well and add tons of personality and interest,” she explains. Jane adds that her designs are never quite complete without brass, a Breegan Jane signature. “The golden-hued metallic always complements a white interior,” she notes.

A case in point is a home in Southern California, which Jane says is one of her favorites. It features white walls accented by stunning brass sconces and elegant fireplace molding. “The curves of white kidney bean sofas provide a delightful harmony against the straight edge of a rectangular marble coffee table,” she describes. “The allure of this space is truly due to the striking equilibrium achieved by the combination of white and black. The white feels extraordinarily remarkable against the deeper hues in the room, giving the entire space a regal quality.”

SELECT YOUR SHADE CAREFULLY

White can run the gamut from traditional to modern aesthetics. The key is selecting the right shade, according to our experts. “One of the biggest myths is that all white looks the same. That couldn’t be further from the truth,” Jane states. “The wrong undertone can leave a space feeling stale or sterile. Finding a white with the perfect balance is crucial.”

Hoppen puts it this way, “White is never just white—some whites are cooler than others with a grey, green, or blue undertone while others are warmer, with a slight pink or yellow hue.”

Searching for an overall white in a sea of options can feel overwhelming. So how do you go about selecting the appropriate shade of white that will work well in your room? Color expert Guerin shares this advice.

“Look around first to see what other hues are in the room,” she recommends. “This will become your baseline to check that the white paint chip will harmonize well with all the other existing elements in the space. She says you need to take into account the flooring, textiles, and accents.

Then, paint a sample in the brightest spot in the room, as well as the most shadowed area. “Any undertones or secondary hues will show up and tell you if this is the color that creates the ambiance you’re looking for, doesn’t shed an unwanted tone, and isn’t too bright or too dark,” says Guerin.

Because there are so many shades of white ranging across the cool, warm, and neutral spectrum, Guerin advises selecting your white last. “I place all the other colors and existing elements together and choose from there,” she says of her process. “The white you want is the balance that is missing. If you have a warm and cool mix already within the space, then your white needs to read neutral and vice versa.”

ADD LAYERS & TEXTURE

Haptic fabrics like linens, flowing curtains, cloud-like bedding, soft shapes, and other textural elements warm up any white backdrop. “Layering up a rich mix of textures is the key to any successful room scheme, but especially in tone-on-tone or monochrome spaces, which could otherwise seem flat and unwelcoming,” explains Hoppen.

It all comes down to texture in keeping a white interior from feeling cold or boring, she argues. “Picture milk-white faux fur or sheepskin rugs in front of a fireplace, cashmere blankets on brushed cotton upholstery, deep velvet borders on natural linen drapes at the windows, and touches of buttery leather and suede on cushion bands and trims.”

Paul concurs that adding an array of textures and different weights and values of white elements is critical to success in an all-white space. “I did a spa all in white with different textures on the walls and in the fabrics—and even in the decorative lighting,” she remembers.

“It was so ethereal and elegant; you couldn’t help but relax when in the space.”

An all-white home can be striking yet serene, refined while at the same time inviting, timeless as well as adaptable. Whether you choose to invite white into the entirety of your home or utilize the hue in key components like textiles, furniture, cabinetry, or countertops, white done right will be a look you will love for years to come. ■

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Natural light seems to be the intangible with regards to white interiors as Kelly Hoppen states,“White is never just white–some whites are cooler than others with a grey, green, or blue undertone while others are warmer, with a slight pink or yellow hue.” ©YVAN GRUBSKI

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home&garden

The White Garden

BY LAURIE BOGART WILES

PHOTOGRAPHY BY INCEPSHIN MEDIA / SHUTTERSTOCK.COM

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AND STILL WITHIN A SUMMER’S NIGHT A SOMETHING SO TRANSPORTING BRIGHT, I CLAP MY HANDS TO SEE.” — EMILY DICKINSON

nder a bright, moonlit sky, a white garden truly comes alive. Songbirds sleep, resting their voices till they are stirred by dawn’s rising sun. Nature’s nocturnal symphony is a chorus of crickets and cicadas, the bass notes of the bullfrogs, and the occasional tenor solo by a hooting Barn Owl or duet of a pair of Barred Owls calling to one another; or perhaps a soprano aria by a Whip-poorwill or other member of the Nightjar family, or the diva of them all, the Nightingale. Stroll quietly through a White Garden at night and this is the music you may hear—but what you will see are white flowers kissed by the moon, shimmering against emerald hedges and shrubs like twinkling stars in the heavens. And for this reason, the White Garden is also called the Moon Garden.

Because it is under a full moon that a White Garden comes to life.

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ita Sackville-West and Sir Harold Nicolson possessed a deep and abiding friendship over the course of almost fifty years of marriage. Indeed, they were devoted to one another and shared much in common. Both were English aristocrats who lived a life of privilege. She—the only child of cousins Victoria Sackville-West and Lionel Sackville-West, 3rd Baron Sackville—was born in 1892 at Knole House, Kent, her family’s ancestral estate, bequeathed by Queen Elizabeth I in the 16th century. He—the youngest son of diplomat Sir Arthur Nicolson, 1st Baron Carnock of Carnock—was born in Tehran, Persia, during one of his father’s numerous postings throughout Europe, Russia, and the Middle East.

Vita’s childhood had been lonely and isolated; Harold, a citizen of the world, introduced his young wife to international travel, which she embraced with vigor. Her horizons broadened, and despite a limited education at home by governesses, Vita became a prolific and successful author and journalist, writing 13 novels, dozens of collections of award-winning poetry, and notably her popular gardening column, published from 1946 to 1961 in London newspaper, The Observer. Harold, on the other hand, excelled academically, attending

Sissinghurst Castle Garden, at Sissinghurst in the Weald of Kent in England, was created by Vita Sackville-West, poet and writer, and her husband Harold Nicolson, author and diplomat. It is among the most famous gardens in England and is designated Grade I on Historic England’s register of historic parks and gardens.

PHOTOGRAPHY BY PAUL COX / ALAMY STOCK PHOTO

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The White Garden with ornamental pond and flower beds at Loseley Park country estate in Surrey, UK, during summer.

PHOTOGRAPHY BY GILLIAN PULLINGER / ALAMY STOCK PHOTO

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the finest private schools before attending Balliol College, Oxford, from which he graduated and embarked upon his celebrated career as a highly respected British diplomat and member of Parliament. He, too, was an author—writing a staggering 125 books—and like his wife, a columnist, contributing the “Londoner’s Diary,” for the Evening Standard.

Vita’s hopes of inheriting her beloved Knole House were dashed when, in keeping with the customs of the British aristocracy, she, a woman, was passed over in favor of her uncle, the next male in line. Her bitterness was assuaged in 1930 when she and Harold acquired nearby Sissinghurst Castle, Kent, once owned by Vita’s ancestors and built in the same period as her beloved Knole. There they raised their two sons, Benedict and Nigel, and spent the rest of their lives restoring the ruin and designing, planting, and nurturing gardens that would be heralded as among the finest in all the land.

The 20th century was a time of rapid change. Together Vita and Harold witnessed the dissolution of the British class system, survived the Second World War, and endured, understood, and supported one another’s insatiable need for same-sex extramarital affairs, of which both engaged in many. Through it all, Sissinghurst remained the constant that bound them together. Enthusiastic and devoted gardeners, it was gardening that fueled the couple’s unorthodox, supremely successful marriage and tender friendship. Vita died at Sissinghurst in 1962, at the age of 70. Harold struggled without his best friend and confidant until 1968, when he too died, at Sissinghurst, at the age of 81. Today, Sissinghurst remains a living testimony to the lives of two extraordinary people. And of all the gardens they designed and planted, the one that represents the purity of their love and devotion to one another is the White Garden, which enthralls by day and comes to life under the light of a silver moon. You can feel their presence. I surely did.

For information and opening times log onto www.nationaltrust.org.uk

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he earliest recorded White Garden in the United States was designed in 1833 by Benjamin Poore at Indian Hill on Martha’s Vineyard, Massachusetts. Framed by two 700-foot long by 14-foot-wide borders featuring white candytuft, daffodils, lilacs, flowering almond, foxglove, and lilies, Poore made living art of his masterwork with white pigeons, white cows, and a white dog.

One of the finest private white gardens is located in the Hudson Valley. Set in a “sacred grove” on the 50-acre estate is a modern Greek Revival-style house designed by architect Patrick Naggar with elaborate gardens designed

by Patrick Chassè, ASLA. Completed in 1999, the White Garden in Lewisboro, New York includes a theater court, pergola garden, nymphaeum, labyrinth, several hidden gardens and water features, and a Temple of Apollo The White Garden at medieval castle Arundel Castle, West Sussex, England, with plant combinations consisting of Allium, Digitalis, Lupinus, Onopordium.

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PHOTOGRAPHY BY JOHN SWITHINBANK / ALAMY STOCK PHOTO

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surrounded by over 500,000 white daffodils in spring. Head gardener Eric Schmidt cultivates plants throughout the year in glasshouses. “We envisioned the Greek Revival house to be like a temple in the woods. In ancient Greece and Rome, temples were often placed in sacred groves on the sides of mountains, and I wanted to incorporate some of this history. We decided to keep the daffodils that had already been planted and have more formal gardens designed to go around the house. We kept the stately old trees near the house and planted some new ones. We also preserved the stonewalls from the property’s days as a dairy farm.” www.gardenconservancy.org It took four decades to restore the former 19th-century charitable rest home for sailors into what is known today as Snug Harbor Cultural Center and Botanic Garden in Staten Island, New York. Consisting of 28 buildings, 14 distinctive gardens, and a two-acre farm, the majestic main building, which today serves as a music hall, was built in 1833, and in 1965 it became one of the first designated landmarks for New York City’s Landmarks Preservation Commission. Featured at Snug Harbor is the White Garden, inspired by Sissinghurst, where white roses, hellebores, snowdrops, lilies, and irises, among other flowers and bushes, bloom in profusion. Open March through October. www.snug-harbor.org

PRINCESS DIANA’S WHITE GARDEN AT KENSINGTON PALACE

An estimated 60 million flowers were placed by grief-stricken mourners at the gates of Kensington Palace to honor their beloved “people’s princess.” Behind the gates of her final home lay the body of Princess Diana, transported from Paris, where she died from fatal injuries sustained in a violent car crash. A worldwide audience of 2.5 billion would watch her funeral at Westminster Abbey before she was brought to her final resting place on a tiny island, in a small lake at Althorp, her childhood home.

If you watched her funeral, then perhaps you know. What you may not know is that the millions of flowers were gathered after the funeral and turned into compost to fertilize the white garden designed in tribute to her living memory at Kensington Palace. Eighteen months into the planning by Sean Harkin, head gardener at Kensington Palace, and his staff, Kensington’s Sunken Garden was transformed into a magnificent White Garden. Harkin commented, “In some of those photos [of Diana], she’s either wearing white or cream,” such as in the iconic photograph of the princess donning the Lover’s Knot Tiara with a strapless Catherine Walker creation encrusted with oyster pearls and sequins. “There’s a very radiant, uplifting feeling from those photographs—and the feeling you get is the feeling we wanted people to get from the white garden.” Featured among the many species of flowers are white and cream roses.

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I HOPE THAT THE GARDEN IS JOYFUL, A CELEBRATION OF PRINCESS DIANA’S LIFE. I’M HOPING THE PEOPLE COME, AND THEY FEEL UPLIFTED BY THE GARDEN, AND REMEMBER HOW PRINCESS DIANA MADE THEM FEEL.” — SEAN HARKIN HEAD GARDENER, KENSINGTON PALACE

The White Garden in the grounds of Kensington Palace, London, created by the Royal gardeners in memory of Diana, Princess of Wales.

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PHOTOGRAPHY BY AMANDA ROSE / ALAMY STOCK PHOTO

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“I think lots of people would refer to Princess Diana as the classic English Rose,” Harkin continued. “It felt like it was a must to include them.” There also are forget-me-nots, a childhood favorite, and hundreds of white lilies, a particular favorite of Diana’s, which regularly were arranged in vases in her Kensington apartment.

PLANTING A WHITE GARDEN

Designing a white garden is not all about selecting white flowers. It’s much more. A successful white garden considers the texture, balance, and form of the blossoms; tall flowers in contrast to low growth and ground cover; clusters of flowers, vines, and flowering bushes; and most importantly, the juxtaposition of dark against white—dark, jade and emerald green foliage, bushes, and ivies contrasting with variegated greenery in dusty greys and silver, such as Artemisia, Dusty Miller (Senecio cineraria), Lamb’s Ear (Stachys byzantina), Lavender Cotton (Santolina chamaecyparissus L.), Japanese Painted Fern (Athyrium niponicum ‘Pictum’), Russian Sage (Perovskia atriplicifolia)—indeed, the amazing range of white and green Coleus, such as Coleus Blumei, Jade Coleus, White Coleus; Limelight, Lime Time, and Electric Lime—bright, almost neon green—provide great contrast against darker foliage.

For height, consider tall flowers such as white iris and white peonies, trumpet lilies, and single-flowering white clematis interwoven with clematis vines and hydrangea in abundance. And keep in mind, deer love certain flowers and foliage.

When you plant, plant for the season with annuals and perennials that take your garden from early spring (Hellebore, crocus, Snowdrop), to late fall and, in certain zones, through winter (white pansies, camellia; and the harbinger of spring, Lily-of-the-Valley), through mid to late spring, such as Trillium grandiflorum and Fair Maids of France.

For edging walkways, consider Sweet Alyssum (Lobularia maritima), a cool-season flower that can be planted after the last frost, will fade in the heat of summer, but resurge come the coolness of fall and winter), Candytufts (Iberis sempervirens, technically a woody shrub), hardy Petunias, and Impatiens (Impatiens spp). Not only note the zone and growing season on every plant you choose for your white garden, but be aware of the spreading nature of the plant—whether it is aggressive or has a habit of trailing, such as Lobelia (Lobelia erinus) or the height it reaches at maturity, or how quickly and prolifically it grows, such as the popular Petunia, which will reach full-size by late spring and bloom throughout the summer into fall, depending on the zone and given enough sun, water, fertilizer, and your efforts to deadhead the spent blooms to allow new ones to come forth.

For height, contrast, and texture plant Weeping Blue Atlas Cedar, which grows up to 15 feet tall and 10 feet wide in USDA Cold Hardiness Zones 6 through 8. Just as hardy but able to thrive in warmer climes (USDA Zone 3-4) are the low-growing ‘Blue Star’ Juniper, which grows up to 3 feet tall and 4 feet wide, and its taller cousin, ‘Moonglow’ Juniper, which reaches 12 feet and just 3 feet wide; taller still is Bruns Weeping Serbian Spruce, which grows up to 30’, and its diminutive cousin, Spruce ‘Sester Dwarf,’ which grows up to 8’ tall and 3’ wide.

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Gothic spires and white marble statues pierce the sky above the roof of the Milan Cathedral, or Duomo di Milano, in Milan, Italy.

PHOTOGRAPHY BY JULIA ZAVALISHINA / SHUTTERSTOCK.COM

PERFECT FOR THE WHITE GARDEN

DAVID PHLOX (Phlox paniculata “David”) is a glorious mildew-resistant, pure white perennial that grows up to 36 inches tall from early summer to early fall. Hardy in Zones 3 through 9. Winner of multiple awards, including the Royal Horticultural Society Award of Garden Merit, David Phlox requires well-drained acidic, clay, loamy, or sandy soil, full sun with partial shade—but beware! Its sweet fragrance attracts bees. It grows quickly, so be certain to remove its spent heads so new ones will bloom. BRECK’S, www.brecks.com WHITE DAISY MAMMOUTH MUM, hardy to Zone 3 and able to thrive through Zone 9, is a vigorous perennial mum that grows up to 42 inches in height and has 3- to 4-inch white flowers that bloom in midsummer and last through autumn. Especially attractive as a border plant, it was specially bred to withstand severe cold by the University of Minnesota. SPRING HILL NURSERIES, www.springhillnurseries.com TOBACCO FLOWER (Nicotiana sylvestris) Its jasmine scent permeates the garden and graceful, trumpet-shaped blossoms add form; WHITE CLIMBERS: (Clematis armandii, Clematis montana) also known as Climbing hydrangea (Hydrangea petiolaris), Star Jasmine (Trachelospermum jasminoides), Moonflower (Ipomoea violacea); WHITE VARIEGATED PERENNIALS: Bear’s Breeches (Acanthus mollis), Cranesbill geranium (Geranium macrorrhizum), Jacob’s Ladder (Polemonium caeruleum), Sedum (Sedum alboroseum), Jack Frost (Brunnera macrophylla), Solomon’s seal (Polygonatum odoratum), Spotted deadnettle (Lamium maculatum), Variegated lilyturf (Liriope muscari); WHITE VARIEGATED SHRUBS: Daphne ‘Summer Ice’(Daphne transatlantica), Variegated elderberry (Sambucus nigra), Variegated red twig dogwood (Cornus alba ‘Elegantissima’). Variegated willow (Salix integra ‘Hakuro-nishiki); WHITE FLOWERING PLANTS: Rhododendrons, Azaleas, Camellias, Daisies, freesia, Gardenias, Hyacinth, Jasmine, Japanese anemones, Lilies, Lily-of-the-Valley, any multitude of types of Roses, Snowdrops, Tulips, Viburnum; SUN-LOVERS THAT SHIMMER AT NIGHT: Asclepias incarnata ‘Ice Ballet,’ Buddleia ‘White Profusion,’ Cosmos, Dahlias, Baby’s breath (Gypsophila), White Iris, Lilium ‘Casa Blanca.’ Slavia, Snapdragon, Sweet Alyssum, Tuberose, Culver’s Root (Veronicastrum virginicum), Viburnum, Zinnia; SHADE-LOVERS: Hillside Black Beauty Snakeroot (Actaea racemosa), Goat’s Beard (Aruncus dioicus), Bridal Veil (Astilbe) Ghost Fern (Athyrium), Begonia, Caladium, Allegheny Foamflower (Tiarella cordifolia); IN AUTUMN: Fall-blooming Japanese anemones (Anemone x hybrida), Honorine Jobert, Whirlwind.

TO ENHANCE YOUR WHITE GARDEN:

• Add pots of fragrant herbs such as rosemary, oregano, thyme, and basil.

• Selectively place low-voltage outdoor lights to illuminate the paths.

• Install a fountain. The trickling water is contretemps to the music of the night garden.

• Design the walkway to wend through the garden organically—the hallmark of the great American landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted. ■

PHOTOGRAPHY BYETERNAL_AVIV / SHUTTERSTOCK.COM

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CHEVAL BLANC

BY CAROLINE RYAN

© GRAND HOTEL LES TROIS ROIS

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Chef de Cuisine Peter Knogl welcomes his guests at the Cheval Blanc with a symphony of aroma, colour and delicately balanced flavours; artfully prepared from the best that nature has to offer.

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asel, Switzerland, is known as a city of culture and beauty. Situated along the sparkling blue Rhine River, the city is a mecca for connoisseurs of history, architecture, and yes…food. And Cheval Blanc, located in the city’s historic 300-year-old Grand Hotel Les Trois Rois, is perhaps the epicenter of Basel’s culinary reputation.

This haute cuisine gem thrills diners with its traditional French menu (enlivened with Mediterranean/Asian influences) and it recently earned the ultimate culinary honor—a Michelin three-star rating.

Now ranked among the top 100 restaurants in the world, Cheval Blanc also holds 19 Gault Millau points (to date, the highest ranking a restaurant has ever earned), a testament to its innovation, finesse, and attention to the details of the dining experience.

Master chef, Bavarian Peter Knogl, dubbed the “King of Sauces,” has reigned over the Cheval Blanc kitchen since 2007 and prides himself on selecting high-quality products and then preparing them to perfection. “My greatest enjoyment,” says Knogl, ‘is to indulge my guests with a cuisine full of shape and color, full of taste, and the sun.

My greatest satisfaction: to impart well-being through my cooking.”

A FEAST FOR THE SENSES

As you enter Cheval Blanc, you immediately sense that you are in for an extraordinary dining experience—the restaurant’s lush and lovely décor—fine antiques, glittering chandeliers, purple Louisthrone style chairs, candelabras, crisp white linens, and chalice-like water glasses—pique the senses of sight and touch. The sensory tour continues with soft music from the nattily attired pianist, who has a penchant for Chopin, Handel, and Bach. The sights and sounds of Cheval Blanc are only harbingers of what is to come, however, as the senses of smell and taste are where Cheval Blanc truly excels.

The “Menu des Rois” showcases an ever-evolving collection of dishes focused on using fresh, locally sourced ingredients, and features seasonal specialties along with a variety of classic dishes with a modern

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y ar lin to cu e s. ’s om int IS am h po RO te . A u OIS its ces illa TR to en ltM L LES ue flu au OTE , d in G H ld n 9 D or Asia d 1 GRAN e w d an © th an rs in n ta ts ea n S an an eli ur err ich sta it re ed M 0 M s3 10 ith ld p w ho to ne nc he isi la g t cu l B on te va m au he sa h eC nk ch th ra ren se, F ow ch nes c n nri d fi lan t e an l B ha n va s t tio he tion ova e C ea inn Th cr

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twist. All of the delectable food is served in a visually stunning manner on delicate white Limoges china—perfectly balanced, exquisitely presented, and more than a match for the luxurious surroundings. Fodor’s suggests that diners partake in either the five- or six-course tasting menu to get a full sense of Knogl’s sophisticated creations, although all menu items are available à la carte.

THE MENU OF KINGS

Four appetizer “amuses” tickle the palate at the start of the meal—recent offerings include fresh, meaty oysters flavored with a tangerine Ponzu sauce; tuna tartare with avocado dressing; melt-in-your-mouth Wagyu beef with a tapioca Szechuan glaze; a mussel with lemon foam; a garam masala and foie gras macaroon topped with a yogurt crisp and an orange gel; and a carabinero prawn crowned with a frothy jalapeno mousse.

Among the entrée offerings are dishes featuring the best and freshest meats, fish, and produce of the season. A standout Cheval Blanc dish is undoubtedly the duck with figs and red wine sauce. The meat is slow-roasted to retain its moisture and tenderness, resulting in a juicy, flavorful, and mouthwatering experience, while the combination of figs and red wine adds rich, sweet, and savory highlights, making it a truly unforgettable experience. The dish is beautifully presented, with the duck served atop a bed of crispy potatoes and surrounded by the fragrant sauce. Cheval Blanc is also known for its selection of pigeon dishes—a recent, seasonal creation was Bresse pigeon with Tasmanian pepper, artichokes, and mushrooms, an exquisite combination of silky-smooth meat paired with robust fall flavors.

Another delight for the taste buds is Knogl’s sole with imperial caviar and champagne sauce. This delectable entrée is both light and luxurious at the same time, and also features vegetables in the shape of tiny orbs. And Knogl puts his reputation as a master of innovative, fusion sauces on display with his presentation of red mullet, served with a cream of black garlic and saffron sauce, resting on a tomato vinaigrette, as well as his stunning and delectable saddle of Pyrenees lamb flavored with paprika, ginger, and coconut beans.

Knogl recently told Chef Alps Magazin, as well as finedininglovers.com, that sauces and flavors are his emphasis when he cooks. “Generally speaking, the essential ingredient (in any dish) is the sauce. With a sauce, you can manipulate

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French haute cuisine, reinterpreted with Mediterranean and Asian influences—the creations of Chef Peter Knogl and his team at Cheval Blanc are full of culinary surprises, always with a great sense of style and always remaining true to his style. “Every dish on the menu has to convince completely. Every bite should be an experience”, explains Peter Knogl.

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The sights and sounds of Cheval Blanc are only harbingers of what is to come, however, as the senses of smell and taste are where Cheval Blanc truly excels. © GRAND HOTEL LES TROIS ROIS

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Peter Knogl uses the finest ingredients and focuses on the taste of the product itself. His aim is to put the real taste of the product straightforward in the center of his creations. This is how he enthuses his guests again and again, because, according to Knogl: “The greatest art in cooking is to ideally combine the ingredients and aromas while preserving the taste of the central product.” © GRAND HOTEL LES TROIS ROIS

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any dish and control the flavors more effectively,” he said. “To my mind, this is really essential. That is why I serve practically all my dishes with a spoon. In fact, I would like to serve meat dishes only with a knife. One should preferably eat everything with a spoon—it’s far more interesting. There is enough room on it, and it brings all the flavors to the mouth at the same time.”

Cheval Blanc also offers dishes for the vegetarian palate, including a cassoulet of seasonal white asparagus and morels garnished with pea shoots.

Of course, no true French dining experience would be complete without a cheese trolley, and Cheval Blanc once again does not disappoint, with a stunning array of hard and soft cheeses selected by Maître Antony in Ferrette (who also supplies cheese to 19 other three-star Michelin establishments). The cheeses are enhanced by an attractive basket of several types of bread, including baguettes, olive, buckwheat, and tomato, among others, all baked from scratch by a local artisan, and served with an excellent quality butter.

The final course, dessert, is preceded by a palate cleanser of Japanese cress, yuzu, and a citrusy sponge cake that helps transition diners to the sweetest flavors of the evening. The current menu features exotic chocolate with yuzu, while recent meals have concluded with such delicacies as poached pear, peanuts, and Atsina cress plated with cream and miso sponge cake. Another sweet treat is a spoonful of passion fruit with lemongrass and rose bush tea jelly with lemon yogurt, blending the sweet and tangy fruit with the tang of the tea. There are also samplers of mousse and sorbets for simpler palates.

Knogl is assisted in the kitchen by a dozen other chefs, and in the dining area by a well-trained team of six staff members who see to the diners’ every need.

The food at Cheval Blanc is enhanced by a wine list that is carefully curated by Sommelier Christoph Kokemoor (who was honored with Guide Michelin Switzerland’s “Sommelier Award in 2019”). The selections feature a variety of high-quality, premium wines from the local region and beyond, and Kokemoor and his staff are more than happy to assist diners in making selections that pair perfectly with their meals.

In particular, Kokemoor prides himself on delighting guests with recommendations that are as unexpected as they are delicious.

A meal at Cheval Blanc should be a de rigueur experience for any traveler who wants an elegant, flavorful, fastidiously presented dining experience. Peter Knogl and his staff offer the best that the season has to offer and live up to his mantra that “every dish on the menu must convince completely. Every bite should be an experience.” ■ Editor’s note: For more information, visit chevalblancbasel.com.

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Fodor’s suggests that diners partake in either the five- or six-course tasting menu to get a full sense of Knogl’s sophisticated creations, although all menu items are available à la carte. © GRAND HOTEL LES TROIS ROIS

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1.

shopping

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white is a girl's best friend

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it magnificent! Look how it shines.

See how it sparkles. A ruby has fire. An emerald has depth. But a diamond outshines them all. “It’s not that diamonds are a girl’s best friend, but it’s your best friends who are your diamonds. It’s your best friends who are supremely resilient, made under pressure and of astonishing value. They’re everlasting; they can even cut glass if they need to.” - Gina Barreca. ■

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Newlyweds unintentionally get their friends and neighbors involved in hilarious situations in American Broadcasting Company’s, 1957, Date With The Angels starring Betty White.

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Mrs.

white First Lady of Television

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hat’s the first thing you think of when you think of Betty White? Golden Girls? Or maybe Mary Tyler Moore? Were you around for her early career television days?

Maybe you found her through her 2010 Saturday Night Live hosting appearance or saw her for the first time dancing in the woods in The Proposal. Betty White’s remarkable career spans more than eight decades, and throughout that time, she has captured the hearts of audiences, and fans of all generations with her unique sparkling humor and infectious spirit. Betty packed quite a lot into her 99 years, and not all of it was in front of a camera. Look up the first woman to do “x” in television, and the answer is often Betty White—and she didn’t stop there. When Betty wasn’t shattering glass ceilings in television production, she was raising money and awareness as an outspoken advocate for a variety of causes, from animal welfare to LGBTQ rights. From Betty White’s first success, she used her fame and influence to make a positive difference in the world.

Though her name is synonymous with “Hollywood,” Betty White was born in Oak Park, Illinois, on January 17th, 1922. She grew up in a household that placed a high value on education and community service, the only child of housewife Christine Tess and lighting company executive Horace Logan White. Her parents were both active in local organizations and instilled in Betty a deep sense of social responsibility.

The White family moved to California when Betty was one. In the throes of the Great Depression in Los Angeles, Betty’s father built and sold crystal radios for extra money, sometimes trading them for what they needed. On more than one occasion, he would trade for dogs, and Betty once said the family ended up with upwards of 20 dogs, likely sparking Betty’s lifelong love of animals. When they had the money, her parents would take Betty on vacations to the Sierra Nevada National Park and as a young girl, Betty’s early career ambition was to become a park ranger. Of course, women were not allowed to officially become park rangers until the mid 1964s, so Betty decided to become a writer. She made her television debut in 1939 but switched to service at the start of WWII. She drove a PX truck through Hollywood Hills and mended uniforms.

Betty’s early career kicked off after the war. White made the rounds to movie studios looking for work, but time and again was turned away because she wasn’t “photogenic.” She took to waiting around in radio casting offices, reading for parts, and hoping for a job. She paid 67 dollars to join the actor’s union with borrowed money from her father to help her land work. Her first gig was one word on a flooring commercial—“parquet!”—and with that, her career had begun. She would do just about anything, including singing on the air for no pay at all, just to have the work and exposure. In 1948, she found minor work at KLAC radio, and

Opposite: Betty Marion White was an American actress and comedian. A pioneer of early television with a career spanning almost seven decades, she was noted for her vast body of work in entertainment and for being one of the first women to work both in front of and behind the camera. © SUPPLIED BY GLOBE PHOTOS, INC/GLOBE PHOTOS/ZUMAPRESS.COM / ALAMY STOCK PHOTO

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when the company became KLAC-TV, she answered phones there for $10 a week. The West Coast had only just begun receiving television programming from the East Coast, and studios in Los Angeles finally began producing shows of their own. Radio programming and television programming were not all that different at this time: DJs would run shows for 5 hours, and the shows were almost entirely ad-libbed. The host even read the commercials, improvising on the spot on the air. In 1949, Al Jarvis saw Betty on another show and invited her to cohost Hollywood on Television, a five-and-half hour program. They performed six days a week. Betty called her experiences on these shows “television college.” Betty inherited the host slot on the show in 1952 and was nominated for her first Emmy. “We were all more or less winging what we were doing,” she said of her 5-hour performances.

In

that same year, White co-founded Bandy Productions with writer George Tibbles (co-writer of the Woody Woodpecker Song) and producer Don Fedderson (who would go on to create TV shows like Family Affair and My Three Sons). The three writers began to craft shows based on characters Betty had created for Hollywood on Television. They eventually came up with Life with Elizabeth, starring Betty as the lead. She would go on to win a regional Emmy for the role later that year. Life with Elizabeth was nationally syndicated from 1953 through 1955. White was one of the only women in television with absolute creative control, both in front of and behind the camera. Life with Elizabeth was original and off-beat, especially because it centered on an unmarried 28-year-old who still lived with her parents. Betty said that usually the plot points were based on real-life scenarios the actors on the show had experienced and that they never strived for relevance. She may not have been thought of as “photogenic” when she was first looking for television jobs, but when Betty White arrived on the national television scene, it was clear that her originality and her dedication to being herself were what kept people coming back to her.

In the 1960s, Betty White stepped into her second television phase, where she would become “the First Lady of Gameshows.”

By now, she was a regular on The Tonight Show and a staple of network TV. Betty began her gameshow era as a frequent celebrity guest on Password, where she met her husband, the host, Allen Ludden. She also appeared regularly on What’s My Line?, Match

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Game, To Tell the Truth, and many more. In 1962, Betty starred in her first feature film as the fictional Kansas Senator Elizabeth Ames Adams, a character inspired by Margaret Chase Smith, the first woman to serve in both US Congressional Houses, a fitting role for a woman who was so instrumental in the early days of television production.

It wasn’t until the 1970s that Betty truly became a household name, thanks to her unforgettable portrayal of the naive but lovable Sue Ann Nivens on The Mary Tyler Moore Show. She appeared as a guest on the show as Sue Ann several times between 1973 and 1974 before she was brought on as a regular character. While Betty considers the role a highlight of her career, she always maintained that the character was quite the opposite of her actual personality: ‘man-hungry’ and ‘sickly sweet.’ During this time, Betty became the annual host of the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade on CBS after a long stint hosting the Parade of the Roses on NBC. In 1977, Betty was given her own show, The Betty White Show, which ran up against Monday Night Football and was canceled after one season.

At the first height of her career in the 70s and 80s, Betty began to use her platform to speak out about issues that were important to her. She became one of the first celebrities to publicly support the gay rights movement, lending her voice to a number of organizations and speaking out against discrimination and hate speech. She also became involved in the animal welfare movement, serving as a board member for the Morris Animal Foundation and later co-founding the Los Angeles Zoo Commission. In the1980s, Betty’s activism truly took off. In 1985, she became a trustee of the Greater Los Angeles Zoo Association, a position she held for more than two decades. She worked tirelessly to improve conditions for the animals at the zoo and helped to raise millions of dollars for its conservation and education programs. Betty also became a vocal advocate for the protection of wilderness areas and endangered species. She served on the board of directors for the Trust for Public Land, a nonprofit organization dedicated to preserving natural and cultural resources, and was a longtime supporter of the Jane Goodall Institute and its efforts to protect chimpanzees and their habitats. Betty White was a

71 Allen Ellsworth Ludden was an American television personality, actor, singer, emcee, and game show host. He was most well known for hosting both the daytime and prime time versions of Password on CBS and ABC between 1961 and 1975. His opening TV catch phrase, “Hi doll,” was directed toward Tess White, mother of his wife, actress and television personality Betty White. © SUPPLIED BY GLOBE PHOTOS, INC/GLOBE PHOTOS/ZUMAPRESS.COM / ALAMY STOCK PHOTO

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through-and-through animal lover. Throughout her life, she worked tirelessly to promote responsible pet ownership and the humane treatment of animals. She served as a board member for the Morris Animal Foundation, a nonprofit organization dedicated to improving animal health, and was a vocal supporter of the American Humane Association. In 2010, Betty became a spokesperson for the “Protect Our Defenders” campaign, which seeks to end sexual assault and harassment in the military. She appeared in a series of public service announcements and spoke out about the need for better protection for service members who are victims of sexual assault. Her efforts helped to raise awareness of this critical issue and led to changes in the way the military handles cases of sexual assault and harassment.

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hile Betty was working on The Mary Tyler Moore Show, she went back to her variety show roots on The Carol Burnet Show, and her character, Ellen Harper, from show-within-ashow sketches called The Family, which spun off into Mama’s Family, starring Vicki Lawrence, along with future The Golden Girls co-star Rue McClanahan. After Mama’s Family was canceled, Betty was cast in Golden Girls. The producers of the show originally had Betty in mind to play Blanche, Rue McClanahan’s character, but the director decided that it might be better to switch McClanahan’s and Betty’s roles, so Betty wouldn’t end up playing a character that was so very similar to her role on Mary Tyler Moore. Betty says the character of Rose did not immediately come to her, but that the director, Jay Sandrich, explained Rose to her “in two lines.” “She turned out to be terminally naive,” said Betty in an Archive of American Television interview. “If you said you were so hungry you could eat a horse, she’d call the ASPCA.” Betty said Rose’s “total innocence . . . gave you such a yardstick” in terms of directions to take the character. The show premiered in 1985 and took off and is still iconic

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Betty White poses at Betty White fashion shoot for The Lifeline Program at Smashbox Bigbox on May 9, 2012 in Culver City, California.

PHOTOGRAPH BY BRIAN TO/GETTY IMAGES FOR THE LIFELINE PROGRAM / GETTYIMAGES.COM

PHOTOGRAPH BY RICK FLOYD/NBCU PHOTO BANK/NBCUNIVERSAL VIA GETTY IMAGES VIA GETTY IMAGES

Betty White’s Off Their Rockers is an American comedy television series launched in 2012, that broadcast on NBC for its first two seasons and Lifetime for its third. The series is hosted by Betty White, and is based on the Belgian television format Benidorm Bastards.

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today. Betty said that more than half of their fan mail came from young people, despite the show being about four women over 50. Betty won an Emmy for her portrayal of Rose in the first year the show aired, and each of her co-stars would go on to win Emmys. The show ran until 1991. Betty always thought the show ended early, but after doing the show for so long, several of her co-stars were ready to move on. After a short-lived spin-off, The Golden Palace, Betty continued to work steadily in Hollywood, but her career took a significant dip after her boom in the 70s and 80s. She guest-starred on programs like Suddenly Susan, The Practice and Yes, Dear and she received Emmy nominations for each performance.

In 2006, Betty joined the soap opera The Bold and the Beautiful as the mother character for a few episodes, but worked less and less and focused mostly on her work in philanthropy. It wasn’t until the late 2000s that Betty began to experience the late-in-life career resurgence, at the age of 87, that would make her a cultural icon once again. It came with a small role in The Proposal as “Gammy,” the grandmother of leading man Ryan Reynolds, an Alaska native turned NYC executive assistant forced into a sham marriage to his Canadian boss, played by Sandra Bullock, to secure her green card. Betty and Sandra Bullock won a Teen Choice Award for “Best Movie Dance” in the iconic bachelorette party scene that culminates in a dancing scene in the Alaskan woods, and while the award is not as impressive as Betty’s eventual seven Emmys (five Primetime, two Daytime), it encapsulates what made Betty so popular in the film: her energy despite her age, and her willingness to be the goofy old lady with spunk and heart.

Shortly after her re-breakout role in The Proposal, Betty won Saturday Night Live’s “Anyone Can Host” contest. If anyone was still skeptical about her ability to keep up with the show’s fast-paced humor, Betty proved her critics

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Dresses are displayed during an auction preview of “Property from the Life and Career of Betty White” at Julien’s Auctions in Beverly Hills, California, April 5, 2022.

REUTERS / ALAMY STOCK PHOTO

wrong, delivering one of the most memorable hosting performances in Saturday Night Live history.

The show opened with a skit featuring Betty and several female cast members, including Tina Fey, Amy Poehler, and Maya Rudolph, singing a rap song called I’m Still Here, Bitches. The song poked fun at Betty’s age and her storied Hollywood career. The show also had a skit in which Betty played a dusty old grandmother who accidentally swears on a cooking show and another call back to her ‘man-hungry neighbor’ days as an old woman with a crush on a younger man.

Betty’s performance on Saturday Night Live was a revelation. It reminded audiences of just how talented she was and how much she had to offer, even at 87 years old. Her infectious spirit and positive attitude shone through in every skit, and she never missed a beat, even when the humor was risqué or the physical demands were challenging. It was a full-circle moment for Betty, who had started her career in live variety television back in 1952.

The episode was a ratings hit, and Betty’s performance was universally praised. It also earned her an Emmy Award nomination for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series, which she went on to win. Betty White and Jean Smart are the only two women to earn Emmy wins in all three comedy categories. The skits and sketches from the show continue to be widely shared and watched on social media, a testament to Betty’s enduring popularity and talent.

Betty’s Saturday Night Live appearance was a turning point in her career. It introduced her to a whole new generation of fans, and she emerged into the 2010s as funny and relevant as ever.

Shortly after her Saturday Night Live appearance, Betty was offered a role on the hit TV series Hot in Cleveland. She was originally booked for only the pilot episode but stayed for the whole season.

The show premiered in 2010 and quickly became a smash hit. Hot in Cleveland plays to Betty’s strengths, and follows a group of women who relocate to Cleveland to start over, a perfect fit for Betty. Her character, Elka Ostrovsky, was sassy and sharp-tongued. Her chemistry with her costars was undeniable, and the show’s writers quickly realized that they had struck gold with Betty.

Despite being in her 90s at the time, Betty never let her age get in the way of her work. She was always quick with a joke and never hesitated to throw herself into a scene.

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etty worked steadily through the 2010s. In 2012 she won a Grammy Award for the audiobook recording of her bestseller If You Ask Me (And Of Course You Won’t). She returned to SNL in 2015 and kissed superstar Bradley Cooper live on TV. On August 18, 2018, a PBS documentary called Betty White: First Lady of Television aired to celebrate her contributions to TV and film. The feature had been filmed over ten years and was comprised of footage of Betty, interviews with family and friends, and archived footage from Betty’s long career. In 2019, White voiced Bitey White in Pixar’s Toy Story 4, a stuffed tiger named after her. She shared the scene with animals voiced by old friends Carol Burnett, Carl Reiner, and Mel Brooks. “It was wonderful the way they incorporated our names into the characters,” she said in an interview. “And I’m a sucker for animals, so the tiger was perfect!”

In the years leading up to her passing on December 31, 2021, Betty remained as active and involved in the entertainment industry as ever. She continued to make occasional television appearances, including a guest spot on the hit sitcom “Young Sheldon” in 2019. Despite her advanced age, Betty remained sharp and witty until the very end. She continued to make public appearances, including at the 2020 Emmy Awards, where she presented an award from her home in Los Angeles. Betty passed away at the age of 99, just a few months shy of her 100th birthday. Her death was a shock to fans around the world, who had grown to love and admire her over the course of her long and illustrious career.

Throughout her life, Betty was beloved for her infectious personality and her ability to make people laugh. Her death was a tremendous loss for her fans and for the entertainment industry as a whole, but her legacy will live on through her work and the countless lives she touched over the course of her remarkable career. Betty White’s remarkable longevity as a comedian and actress comes down to her kindness, her work ethic, and a willingness from even the very beginning of her career to do “just about anything.” Betty was game for it all and brought joy, passion, and a can-do energy to every set she stepped on in her incredible career. ■

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78 Betty White poses for a publicity photo for Season 2 of Off Their Rockers.

PHOTOGRAPH BY RICK FLOYD/NBCU PHOTO BANK/NBCUNIVERSAL VIA GETTY IMAGES VIA GETTY IMAGES

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81 Love Under a Blue Sky It was a wedding like no other—a sublime spectacle, a fairytale unfolding in real time or, as Humphrey Bogart famously said in The Maltese Falcon, “the stuff that dreams are made of.” Rhonda Wilkins Fischer and Cliff Fischer got married—again—having wed November 25, 2019 in Dallas. They came to the Greek island of Santorini for the longawaited celebration. And this time, it was pure enchantment.

Photography by Karen Kaper

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The Dress

THE BODICE OF THE WEDDING GOWN WAS DRAPED LIKE A DORIC CHITON ON A GRECIAN STATUE. Bare-backed and hooded from the crown of her head to her waist, the draped shawl was made of hand-embroidered silk crepe and embellished with sparkling crystals set in an art deco pattern. In stark contrast, the Victorian-inspired hoop skirt (made of canning bones wrapped in crystal-embellished white satin) mushroomed from her slender waist, presenting an hourglass effect as the bride’s slender, tanned legs peaked through the open basketweave.

GOWN CREATED BY STEPHANE ROLLAND PARIS HAUTE COUTURE, WWW.STEPHANEROLLAND.COM

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The Arrival

Guests arrived Friday to Santorini, the largest island in the Cyclades archipelago, located 120 miles southeast of the mainland in the Aegean Sea. Shown to their rooms at the Canaves Oia Epitome boutique hotel, refreshed and readied for the evening, they gathered for classic cocktails in the courtyard while a pair of mermaids frolicking in the pool and a squad of synchronized swimmers performed.

A roving magician wended his way through the gathering, performing his tricks. Flair bartenders flipped bottles and mixed specialty drinks. Champagne flowed. Dinner was served. There was live music and dancing and singing and laughter and it went on till the wee hours— when all retired and slept the sleep of babes.

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The Scene is Set

THE FLOWERS WERE WHITE—white garden roses, white lisianthus, white freesia and peonies; white ranunculus, delphinium, white tulips and nigella sweet pea; white veronica, stephanotis, their delicate perfume scenting the warm, Aegean air. Bowers of flower-dappled greens surrounded a mirrored walkway that led to the steps of an outdoor altar befitting Aphrodite, the Greek Goddess of Love and Beauty.

Limestone urns, poised on tall columns, held towering arrangements, and a sweeping garland divided a 100-foot-long banquet table like the white centerline of a highway.

Everyone took their seats. It was time.

Then, as if one voice, the crowd gasped as all eyes turned on the radiant bride as she made a breathtaking solo entrance down the colonnade. The bold, white crinoline gown, made specially, was set off by an unstructured, rhinestone-embellished shawl that crowned her head and gracefully enfolded her bare sun-kissed arms and plunging decolletage. Poised and solemn, she made her way to the mirrored walkway, where she was handed a classic round, hand-tied bouquet and met her groom.

Arm-in-arm they followed a pair of smiling flower girls, each holding an end of a floral swag, Rhonda and Cliff ascended the steps to the outdoor altar.

Once again, they exchanged their vows. Once again, the pledged their love. Once again, they were pronounced husband and wife, witnessed by cherished friends and family—and under the sight of God.

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The Reception

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Then there was applause and laughter. Guests, each dressed in the requested white, moved to the courtyard lit with four-thousand candles. A violinist in a gown with a 20-foot-long train, played as guests took their seats on either side of the banquet table, Fortissimo, the world-famous female electric string quartet, played. Then acclaimed tenor Jorge Castro sang. And they feasted till fireworks lit the night sky and the cake was cut. The London Essentials, an international, five-member, acoustic party band, played. Then English 80s and 90s pop, performed by the E-Majore Band, rocked and rolled into the small hours.

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The Departure

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Exhausted from the sun, the joy, and the merriment, guests finally retired to their rooms, where little before-bedtime cakes awaited. They awoke Sunday morning to the strains of the Fortissimo violinists and found carts poised outside their rooms with a selection of fresh-squeezed juices and specialty breakfast bites. Later, they would enjoy a luscious luncheon buffet. It was coming on noon when everyone gathered to bid farewell to Rhonda and Cliff. Under a shower of tossed rose petals, they drove off in a 1957 Porsche Speedster 356 convertible, trimmed with a festoon of white flowers, to honeymoon on a private yacht—and continue their happily ever after for the rest of their lives.

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THE CURTAIN GOES UP ON A BROADWAY SHOW and all eyes are on the stars but what you don’t see is the talent, skills, efforts, and energy of the many people behind the scene. And so it was with Rhonda and Cliff Fishcer’s wedding at the Canaves Oia Epitome Hotel on the Greek island of Santorini. Like stage direction, the complete event design, décor, and wedding planning and production was directed by two international stars: celebrated floral designer and event planner Barbara Hamilton of The Ociana Group, Ltd., and Paul Klunder of Paul Klunder Design, the internationally renowned Belgian floral and garden designer whose mantra is “An event of beauty is a joy forever.”

BARBARA HAMILTON, OCIANA GROUP, OCIANA@EARTHLINK.NET • PAUL KLUNDER, PAUL KLUNDER DESIGN PAUL@ PAULKLUNDER.COM • WEDDING DRESS: MAISON STEPHANE ROLLAND STEPHANEROLLAND.COM • RHONDA’S GOING-AWAY OUTFIT WAS BY CLAUDIA GIRALDO BRIDAL OF CAPE CORAL, FLORIDA. CLAUDIAGIRALDOBRIDAL.COM • PERSONALIZED ACCESSORIES BY MARYLIN CAVE BRADLEY, MARYLINBRADLEY80@GMAIL.COM • CUSTOM CALLIGRAPHY

BY EMILIME DESIGNS, EMILIMEDESIGNS.COM • ENTERTAINMENT: THE LONDON ESSENTIALS THELONDONESSENTIALS. COM • PORSCHE 1957 SPEEDSTER 356 GETAWAY CAR CONCIERGE BY VICTORIA• CONCIERGEBYVICTORIA.COM • PHOTOGRAPHY BY KAREN KAPER, KARENKAPER.COM

The Art, History, and Romance of Greece

by Kate McMullen

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PHOTOGRAPH BY VIACHESLAV LOPATIN / SHUTTERSTOCK.COM

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Ancient Greek relief of woman on marble wall—beautiful art and history of old Greece.

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Opposite: The Acropolis of Athens is an ancient citadel located on a rocky outcrop above the city of Athens and contains the remains of several ancient buildings of great architectural and historical significance, the most famous being the Parthenon. PHOTOGRAPH BY ALEX AZABACHE / UNSPLASH.COM Below: View from ruins of a church in Monolithos castle, Rhodes island, Greece. PHOTOGRAPH BY TOMASZ CZAJKOWSKI / SHUTTERSTOCK.COM

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ncient Greek culture is the foundation of so many elements of our lives today that counting the ways quickly becomes a monumental task. Across incredibly popular films like Wonder Woman, books like the Percy Jackson series, novels like Circe by Madeline Miller, or the young adult hit Lore by Alexandra Bracken (and this is just to name a few), writers and creators are still pulling from some of the oldest source material of storytelling and art that exist on this planet.

Of course, there is a good reason for this: Ancient Greece is considered to be the cradle of Western civilization and was home to some of the most influential thinkers, artists, and writers of the ancient world. The history, art, and romance of Greece reverberates through Western civilization to this day. Let’s take a little tour through the history of Greek art and culture and consider the ways we are still telling the same human stories.

The earliest known civilization in Greece was the Minoan civilization, which arose on the island of Crete around 2600 BCE. The Minoans were known for their advanced art, architecture, and writing system, and they traded extensively throughout the eastern Mediterranean. Early Greek art was heavily influenced by the styles of Egyptian and Near Eastern artists (because even the Greeks were learning from someone else). The Greeks derived much of their artistic techniques, like stone carving and metalworking, from ancient Egypt. The earliest Greek pottery was decorated with simple geometric patterns.

The Mycenaean civilization emerged on the mainland of Greece around 1600 BCE and lasted until around 1100 BCE. (Remember, the numbers go backward this far back in our history!) The Mycenaeans were known for their impressive palaces and fortifications, as well as their skill in metalworking. After

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Millions of tourists each year flock to the picturesque island of Santorini. Historical as it is beautiful, the island’s geomorphology is a natural wonder and was formed by a massive volcanic eruption, thousands of years ago. PHOTOGRAPH BY MARGARET BARLEY / UNSPLASH.COM

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the collapse of the Mycenaean civilization, Greece entered a period of relative darkness known as the Greek Dark Ages. It was during this time that the epic poems of Homer, the Iliad and the Odyssey, were composed, providing a glimpse into the heroic culture of ancient Greece.

he light gets turned back on over the Dark Ages around the 8th century BCE, and the growth out of this period culminated in the rise of the city-states of Athens and Sparta. Athens became a center of culture and philosophy, while Sparta was known for its militarism and discipline. For the next 300 years, known as the Archaic period, Greek art became more realistic and lifelike, and artists developed techniques to show the human body in motion and in greater detail. Some of the painting techniques developed in Greece would go on to influence art across Western history. The use of perspective in Greek painting was revolutionary for its time, and artists such as Leonardo da Vinci and Raphael later used this technique to create realistic and lifelike depictions of the world around them.

Greek artists also developed various painting techniques, such as encaustic, fresco, and tempera painting. These techniques were later adapted and refined by artists throughout history, including the Renaissance masters. Greek painters used a limited palette of colors, often using earth tones and bright blues and greens. This simplicity and harmony of color has inspired artists throughout history, from the Renaissance to modern times.

This swell of production in art and other cultural touchstones ushered in the Classical period of Greek history, which lasted from the 5th to the 4th century BCE. The Classical period is widely considered to be the height of ancient Greek civilization. Classic Greece saw the development of some of the most famous works of Greek art, including the Parthenon sculptures and frieze, which shows a procession of Athenians celebrating a religious festival and young couples walking arm in arm, and the famous Venus de Milo.

The Venus de Milo, a sculpture of the goddess Aphrodite, was created sometime between 130 and 100 BCE. The sculpture was discovered on the Greek island of Milos in 1820, and the fascination with the work of art has not ceased since it was found. At the time it was sculpted, the Venus de Milo was likely displayed in a sanctuary or temple dedicated to Aphrodite, the goddess of love, beauty, and fertility. Perhaps young women would have made offerings of respect and devotion to the deity, roses, incense, oils, perfumes, or jewelry, as complex as animal sacrifice or as common as a prayer. Venus de Milo was likely created by a master sculptor in the Hellenistic period, during a time when Greek art was characterized by a high level of technical skill, realism, and emotional intensity. The Venus de Milo became a major attraction for visitors to the Louvre Museum in Paris, where it remains on display today. Its iconic beauty and serene expression have made it a symbol of classical art and beauty, and it has been reproduced in countless works of art, from paintings to sculptures to fashion. It has also been referenced in popular culture: in

Opposite: “La Parisienne” fresco from Minoan Palace of Knossos in Heraklion Archaeological Museum in Crete. It is one of the greatest museums in Greece and the best in the world for Minoan art, as it contains by far the most important and complete collection of artifacts of the Minoan civilization of Crete.

PHOTOGRAPH BY ANNA PAKUTINA / SHUTTERSTOCK.COM • Above: A collection of antique greek statues displayed in the halls of Archeology Museum. Turkey, Antalya.

PHOTOGRAPH BY BEARFOTOS / SHUTTERSTOCK.COM

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Famous for their rich ancient culture, Greece is one such place that has inspired modern-day fashion. From Chanel to Gucci, the impact of Greek design can be seen throughout the visual language of contemporary fashion. PHOTOGRAPH BY LOOK STUDIO / SHUTTERSTOCK.COM

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Opposite: The view from above Chora or Hora, the capital town of Ios Island in Greece and is the largest settlement. PHOTOGRAPH BY DESPINA GALANI / UNSPLASH.COM Below: Magnificent Cape Drastis is the northwesternmost point of Corfu island, Greece. PHOTOGRAPH BY PROSLGN / SHUTTERSTOCK.COM

the film The Spy Who Loved Me it is featured in the villain’s lair. During the fascist regime in Italy, the Venus de Milo was often used as a symbol of beauty and perfection, emphasizing the ideal of the perfect Italian woman.

Speaking of politics, Athens became a democracy during the Classical period. This is generally considered to be the first democratic society in our history, in which all male citizens over the age of 18 (this excludes, of course, women, slaves, and those born outside of Greece) had the right to vote and participate in the decision-making process through assemblies and other democratic institutions. Ancient Athens was a city-state, with a relatively small population, which made direct democracy, or the direct voting participation of every citizen that met that long list of criteria, more feasible.

Athenians produced some of the greatest works of art, literature, and philosophy in history. The philosopher Socrates, the playwrights Sophocles and Euripides, and the historian Herodotus were all active during this period. The influence of Greek theatre reverberates in our own culture today. Of course, we still love retelling stories in ancient Greek myth, reviving plays like Lysistrata, or revisiting the tragedy of Achilles in Troy, but there is a fundamental Greek influence at the center of almost all Western theatre, on the stage and on the screen. Take a close look at another influential playwright, the great William Shakespeare, and you’ll see he built on quite a few ideas from Classical Greek theatre.

If you’re familiar with Shakespeare even a little bit, you’ll recognize his use of the three-act structure. This structure, which was developed by the ancient Greek playwrights, involved a setup, a confrontation, and a resolution. Shakespeare used this structure in many of his plays, including Romeo and Juliet and Hamlet, two plays to which quick modern storytelling owes quite a lot (think anything from West Side Story to The Lion King).

In Greek theatre, actors wore masks to represent different characters and to amplify their voices. This allowed them to convey complex emotions and ideas to the audience. Shakespeare used this technique in his plays allowing for mistaken identities and other patented Shakespearean plot twists. The ancient Greeks were known for their poetic language and the use of metaphors, which Shakespeare adopted in his work. Plenty of Shakespeare’s characters were influenced by Greek tragic heroes, who were complex and flawed and thus relatable to audiences. Of course, this is what audiences of film, theatre, and television are looking for in a character to this day. Some of our iconic figures of dramatic storytelling (Michael Corleone, Don Draper, Walter White, or Clarice Starling, Olivia Pope, Daenerys Targaryen, if you prefer) owe their depth and their conflicted natures to Shakespearean characters, influenced by the rich and complex textures of ancient Greek theatre.

Classical Greek architecture also had a significant influence on modern architecture. Many of the principles and styles used in ancient Greek architecture are still applied today in contemporary building designs. One of the most distinctive features of Greek architecture is the use of columns. Greek architects used different types of columns, such as Doric, Ionic, and Corinthian, to create structural support and aesthetic beauty in their buildings. Today, columns are still used in modern architecture to create a sense of grandeur and elegance. Take a stroll down Main Street and look up at the Masonic Temple, for example, or even take a stroll through your neighborhood, and you’re bound to see columns. Greek architects also believed in the importance of symmetry and proportion in their designs. They used mathematical principles to ensure that their buildings had perfect proportions and were pleasing to the eye. This idea of symmetry and proportion has been carried on to modern architecture.

Architects use mathematical principles and technology to create designs that are visually appealing and structurally sound to this day. Pediments and friezes are ornamental features that were often used in Greek architecture. These decorative elements were used to add visual interest and create a

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Greece’s geography and climate in particular provide ideal conditions for the cultivation of olive trees. Greek Olives are an important part of Greek cuisine and Greek culture. Olives are found in Greek salad and in countless other Greek dishes.

The Greek town of Kalamata is home to the best olive type in the world, the ‘Kalamata Olives’ or ‘Calamon Olives’.

PHOTOGRAPH BY FOTYSTORY.PL / SHUTTERSTOCK.COM

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Greece is one of the most romantic countries on earth. It’s scenic beaches, beautiful countryside and quaint villiages make it a honeymoon hotspot for a reason.

BELOW LEFT: PHOTOGRAPH BY DARIA NEPRIAKHINA / UNSPLASH.COM • BELOW: PHOTOGRAPH BY YIANNISSCHEIDT / SHUTTERSTOCK.COM • OPPOSITE: PHOTOGRAPH BY VERONIKA JORJOBERT / UNSPLASH.COM

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sense of harmony and balance. Today, pediments and friezes are still used in modern architecture, particularly in neoclassical designs. Greek architects used marble and stone to craft their impressive buildings, which were known for their durability and beauty. Today, modern architects still use these materials to create elegant and durable buildings that stand the test of time.

eanwhile, back in the 4th century, Greece’s height of culture and art ended when it is conquered by the Macedonian king Philip II, and eventually by his son Alexander the Great, who expanded Greek influence throughout the known world. After Alexander died in 323 BCE, Greece was ruled by a series of Hellenistic kingdoms, including the Ptolemaic dynasty in Egypt and the Seleucid Empire in Persia.

The Ptolemaic dynasty was a Greek dynasty that ruled over Egypt from 305 BCE to 30 BCE. While their rule did not directly influence Greece itself, they did have a significant impact on the broader Hellenistic world, including parts of the Mediterranean and the Middle East. The Ptolemies founded the Library of Alexandria, which was one of the largest and most important libraries in the ancient world. The library was a center of learning and scholarship, and its collection of texts influenced later generations of scholars and thinkers. The Ptolemies were patrons of the arts, and their rule saw the construction of many impressive monuments and buildings, including the Lighthouse of Alexandria, one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. Their influence on art and architecture can be seen in later works, including neoclassical buildings and sculptures. In the Hellenistic period, Greek art became more emotional and expressive, and romantic themes became even more prominent. One famous example is the sculpture of Eros and Psyche, which depicts the god of love and his mortal lover in a tender embrace.

Another famous example is the sculpture of the Kiss of Judas, which shows Judas betraying Jesus with a kiss. While not a romantic scene in the traditional sense, the intensity of the emotions depicted in the sculpture has led many to interpret it as a portrayal of forbidden love.

In 146 BCE, Greece was conquered by the Roman Empire, and it became a province of Rome.

Greek culture and language continued to have a major impact on the Roman Empire, and many of the greatest works of Roman literature, such as the epic poem The Aeneid, were heavily influenced by Greek models. Already, Greece was inspiring huge cultural systems like the Roman Empire.

Greece remained under Roman rule until the 4th century CE, when it became part of the Byzantine Empire based in Constantinople (of course, we call it Istanbul today), which continued to be a major center of Greek culture and civilization until its collapse in the 1400s. In modern times, Greece has experienced a series of political upheavals, including a war of independence against the Ottoman Empire in the early 19th century and a military dictatorship in the late 20th century.

Today, Greece is a democratic republic and a member of the European Union, and while it has taken a backseat in the landscape of global politics compared to its ancient heights, Greek culture and history continue to be celebrated and studied around the world. ■

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Crete, the largest island in Greece, is a Mediterranean jewel with a diverse and vibrant land packed with ancient ruins, buzzing cities, pastoral masterpieces and breathtaking beaches.

PHOTOGRAPH BY IRINA KORSHUNOVA / SHUTTERSTOCK.COM

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Effortless confidence and timeless beauty is at the essence of Dana Harel’s ulra romantic La Femme collection. ■

by Samantha Paige

Adi

Long sleeve, off-the-shoulder Chantilly lace gown with fitted silhouette and inner corset in the bodice.

PHOTOGRAPHER @DUDIHASSON • HAIR AND MAKEUP @DANA_KFIR • MODEL @DANIELLAHALFON ARTIST @ORBOGENGURI

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A-line gown featuring a sweetheart neckline and V-neck overlay with cinched waist and tulle silk organza.

PHOTOGRAPHER @DUDIHASSON • HAIR AND MAKEUP @DANA_KFIR MODEL @DANIELLAHALFON • ARTIST @ORBOGENGURI

Jenna

Opposite page: Sensuous A-line silk gown featuring a draped skirt, cateye neckline, corset bodice, open back, and thin-delicate straps.

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Long sleeve, off-the-shoulder Chantilly lace gown with fitted silhouette and inner corset in the bodice.

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Isabella

Tulle embroidered column gown with pearls, crystals, and sequin embroidery.

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Rome

Opposite page: Strapless Mikado silk A-line gown with a thigh high slit with sweetheart draped corset.

PHOTOGRAPHER @DUDIHASSON • HAIR AND MAKEUP @DANA_KFIR • MODEL @DANIELLAHALFON ARTIST @ORBOGENGURI

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Belle

Strapless tulle A-line ballgown with three-dimensional embroidery on the bodice.

PHOTOGRAPHER @DUDIHASSON • HAIR AND MAKEUP @DANA_KFIR • MODEL @DANIELLAHALFON ARTIST @ORBOGENGURI

THE WOMEN WHO INSPIRE US INTERVIEWS

BY KAREN FLOYD

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Women Inspiring Women . . .

* Copy edited for length and clarity. * Interview videos are available to watch at elysianwomen.com

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LYSIAN was the result of Karen Floyd’s personal quest to tell and listen to stories about exceptional women.

On the surface, Floyd’s interviews are about women achieving, overcoming, persevering and enduring. Their authentic journeys are captured through her anecdotal interviews.

Floyd asks, “Timing, virtue, luck, funding, perseverance, faith, endurance or passion?” The answer, she concludes, “is as unique as the stories themselves.”

“There is no “secret sauce” to success nor one roadmap to achievement.” In many cases, she emphasizes, “their journey was lonely . . . yet hardship created inner strength, clarity and enlightenment.”

Floyd maintains, “With age and time, the Inspiring Women collectively recognize and identify a universal goal: making the next chapter of their lives more meaningful.”

It is that purposeful determination to give back, that Floyd mirrors the women she interviews, and shares their inspiring stories with the ELYSIAN reader.

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Author Annabel Monaghan signing copies of her essay collection Does This Volvo Make My Butt Look Big? at the annual benefit for The School of The Holy Child in Westchester, New York, where she was the keynote speaker.

annabel Interview Date: March 12th, 2023

Writing was a childhood dream for ANNABEL MONAGHAN, one that was pushed aside by a financial career and raising a family. After a series of surgeries, that long-dormant spark ignited into a powerful flame, resulting in her first adult novel, Nora Goes Off Script, in 2022.

Always one for a happy ending, Annabel became self-actualized later in life, as she learned about herself while developing characters for her books. A true romantic—she still has every love letter she’s ever received—Annabel also uses her craft to explore feelings of anticipation and yearning. Writing, after all, is a window into your true self . . . and Annabel’s is full of warmth, humor, and love. Her next book, Same Time Next Summer, debuts in June 2023.

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You left sunny California to attend Duke University? What prompted that cross-country?

When I was 17 years old, my main goal was to move away from home. It was time and I wanted to have a little bit of space.

Duke has a great English department, which was what I wanted to study. Duke accepted me, which was also a big and deciding factor. It is a wonderful school, and I had a great experience there.

How old were you when you married?

I was twenty-six. He was thirty.

Where did you meet?

We met in business school where we were in the same class.

Tell me about your experience at the Wharton School of Business.

Business school is very fun, though it certainly does not play into my skill set. I am more of a “letter” person than a “number” person.

Business school is also very collaborative. Because you work in teams, it is very social. Imagine all these adults who have returned to school and think they are college kids, again. We had a great time.

Did you anticipate moving to New York from business school, and what did you do in NYC? Yes, because I was studying finance, and NYC is the hub of the financial job market. I worked in investment banking which does not make any sense. When I was a senior in college it occurred to me, I could not get a job being a novelist, even though I had prepared my whole life to be a writer and taken all the requisite writing classes to realize that dream. In business school, my plan was to move to New York City where all my friends were working.

I accepted a position at Goldman Sachs. Though the original plan was that I would work during the day and write at night.

How did that work for you?

Goldman Sachs was not a job where you did anything else at night. I worked there for a couple of years and gave up on writing.

I saw it as a childhood dream that would never happen. So, at that point in time, my plan did not work out.

Back to the idea of your childhood dream, when did you realize you wanted to be a writer?

I was six. Writing comes more from here (points to heart) than it

Opposite page: Annabel Monaghan at the Quogue, New York Library celebrating Nora Goes Off Script with Cristina Alger.

does from here (points to head). It was something I always wanted to do. Growing up I would write stories to cope and to reframe what I saw happening around me. I wanted to retell the stories.

When you are young, you should pay attention to what grabs your attention. While I spaced out in chemistry class, in English class I was very present, so I always knew that was where I belonged.

Tell me about your childhood.

It is funny how much you reveal about yourself when you write a novel. This is just a caution to everyone who decides to write a novel. You reveal a lot about yourself to yourself.

When I was finished with the full draft of Nora Goes Off Script, I realized that Nora’s 10-year-old son Arthur really had the same childhood that I had. We shared similar worries; he was concerned about his family and he thought maybe he could fix their issues. When I finished writing the story I thought, oh, that happened to me? Essentially, I was experiencing something I had forgotten.

You are married and yet Nora, the book’s protagonist, has a different experience?

Yes, I have been happily married for 27 years. I was raised by a single mother, and I gave the character Nora in this book quite a bit of my mother’s qualities, though my mother was not practical in the way Nora is. They share the joy of being single and the joy of being with their children and having full control over what was happening in the family.

How many siblings do you have?

I have an older sister and I had an older brother who is deceased. He was disabled and was on a tremendous amount of medication for a long time.

Was he born with special needs?

No, he was in a car accident when he was 16 and had a head injury. He was 10 years older.

ELYSIAN Publisher Karen Floyd interviews “Inspiring Woman” Annabel Monaghan.

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Which also impacted you…

Oh, for sure.

It made you more? Fill in the blank.

It made me more compassionate to strangers. When I am out somewhere, and if I see somebody approaching me who is different, I generally will move more toward that person. My brother was that person in his community, he was off. I think it makes you live a little more in the gray area than the black and white.

You talk a lot about living in the gray area. This idea of nuance is a consistent theme even in your writing Nora Goes Off Script. Before that, you wrote for adolescents. Why? I think that was the best I could do at the time. As I said, you reveal a lot about yourself when writing those novels. I was fully

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prepared to reveal to the world my mindset when I was 17 years old. It might be very low stakes but who cares? It wasn’t until I was older that I became comfortable talking about things that matter to me. Marriage, love, raising a family, my current life.

In 2019 you were binge-watching the Hallmark channels because you were in bed from a series of women’s surgeries. I am curious about how long that endured.

And then there was this epiphany . . . like a volcano, forcing you to release a pressure of sorts . . . which resulted in your writing Nora Goes Off Script.

I was in bed for three weeks watching the Hallmark channel. Yes. I feel that way all the time. I have a thousand things that rattle around in my brain. They will keep rattling until I open my laptop and get them out. Watching the Hallmark channel was just something that tickled me and then tickled me some more. I couldn’t stop thinking

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ELYSIAN “Inspiring Woman” and celebrated author of Nora Goes Off Script, Annabel Monaghan at home, where she writes and works.

about what I watched, and I didn’t know what I was going to do about it, either. I wrote a short article in 2019 and I thought it was over. But it was not over, it continued nagging at me and turned into a novel.

What is that voice inside your soul that forces you to write?

I think it’s your spark, your truest self. Your soul knows there is something that it wants to say, and it looks for language to attach itself to, to get itself out.

Is this divinely inspired or from within?

I think it comes from the outside of us.

Do you ever repress ideas that want to come out?

No. You have a nonconventional approach to writing that is fascinating. How do you put together a novel like Nora Goes Off Script?

I do not put it together. I let it happen. For me, this story started with a character, Nora. I thought a lot about her, what kind of a person she would be, and what sort of a situation to put her in.

Wouldn’t it be fun to have a woman who was writing romantic Hallmark movies, who had never been in love? And wouldn’t it be fun if she really fell in love? I started writing the story and followed her journey. That is how I write. I don’t really have a plan except that at the end of the novel, is there a smile or a frown? Spoiler, my novels always end with a smile.

You almost reverse engineer . . .

Kind of, because once I get to the end of a first draft of a novel, I know who the characters are, and I understand their story. Then I go back to the beginning, and I make that story work.

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a

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I DO NOT PUT IT TOGETHER. I LET IT HAPPEN. FOR ME, THIS STORY STARTED WITH A CHARACTER, NORA. I THOUGHT A LOT ABOUT HER, WHAT KIND OF A PERSON SHE WOULD BE, AND WHAT SORT OF A SITUATION TO PUT HER IN. WOULDN’T IT BE FUN TO HAVE A WOMAN WHO WAS WRITING ROMANTIC HALLMARK MOVIES, WHO HAD NEVER BEEN IN LOVE? AND WOULDN’T IT BE FUN IF SHE REALLY FELL IN LOVE? I STARTED WRITING THE STORY AND FOLLOWED HER JOURNEY. THAT IS HOW I WRITE. I DON’T REALLY HAVE A PLAN EXCEPT THAT AT THE END OF THE NOVEL, IS THERE A SMILE OR A FROWN? SPOILER, MY NOVELS ALWAYS END WITH A SMILE. From six to age fifty-three years old, when you wrote this book, how did you repress this “urge” to write?

I was young . . . then I was working in banking . . . then I was at home with three children . . . I consistently thought about writing. But, when little children say, “I want to be an astronaut,” you think, isn’t that adorable, but it is a ridiculous dream because it rarely will happen for them. I thought it was one of those things. I thought it was dead. I really did. I did feel a certain amount of sadness around that.

What do aspiring writers ask you and do you explain what you experienced?

Young writers often ask, “What should I be doing now so that I can be writing in the future?” I tell them two things, not complicated. They need to write all the time. Writing is a muscle.

I currently write all the time. I am finishing another book right now, so I am in shape for writing. It is a little bit like running. You start and it is difficult, yet by the time you get going with it, you crave the experience. Write a lot. And you must read a lot.

Did you run today?

I did not run today because I did not have time. I am the saddest runner though, and I do not want to call myself a runner. My husband would watch this and laugh his head off.

I run a mile, I walk a mile, I run a mile. I am not a marathoner.

Running is part of your routine?

Yes, I get up very early. I write before things start to happen in the day. I have a child at home, so I make breakfast and I walk my dog. I either run, walk, or do yoga and then I come back and start writing.

Does exercise clear your mind, or does it allow you to create?

Both. I basically exercise every day for health reasons because sometimes you are sitting in a chair for six hours and don’t get up. I feel better knowing that I’ve moved my body and sweated a little bit in the morning.

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Your parents were divorced at how old and what did your father do?

I was five when they divorced. My father worked in technology; he was a computer guy.

Did your mother ever remarry?

My mother remarried when I was 12.

Did she ever love?

Oh, yes.

I ask this question because the character Nora falls in love and there is a happy ending. I was hoping the same was true for your mom.

My mom was the happiest person that I have ever known in my life.

Is happiness a choice?

My mother believed that happiness is the way you are wired.

It was her worldview. She would shine a happy light on things, and she told me, several times in her life, that she felt very grateful that she had that sort of wiring.

Do you have that wiring?

I do. I am very happy.

Can we revisit the question is happiness a decision?

I think happiness is a habit. Waking up in the morning, maybe your plate is too full and you feel a bit overwhelmed. You can say, wow, look at my full life, rather than I don’t want to do this.

Happiness is a habit. I am tired of people talking about practicing gratitude; it is overplayed. But the more you get into the habit of appreciating your life, the easier it is. I have a beautiful life.

What are you publishing next?

I have a book coming out June 6th published by Putnam Books called Same Time Next Summer.

Putnam was the same publisher as your last novel, Nora Goes Off Script?

Yes, and then I am finishing in the next two weeks a book that’s coming out in the summer of 2024. I am excited about that too.

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They are all love stories?

Yes, you can expect that from me no matter what kind of story I try to write. It always ends up being a love story.

You’re a romantic.

I am romantic. I am wildly in love. I really like to explore that human feeling of anticipation and yearning. I think it’s a wonderful human experience and I love to write about it.

Is your husband your soulmate?

For sure. My husband and I are not really that similar, but we are two peas in a pod, and we both really like being married to each other. So, we both show up for it. And that’s a lot of love, I think.

What makes you want to “show up” for marriage?

I like the feeling. I like maintaining and stoking that feeling. If you intend to spend the rest of your life with somebody, you might as well be happy.

Body, mind, spirit. All three.

All three.

Do you think that there would ever be anyone else that could have that connection to you?

I have never thought about that. I see the rest of my life playing out this way.

Do you share religions? And were your children raised in that religion?

We do, and our children were raised Catholic.

Do you find that children bring you together or pull you apart?

I have thought about this a lot. Having children with a person is two-pronged. On one hand, children can make you feel like you are part of a family because they are gluing the unit together.

On the other hand, parents have different ideas on raising their children which can be a primary sort of conflict in marriage.

Was that a conscious decision you and your husband made to “pause” your career to focus on raising your three children?

Maybe I forgot to say this, but I hated working in investment banking. I was a terrible investment banker.

Why do you say that?

I have no attention to detail. I don’t know why all the numbers need to add up all the time. I am just not that kind of a person. I did that job for several years and then when I became pregnant it was certainly a conscious decision to pivot and to focus on my kids.

What is your favorite thing to do as a married couple, together?

We like to take a lot of walks.

Because?

It is just fun, to talk about things, see things, experience things.

You are both intellectually compatible?

I would say so. I do not think either of us are intellectuals, but we are intellectually compatible.

Your husband’s profession is banking. Do you share your ideas with him when you’re writing?

No, I don’t like to talk about my ideas when I’m writing. If I told you what I’m writing right now, you might have an expression on your face that I would read to mean this is a terrible idea, and then I would quit. So, I wait until the storyline is developed to share it with anyone.

On one hand, you encourage people who want to write to read what others have written. Doesn’t that hamper or impact the clarity of their individual voice?

I do not think so. I think you need to hear a lot of different voices to develop your own voice. For example, when I was young, I read a lot of Margaret Atwood. I love Margaret Atwood, but hers is a voice in which I could never write. She uses too many big words. I would read Nora Ephron, and I would think that’s a voice that resonates with me. Reading others’ works helps a writer, I believe. You will never write in someone else’s voice, but you can hone in on what your own voice is.

What’s your legacy?

I hope my legacy is leaving behind humor and things that make people feel good. When I’m writing, I am feeling joyful, and I hope that the joy that I’m feeling comes across on the page. Since my first novel, the amount of feedback from people telling me that they were having a hard time and they read my book and they felt good for a little while, has been wonderful. That is my purpose.

Are all the books you write hopeful?

Yes. And that is a part of your spirit?

It probably is.

What triggered the last two novels?

The “spark” for the novel coming out next summer came from Philadelphia Story, a movie that I loved growing up.

Philadelphia Story is full of hope and is romantic…with sweetness, despite suffering . . . What is next?

The premise of my next book is a 30-year-old woman who is bringing her fiancé back to her parents’ beach house to look at a wedding venue. The love of her life is living next door and the storyline unravels what happened between their families and what has happened since.

I am glad your stories end happily.

Money back guaranteed that I will never write a story with a sad ending. I just would never be able to live with myself.

Would you ever write more “spicy” novels?

I would need to have a brain transplant. It honestly was so challenging for me to just write the silly little love scene paragraph that I have in Nora Goes Off Script. It took me three weeks to write it. “Spicy” is just not who I am and it’s not natural. I have read some of these books and they have a love scene that goes on for 12 pages. And I think this is just not me.

What will you be doing 15 years from now?

I would love to still be writing a book every year, talking with readers, which is invigorating.

Are you an introvert or an extrovert?

I am an introvert.

How do you get around being an introvert when promoting a book and doing the necessary touring?

It feels like you are going to a party where people are complimenting you the whole time. No one shows up at a book event to tell you, you stink. People show up to say, “I loved your book, I’m interested in your book, and tell me about the thing you created that matters more than anything to you.” It is an explosion of positive experiences. But, when the event is over, I go into a cave of darkness. I get very quiet.

The intensity of the public is something few understand. How long before you must go into “the cave of darkness” to replenish?

I am good for 90 minutes.

What piece of advice would you give a young woman, based on what you have experienced… that might be helpful in their life’s journey?

To know that you are not a joke . . . to take yourself seriously.

The life that you are having right now is not a silly thing and you have great opportunities ahead of yourself. For some women in their twenties, it is an overwhelming time, and you don’t know what’s ahead. Know that there is something wonderful ahead of you. Take your life seriously.

Did you take your life seriously?

I did. I always took myself a little bit too seriously. When I was younger, I did not know that I could self-actualize. At 53 years old now, I have come into myself, and it feels good. I think understanding one’s true self could happen at a much younger age.

I believe you are headed for something spectacular.

Thank you. I am so happy to hear that. ■

ELYSIAN “Inspiring Woman” Annabel Monaghan with her namesake and great niece Annabel.

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PHOTOGRAPH BY LYDIA MACLEAR

Interview Date: March 12th, 2023

DEBORAH GOODRICH ROYCE has led a life of very distinct chapters, the latest of which finds her writing identity thrillers. The former film and All My Children actress published her first book, Finding Mrs. Ford, in 2019, and her latest, Reef Road, hit the shelves in January.

Her turn from television and acting to writing still affords her the chance to slip into a character, finding pieces of herself to infuse into the cast. “It’s what actors do,” she says. “You are always looking for motivation.” Reef Road examines conferred trauma—trauma that is not our own, but still has a profound effect on our lives.

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There is a belief that “life is a circle.” From acting career to lauded author, where did that “career circle” begin?

When I first came to New York, it was to audition for a musical on Broadway. In college, I danced in a movie and a choreographer invited me to New York to audition.

The first threshold I crossed in New York City was that of the Minskoff Theater at 1515 Broadway. Let me say that I was not cast in that project. For all the young people out there, take heart. Forty years later, my publisher took a huge triple electronic billboard in Times Square (one that only the huge bestselling authors have) but because it was Covid it was suddenly affordable . . . My girlfriends and I drove into New York but because of Covid, everything was closed; Broadway, all the restaurants, everything... We were standing there like idiots looking around and we saw three billboards above the door of the Minskoff Theater at 1515 Broadway. It was an extraordinarily full circle. And I felt like if a little angel had said to me 40 years before, “Listen, darling, this isn’t going to work out, but don’t worry. Just keep working and stick around for a long while and your name and face will be up here, but in a different way,” I never ever would have believed it.

You have had a multifaceted career and a rich, complex life. I want to start at the beginning, how many brothers and sisters do you have?

That is seemingly straightforward but it is a complicated question. My mother was my father’s third wife, and my parents lost a son after I was born, in infancy. When I was about 11 or 12, I was playing outside with my cousin Vincent.

I must have done something particularly annoying because he said to me, “You have a brother you don’t know about”. And I said, “I do not.” He said, “Yes you do.” It turned out my dad had a son from his first marriage. When his ex-wife and son moved, they decided not to keep in contact. My parents, in the grand old tradition, decided to say nothing, as people did in those days. But life comes in a full circle, which may be the theme of the day. I am very close to my nephew and two nieces who are slightly older than I am by a few years.

Whatever complications existed between our parents are not ours, which is very heartening and beautiful.

Forgiveness is a theme of yours. As we age, the more I realize “the circle” has an element of karma as well.

Yes. I think we pick other souls, and we are working out complex heavy-duty issues, like that family drama. The strange healing that comes along is amazing.

Did your mother and father remain married?

They did. My father died when I was 19.

And did your mother ever remarry?

No. For more than 20 years she was with a man I really liked and thought of as a father-type figure, but she did not remarry.

You ostensibly grew up as an only child.

Exactly, for all intents and purposes, I had the experience of an only child, the good and the bad. An only child can be a lonely existence. I watch siblings very closely to see how they interact. I have two daughters and four stepchildren. I always feel a bit like Margaret Mead in a strange culture. I don’t fully understand the comfort level of siblings, the risks they can take with each other, and the fights they can have.

Stuff like that makes me nervous.

You and your first husband lived in Paris for a while. What was that all about?

As a young person, I loved the French language. I started taking French as soon as I could in school.

Likewise, I love the French language because of the Madeline books . . .

That is funny because my husband and I have a hotel in

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Watch Hill called the Ocean House where we have the largest collection of Ludwig Bemelmans’s illustrations, including many original Madeline drawings. A curator recently rehung all the illustrations and we are to reopen soon. Before, we had a lot of the art scattered around the hotel and now the display is much more concentrated in a gallery.

You love languages, yet you pivoted to become an actress?

Yes. I was attracted to French, and then in high school, I took Italian at a local community college. By the time I entered regular college, I was ahead of the curve with French and Italian, which I continued. I did part of my junior study in Paris at a small school. With all of that in my background, I took a crazy tangent to be an actress. When I met my first husband, he was an American who had grown up in Paris. We both felt so lonely being there so young.

But returning to Paris as young marrieds was different. I felt more in a community which was wonderful.

What was he doing at the time?

He was in the film business, and I was in between jobs.

He ended up working for many years for Julia Roberts. I was a little bit disenchanted with the acting world. We moved to Paris so he could help his mother (my mother-in-law) in her bilingual Montessori preschools. In the weird twists and turns of life’s circles of life, I met a German woman at a dinner party called Evie Fullenbach who was an executive at a French film studio that was putting money into English language films, both British and American. Coincidentally, they needed English native speakers as readers. All studios have readers on the payroll, which is a freelance job. They hire you script by script and you read it. You synopsize the content for the studio heads, so they don’t have to read each script. You do one page of commentary, about what works or doesn’t with a storyline; the structure, characters, and all of that. That was my focus while in Paris in the nineties.

What brought you stateside?

We had a friendship of several years with Julia Roberts, who came to visit us. She was about to sign a deal at Disney, and she hired Pliny, my first husband, as her producing partner. So, we moved back to the States.

You were at her wedding; you were the bridesmaid?

I was in two of her weddings. I was at her wedding that didn’t happen to Keifer Sutherland. That was a more formalized bridesmaid process with the dresses and the planning and the shower. We even did the bachelorette trip to the Canyon Ranch before the whole thing blew up. I was also at her wedding to Lyle Lovett, which was more of a lastminute thing. We packed whatever we had and met in Indiana because he was doing a concert there.

Are you and she still in touch?

No. Pliny worked with Julia for seven years. It is always hard to work with friends. That kind of relationship is a strained relationship because everybody wants something, right? We stayed in touch for a while. Pliny and I broke up right when she and Benjamin Bratt broke up. My life changed. Her life changed. Female friendship is something I want to write about because I think it is a very important relationship in our lives.

Making a friend is as magical as falling in love. People might computer date you with any one of 10 people in a room, but oddly you become friends with number 11, the one that no one would ever have thought.

ELYSIAN “Inspiring Woman” Deborah Royce with her beloved King Charles Spaniel, Georgina.

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PHOTOGRAPH BY LYDIA MACLEAR

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Celebrity is hard. I don’t think anyone truly understands the toll it takes on both the celebrity and those around it.

I always thought it would be easier for someone to be born into celebrity like Prince William and Harry than it would be for someone to acquire it later. Julia became a star of a magnitude that I have never seen. It was really like the old Hollywood days, with film stars of the studio era. It was stupendous, the scale was unimaginable, and I think it would be hard for anyone to handle. Conversely, maybe people who are raised with that level of celebrity handle it better. But that may not be true and perhaps it is playing out a little differently. To continue that theme, I think a celebrity’s partner, which is a certain kind of power, is difficult to manage.

Tell me about your husband Chuck.

Chuck is an interesting person and a very successful man. I have watched how he has handled that success. Because it came from years of hard work and building what he created over a long period of time, he handles it quite beautifully. I think many people want things from him, but he is very graceful in how he handles it. He always gives young people time.

Time is the most important thing you have.

Yes, he always does. My first marriage broke up precipitously; it was unforeseen by me, and it was shattering. I don’t really have another word for it other than it was really one of the darkest periods in my life. Bizarrely not very long after that, I met Chuck. I was not looking for a relationship, and he did a very interesting thing. He spent the better part of two years talking to me about my first husband. What were his dreams?

Where would you have seen him succeeding more? What was his family of origin? It was a very compassionate look at what went wrong.

Do you think in so doing, Chuck was giving you a lesson on what not to do in the future?

Perhaps, but he was also teaching me to forgive my first husband. A marriage is like writing a book, a story that you create together, that the two of you come together because you believe in something and you continue to recreate this thing you believe in. Suddenly, amid believing in something, the other person says, “Sorry, I’m checking out,” and it is dismaying and painful and can be anger making. A part of me was very angry and in that period of two years, I came to completely understand, forgive, and realize that it wasn’t about me or our family, it was more unresolved things of his own.

Did you fall in love with Chuck over those two years? Or was that two years of healing and then you fell in love?

Boy, that’s a very profound question. I think it was unfolding simultaneously. I was not looking for love. I was really a broken bird and it happened over that two-year period.

Is he your best friend?

In many ways, yes, but not always . . . I am so grateful to have raised children with him. When I met Chuck, my girls were only nine and 12. I don’t think I could have done the rest of the child-rearing without him. The teenage years were hard. Girls are complicated. I adore them beyond words. But he was really a partner in that, in an incredible way. My stepchildren are a little bit older. I have one stepdaughter who’s just a couple of years older than my oldest, but he has three who then jump a decade or more. Ours has been a companionship and a partnership. I do talk to him about almost everything. I also love my female friends, and I think they are important relationships.

Q

DID YOU FALL IN LOVE WITH CHUCK OVER THOSE TWO YEARS? OR WAS THAT TWO YEARS OF HEALING AND THEN YOU FELL IN LOVE?

Deborah Royce with Kathie Benett (right) of Magic Time Literary Agency and fellow author and fellow ELYSIAN “Inspiring Woman” Annabel Monaghan (right of Kathie) at a birthday celebration for Kathie.

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Durable friendships or the ones we “end up with” are not always the ones that we necessarily expect. Why is that?

I think there are soul connections. Friendships can end sometimes because they have simply run their course.

The difficulty with raising young women is . . . fill in the blanks?

They feel so deeply.

The greatness of raising young women is . . . fill in the blank?

They feel so deeply. It’s a double-edged sword.

Do you think with time young women’s depth of feeling is muted?

Certainly, with myself, yes, with age everything softens and evens out. There is less hysteria over the years.

You have acted in a number of soap operas and films. What was your favorite and why? Just one.

Only one possible selection? I suppose the process of making a film called April Fool’s Day up in British Columbia was more fun than any other film. It was an ensemble film with a group of actors I liked enormously, including an actor called Clayton Rhoner. My first two films were with Clayton, and I remember thinking I hope I don’t do every film with Clayton, as much as I like him. It was a very intelligent tongue-in-cheek horror film that had a twist ending that became the precursor of the Scream franchise, which happened in the next decade. The director, Fred Walton, was so smart and very responsive to the actors. He would come in the next day having changed dialogue based on things he heard us say or on our relationships that were unfolding. It was a fabulous experience.

What were you most proud of in your acting career?

Comedy, because comedy is hard. I am always proud when I do something funny. I did one episode of a TV show with Julia Louis Dreyfuss called Day by Day. This was before she did Seinfeld, and it was hilarious. The premise was going back to a high school reunion 10 years later. Because she did not have a date, she brought some younger kids. I was her rival, and it was hilarious because it

Q. .

was a choreographed dance competition between the two couples.

I thought it worked very well. It was funny.

You acted in every modularity and now have written your third book? What was the first book you authored?

The first was Finding Mrs. Ford.

Reuters, Forbes, I’ve read the list of critical acclaim. It was very well received. Why? I like to call my books identity thrillers, not a genre. Thrillers are a very broad category because the storyline can go from international spy thrillers to police procedurals to locked room mysteries like Agatha Christie. I didn’t even set out to write thrillers when I wrote Finding Mrs. Ford. A representative with CAA, a huge agency, fell in love with the draft and asked me to bring it more into the realm of thrillers. It took some work and some puzzle pieces to make it more complicated with twists and turns. In any kind of story I write, I begin by examining the secrets that people keep. I think if you live long enough on this planet, you meet enough people, you realize everybody has a secret. Lots of secrets. Most of our secrets are quite benign. I have had the experience in real life of meeting people and later it comes out they are hiding something tremendous. I am blown away by the magnitude of secrets, the how and the why intrigues me. I am also a huge fan of Alfred Hitchcock’s body of work; he was a complete genius. His subtle, sophisticated nuances, and the unfolding of his puzzles, are what I most enjoy. With Finding Mrs. Ford, there were a few things I wanted to examine.

The storyline is of a woman in her mid-fifties whose dark past catches up with her. I wanted to examine at a more macro level the idea of social climbing. How much can a person reinvent him or herself ? I begin the book with the past arriving at her doorstep, when the FBI comes, to a beautiful house, asking the protagonist about an Iraqi, Caldian man. I began the book in August of 2014, a moment in time when Isis was first in the news. They were rampaging across the north of Iraq where the

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Caldians originated. Caldians are Iraqi Catholics, not Eastern Orthodox. Imagine this moment when the FBI comes to her door, and they ask her about a man named Sammy Falcori, who is an Iraqi Caldian. When she claims that she doesn’t know him, they respond, “He just took a plane from Baghdad to Boston, and we picked him up in a car on his way to your house.” From the first chapter, the reader knows she is lying. From the onset, there is a lot of information laid out for you, but there is also so much that you don’t know.

What is your writing process? Do you build a skeleton and then put the flesh on it or is your writing a stream of consciousness?

I do a little of both. I had an idea. I wanted to explore an idea of a secret from the past and the interplay with female friendship. When you go back to her youth, which is in Detroit, a college student meets this glamorous, gorgeous, risk-taking young woman who convinces her to make a very bad life choice; to take a job at a very sketchy disco populated by men from Iraq, which is the setup. I wanted to explore the friendship between two girls and deconstruct why the sensible one follows the wild one down a risky path. After I complete timelines, I start writing, and then I go back and forth. Sometimes the writing changes the timeline.

Do elements of your real-life slip into your stories?

Totally.

Are there any characters that are you?

In a weird way, I think every character is me. Like the actress I was, I try to slip into each character and find what it is about that character that is real to me. Where I can, I inject real feelings and real thoughts into a character that is made up. It is what actors do.

You are always looking for motivation.

Your second book, Ruby Falls, has an interesting genesis. I have not read as many critical acclaims of your second book as I did the first. Why? Ruby Falls is a Victorian gothic genre and I don’t think it was as timely as the other one involving the Middle East. In Ruby Falls a young and vulnerable woman in Europe meets a tall and handsome stranger that she marries without knowing him. As he changes, you start to question his intentions and if he is an honorable person. The idea of Ruby Falls began while I was still working on Finding Mrs. Ford, but it wasn’t sold yet. It was a finished book but was still in this weird process. The first two chapters of Ruby Falls completely downloaded in my head, something that had never happened before. The storyline begins with a little girl by the name of Ruby who goes with her father to Ruby Falls Cave, which is near Chattanooga, Tennessee. They turn off the lights and she can hear this waterfall, but she can’t tell where it is in proximity to her person. She is scared witless when her father lets go of her hand and she is abandoned in this cave by her father, a seminal event of her life. She grows up to be a soap opera actress in New York and is fired from her

soap opera job, which is when she goes to Europe and meets this stranger. I do not know where that came from. After they are married, they move to the Hollywood Hills, a very iconic place to the whole world, with more than a hundred years of American cinema; one location everybody knows is Hollywood.

If you think about Rebecca, it begins with that line. Last night, I dreamt I went to Manderly again. So right then, you know that Manderly is a place that this person can’t go to, but why?

Intrigued by Manderly, it creates a spooky, ethereal feeling much like Hollywood. In Ruby Falls it was important for me to write about Hollywood, a place we moved from when we moved to Paris and then New York.

BOY, THAT’S A VERY PROFOUND QUESTION. I THINK IT WAS UNFOLDING SIMULTANEOUSLY. I WAS NOT LOOKING FOR LOVE. I WAS REALLY A BROKEN BIRD AND IT HAPPENED OVER THAT TWO-YEAR PERIOD.

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Celebrated author, Deborah Royce with Kathy Eldon (left), my daughter Tess Porter (left with book), and Amy Turtletaub (right) at Creative Visions Foundation in Malibu, CA. PHOTOGRAPH BY MICHAEL PANICCIA

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Were you in the Hollywood Hills?

For a period, we lived in the Hollywood Hills. I wrote Ruby Falls in exactly the house we lived in, on Primrose Avenue. The house does not exist anymore because it was knocked down. I had been away from Hollywood for many years, when one of my daughters Tess, moved back. It felt like a haunted place to me when I went back there to visit her; it is a place that is populated by ghosts from the past. Three friends had died since I had been there, and everything was so overwhelming. I think if you live in one place for a very long time, no matter all the life experiences you have there because you see it every day, it is not overwhelming. But if you go back to a place where you haven’t been, and you have had a lot of history there, it does feel haunted.

It awakens your memory.

Exactly. That feeling swirls through Ruby Falls. It is a strange book and I love it because it is a different book. If I were to pick a director for Ruby, it would have to be someone more like Darren Aronofsky. If you think of The Black Swan or M. Knight Shyamalan, if you think of The Sixth Sense. It is that kind of book.

Tell me about your most recent novel, Reef Road.

My mother’s best friend was murdered on December 10th, 1948. It is an unsolved crime. My mother and her friend were 12 years old. Great suspicion fell on a much older brother who was 19. It was one of those life events that had a huge effect on my mother and by extension me. I have always known about it, or at least had an awareness of it for many years. I am intrigued by people around the tragedy, who have similar experiences. Dominic Dunn, whose daughter’s murder caused him to completely change his life. He went from being a movie producer to being this reporter of sensational murder trials for Vanity Fair. Or you think about Michelle McNamara, she wrote, I’ll Be Gone In The Dark, which really helped to solve

.

the case of the Golden State Killer. This book examines conferred trauma, trauma that is not our own, but that enters us and changes our lives. There was an inflection moment in March of 2020, while I was still on a book tour for Finding Mrs. Ford when Ruby Falls had not come out yet, and the world closed down. We were in Palm Beach, Florida, where I have a house. I decided to dig into the real crime and do the research and was surprised at how much material was on the internet about that crime, years of newspaper articles on a completely unsolved murder. I was able to get the coroner’s report, which was quite extensive. I spoke to the Pittsburgh Police Department. They would not release anything to me, but I also happened to know that the case was reopened in 2008.

I was telling the story to a friend of mine who ran the New York State Prosecutors Training Institute. He was so intrigued by the case he said right away the murderer was the brother.

“How do you know?”, I asked him. I thought maybe he knew this case. He said, “You don’t stab someone 36 times unless it’s personal.” My mother believed it was a stranger entering the house, but she was just a child.

Did the brother manifest bad behavior?

When the case was reopened it was revealed he had a series of arrests for exposing himself, which in itself does not make you a murderer; they are mental health and impulse control issues. The case was reopened in ‘08. They found fabric, and they sent it to the FBI lab in Quantico, Virginia, but the fabric was degraded, and the case was dropped again. I started examining the case in 2020 and decided initially to write it as non-fiction. I was not interested in invading that family’s life, but just to look at the truth of what I was examining and not the facts of what happened. But I didn’t want to be so married to all the factual details of that actual murder. For example, the real murdered girl had two brothers, a fact. But

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it was confusing in an early draft of the book. An early reader asked, “What is with the second brother?” I decided not to mention a second brother for clarity and ease of reading. I was examining how one single act of violence affected people beyond the victim.

Is that historical fiction . . . where a story is built upon or around an actual historical event?

Yes, there is a historical fiction element to the book. There is also another storyline that I put in the book about a younger woman who is married to a very handsome fellow from Argentina named Miguel Alonzo. Alonzo and their children disappear three weeks into the covid lockdown. The car is found at the long-term parking lot at Miami International Airport and security camera footage reveals Alonzo—the husband, and the children in their face masks getting on a plane bound for Bueno Aires. Because of the pandemic restrictions, and international quarantines, she cannot follow. The book is also about their lives; a writer researching her mother’s best friend’s murder, and a mother and wife whose family disappears. A common thread is that both women live in Palm Beach.

Do you love writing?

Mostly, yes, but there are times when it is challenging.

Is it willpower that drives you or do you write to purge something deep inside of you?

I think about these two things. I wrote for years in small increments, quietly and without announcing it. I belonged to a couple of writing groups, which were fun. But there was a moment in my mid-fifties, when my children were grown and flown, and this force of willpower just entered in. I had stories that I had been called to tell. There was a tremendous force of will that drove me to become serious and very committed.

How many hours a day do you regularly focus on writing?

The minimum would be three and the maximum would be eight hours I write daily. My writing “sweet spot” is three to six hours.

How do you balance writing with living?

I schedule writing time because I have a life with other obligations. I can’t just write from x time to y time daily, like some might. I have other things that call me away, so I schedule writing time on my iPhone or on my computer. Once I have blocked time to write I am obedient. I gave up things like lunches because it would kill the day. How do I balance? I do not write at night.

Do you and your husband talk about your books?

I will talk to him about certain things in a book, not all of it, but some of the contents.

Is he proud of you?

I think he is. I have led a life of very distinct chapters, a big life in many ways. Writing is a whole new chapter; I don’t think he had any idea of what to expect. I don’t think Chuck understood my life in movies or the scale. He married what he thought was one person, and now he has a new person. I think it is a lot of fun and hopefully, he is very proud of it. I think at other times it can be a little dismaying.

In his perfect world, you would be singularly focused on him?

No, he is not that simplistic. I think he enjoys this, but there are times when he says, look, I need this. I need that.

That is the wonder of being male, something we as women are not quite so comfortable saying, “Clear the decks. This is what I need.” He has no problems with that.

Are you an introvert or an extrovert?

I am really an introvert who can function as an extrovert. I recharge myself by being alone, but I am able to perform with people and enjoy people. Sometimes I just need to be very quiet.

How much travel is required to promote a book like this last novel Reef Road?

I have been on the road for two months. There is a specific and distinct period with a book that has just been published, which requires travel but then the need to promote and travel slows down. It was important to give Reef Road its due, go out there, and meet with readers personally. I think it is a game changer when people understand who you are as a writer, the why, and the what you are doing. You build a readership bit by bit. It is like the old studio system in Hollywood when stars would have to go out on the road and promote their movies.

To get through a book tour, do you train yourself to simply “lean in” to the experience?

That is a function of age and is an important question. When I was a young actress, there was no intentionality. I will lean into this and really enjoy this experience as an author. The younger me thought this is just so great. There was no end goal, just a feeling that the experience might always happen and grow and grow. But life took certain turns, and I made different decisions.

Now I’m completely intentional as a practice of being grateful for this and enjoying it; a game changer.

How many hours a day are you promoting your books?

It varies. Today, for this interview an hour in the morning, and something similar for two hours in the afternoon. I will have lunch talking to people, and then later this afternoon I’ll get on a plane, and I will go home for the first time in many weeks. Tomorrow is my granddaughter’s birthday, so I will see her.

Were there ever any moments during these two months where you said, what in the goodness gracious world am I doing?

No, because I have experienced this in an earlier life as a young actress being stuck in a motel at the side of the road north of Dallas when we were shooting in Waxahachie, which is south of Dallas. I spent weeks alone and lonely, which was harder than this.

Can you give one takeaway or advice, that might have changed you, had someone told you as a young woman, that really would have impacted you?

Have faith and don’t worry. Have faith that you really are on a path.

Have faith that if you work hard and really take the opportunities that are coming to you and really throw yourself into what you’re doing, it really will be okay. You don’t have to worry so much.

Do you worry?

I am a worrier. That is in my nature. People at times say, you seem so serene, and I am not serene. I have meditation practice and I have things that I try to do . . .

To find serenity?

Exactly. But that kind of intentionality you mentioned is required because I am a worrier.

What do you worry the most about?

Now my children; that was not always historically true.

What was it before?

Oh, success, money, relationships, the big ones.

What’s your legacy?

My children and grandchildren. I would hope that I have been able to say something that is true, that resonates with people, that touches people. I think that is why we are here. We are all together, communicating at some level. There is nothing more meaningful than reading something somebody wrote or watching a film where a thought or a feeling was expressed that resonates and connects us to the truth.

What do you want to be remembered for?

I hope I am remembered for doing something that is good, giving.

You are a giver.

I hope so. ■

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art&culture

The Wonder of White:

A Supreme Shade Throughout the Ages

BY HUNTER HOLLIDAY

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Symphony in White, No. 3, is a painting by James Abbott McNeill Whistler.

The work shows two women, one sitting on a sofa dressed in white, and the other resting on the floor, with a yellowish dress. The model on the sofa is Joanna Heffernan, the artist’s mistress.

ILLUSTRATION BY CRISTINA CONTI / SHUTTERSTOCK.COM

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George Hendrik Breitner was inspired by Japanese prints. Girl in a White Kimono, shown here, is one of at least twelve paintings around 1894 that Breitner made of a girl in a kimono. She assumes different poses and the kimono often has a different colour.

Left: Dove (French: La Colombe) is a lithograph on paper created by Pablo Picasso in 1949 in an edition of 50+5.

White is one of the most important “colors” for artists, but whether white is categorized as a color at all is a source of debate that is best left to color theorists. Van Gogh gave his own definitive artistic opinion: “Suffice it to say that black and white are also colors . . . for their simultaneous contrast is as striking as that of green and red, for instance.”

In a technical sense, pure white represents the absence of hues or pigments. Yet according to Britannica, when dealing with light, “white is what we see when all wavelengths of light are reflected off an object.”

For this reason, some consider white to be a color because it encompasses all of the hues on the visible light spectrum. Black, on the other hand, can be created on paper by combining many pigments, while white cannot be created from other hues. Thus, black and white are categorized as achromatic, colors that contain all wavelengths in equal amounts and have no dominant hue.

American painter Fred Machetanz, who specialized in depictions of Alaskan scenes, once said, “When you glaze on a bright white ground it is like looking through color rather than at it —like looking through stained glass.”

THE SYMBOLISM OF WHITE

A white image quickly conjures up particular connotations in one’s mind, often a reflection of society at large.

In many cultures, white represents innocence, light, cleanliness, softness, and perfection. Particularly in religious contexts (think about the facades of many churches, the spotless lamb, and even the Pope’s clothing) white is a symbol of the Divine and is associated with purity and sacrifice. The white flag is a universal symbol of surrender.

In Eastern cultures, white is the color of death, mourning, and bad luck, and it is traditionally worn at funerals.

White is also linked to status in many cultures. In ancient Rome, for instance, white togas were a symbol of a young man’s progress to full citizenship while those with political aspirations wore togas that were bleached brighter white. White togas with a purple stripe were highly coveted and worn by senators and clergy.

WOMEN IN WHITE

White is also associated with femininity. The Greek goddess of beauty, Aphrodite, was often depicted with the color white (as well as red and gold) and was frequently shown with doves and swans. In many cultures, brides wear white on their wedding day, a symbol of virtue. There are several works of art throughout the ages

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IS WHITE A COLOR?

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luffy clouds dotting a multi-hued azure sky, silvery flowers shooting up from a verdant valley awash in sunlight, and blankets of sparkling snow draped across mountain tops—none of these images would be possible without white. White is essential to the natural world and inextricably paired with light. As such, white is an essential ingredient to an artist’s repertoire. The color can be applied in a variety of techniques to enliven artists’ creations and bring depth, variety, and realism to their works.

White is arguably the supreme shade of the painter’s palette. It is crucial for making tints and pastels and can transform another shade into an entirely new version of itself. It has the ability to create nearly imperceptible yet highly impactful variations in hues. It can take center stage in a piece of art—like Georgia O’Keeffe’s Jimson Weed/White Flower No 1 or Pablo Picasso’s Dove—or be an unseen yet crucial element as a primer on canvas to enhance the vibrancy of other colors laid on top. It can convey a brilliance that brings a painting to life, as in the highlights of petals in Vincent van Gogh’s White Roses.

It is no wonder that this color, so powerful and permeated with symbolism, is woven into artwork throughout the ages. We wanted to know more about this crown jewel of colors and rounded up some of the most interesting—and sometimes surprising­—facts about its use in art.

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Vincent van Gogh painted White Roses, now worth as much as $80 million, in 1890, just before he was to be released from an asylum..

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Portrait of a Woman in White by Eva Gonzalès.

Opposite page: Claude Monet’s Woman with a Parasol – Madame Monet and Her Son is an en plein air painting depicting a casual outdoor scene. The pose and placement of the woman—dressed in a white gown and holding a green parasol whitened by the sun—gives the impression that she’s turned around mid-step to look at the artist. Her little boy—also dressed in white, which reflects the cloud-dotted sky above—stands in the background of this painting which integrates the figures with the environment.

where women are depicted in white clothing, likely representing purity, youth, and perhaps vulnerability.

In the 19th century, for instance, American painter James McNeill Whistler used his brushstrokes to create a series of paintings that utilized color to reflect mood in much the same way that a composer uses music to evoke feelings. His painting Symphony in White No. 1—The White Girl is a study in white and an early experiment in white-onwhite composition. It features a woman with a pale face and striking red hair who is wearing a beautiful white dress and stands before an elegant curtain. She holds a pallid lily in her left hand.

Frank Weston Benson was an American artist of the late 1800s to early 1900s known for his realistic portraits and American Impressionist paintings that focus on capturing light. His painting Summer depicts his daughters and her friends gathered on a sun-drenched hillside near the family’s summer home in Maine. The young women are each wearing crisp white dresses, which are beautifully highlighted to reflect the strength of the sun’s rays and the movement of the cloth caused by the sea air. The white dresses represent an age of innocence and optimism.

French painter Charles Joshua Chaplin is best known for his portraits of young women, most of whom are portrayed wearing snow-white clothing in “everyday” poses like singing, resting, and reading. Girl in White Dress, for example, is a luminous portrait that features a little girl with an opalescent complexion who is cloaked in white and pictured praying before a white crucifix mounted on the wall before her.

PREHISTORIC PIGMENT

White has a long history with humankind, and the pigment is one of the first to which humans were attracted, as evidenced by prehistoric cave drawings.

The white used in this case was derived from the earth – likely kaolin clay, ground lime white, gesso, or crushed shells—and stood out against the terra-colored walls of the cavernous rock canvases. One of the most impressive displays of prehistoric cave paintings is in the Lascaux Cave in southwestern France. These remarkable illustrations, which date from 17,000 – 15,000 BCE, provide us with some of the earliest examples of humans using white pigments in artwork.

The cave paintings illustrate primarily large animals that were once native to the region, including cattle, bison, felines, a bear, a bird, as well as a human.

POISONOUS PIGMENT

Ironically, the white pigment’s history has a dark side. Dating as far back as the fourth century BCE, toxic lead white was used by ancient Egyptians, Greeks, and Romans. It was utilized not only as a canvas primer but also to create tints and highlights. It was also compounded into cosmetics, which often led to fatal consequences.

To make the lead white paint, artists or their assistants would grind blocks of lead into powder, releasing highly toxic dust particles. Its use resulted in “painter’s colic”—what we now refer to as lead poisoning. When lead is absorbed, it disrupts the normal function of calcium in the body, resulting in neurological changes, and at high levels, the exposure can be deadly. Despite these risks, lead white – with its warm tones, density, and opaqueness—was the practical choice for artists for centuries, and the likes of Johannes Vermeer and even impressionists like van Gogh used it to create their masterpieces.

Lead white remained the white hue of choice until the 19th century when a safer substitute called zinc oxide was synthesized at the Dijon Academy in

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White Horse at the Meadow was painted in1856, by Danish-French Impressionist and Neo-Impressionist painter Camille Pissarro.

ART HERITAGE / ALAMY STOCK PHOTO / ALAMY STOCK PHOTO

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France. However, it was less opaque than lead white, was brittle, and cost about four times as much to produce. In the 20th century, lead white was almost completely replaced by titanium dioxide, which is brighter and has a strong covering ability like its more toxic counterpart.

Not only is it utilized by artists, but it is also ubiquitous in our everyday lives in such things as plastics, toothpaste, cosmetics, and sunscreen among many other uses.

In ancient Egypt, white symbolized purity and holiness, and tools and sacred objects were white for this reason. Interestingly, Egyptologists tell us that the Great Pyramid of Giza, which displays a tan limestone core in the present day, was actually silvery white when it was built. In 2017, archeologist Pierre Tallet unearthed a 4,500-year-old journal authored by a man named Merer, the apparent “project manager” of the pyramid construction, and discovered that it was originally covered with white limestone trekked to the site in the Sahara Desert from the banks of the Nile River some 15 miles away. The original stones were polished to a gleaming white and topped with a gold cap, which must have made the pyramid even more stunning against its arid, sand-colored surroundings. Evidence of this finer, colorless limestone is visible today at the top of its nearby neighbor, the Pyramid of Khafre.

Most of us think of Greek and Roman Classical statues as objects of brilliant white marble. Turns out, this is a bit of a “white lie” that has been perpetuated for hundreds of years. Historians today have evidence that indicates the majority of the Classic sculptures were quite colorful when they were first created. The paint simply faded after hundreds of years of exposure to the elements, being buried underground, or over-cleaning. Nonetheless, when Renaissance artists like Michelangelo developed a renewed interest in Classical sculptures, they became enamored by the statues’ beauty and their pristine, milk-white surfaces. So the Renaissance artists left their masterpieces unpainted, too, which inspired generations of sculptors from the Baroque to Neoclassical to Modern eras to follow suit in making white marble the norm.

WHITE’S INFLUENCE ON THE IMPRESSIONIST ERA

The Impressionist movement – one of the most significant artistic shifts of the 19th century – is characterized by visible brush strokes, an emphasis on the accurate portrayal of natural light, painting en plein air (outside rather than in an art studio), and bright images that utilize white and light shades. This era – led by Claude Monet, Pierre-Auguste Renoir, and Edgar Degas – ushered in an avant-garde use of white after the years of dark, earthy tones that dominated the color palettes of the traditional paintings of the Renaissance and Baroque periods.

Impressionists also painted onto white canvas as a way to emphasize the lighter colors that are a hallmark of their works.

For example, Claude Monet’s Woman with a Parasol—Madame Monet and Her Son is an en plein air painting depicting a casual outdoor scene. The pose and placement of the woman—dressed in a white gown and holding a green parasol whitened by the sun—gives the impression that she’s turned around mid-step to look at the artist. Her little boy—also dressed in white, which reflects the cloud-dotted sky above—stands in the background of this painting which integrates the figures with the environment.

MONOCHROMATIC & MEANINGFUL

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WHITE LIE

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PALE PYRAMID

Since the early 20th century, many contemporary artists have created works using only white or near-white hues. These pieces are known as monochromes, and despite utilizing only one color, they are far from one-dimensional. On the contrary, these single-shade works require artists to pay particular attention to their technique, the use of materials, textures, and how the hue responds to shadow and light.

Russian artist Kazimir Malevich, for example, was a pioneer of the abstract art movement who believed that white was the “color of infinity and signified a realm of higher feeling, a utopian world of pure form that was attainable only through nonobjective art.” His painting Suprematist Composition: White on White is one of his most famous works and features a tilted ash-white square that seems to float weightlessly over a bleached background. The painting utilizes subtle variations of the nearly colorless hue to create texture and depth.

Whether it is taking center stage in a work of art or used to create the nuances that bring a piece to life, white is clearly a superb shade for artists throughout the ages. ■

Since the early 20th century, many contemporary artists have created works using only white or near-white hues. These pieces are known as monochromes, and despite utilizing only one color, they are far from one-dimensional.

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Opposite page: Spanish painter Joan Miró’s 1927 Painting on White Ground.

AGEFOTOSTOCK / ALAMY STOCK PHOTO

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health&body

se baigner de blanc

BY SONIA HENRY

PHOTOGRAPH BY ANASTASSIYA BEZHEKENEVA / SHUTTERSTOCK.COM

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is there any liquid more evocative than milk? From its warm and nourishing role in infancy to the divine pleasures of an ice-cold glass accompanied by warm chocolate chip cookies, or the miracle of a scrumptious bowl of ice cream on a hot summer’s day, milk holds a place in the arc of our lives like no other beverage.

It has been called “nature’s perfect food” for its unique nutrient content that includes protein, calcium, potassium, B vitamins, and Vitamin D. And for those who cannot tolerate its lactose content, there are dozens of alternatives, including milks made from nuts, soy, and oats, to mimic the joys of a tall, cold glass of this magical fluid. Over the years, milk products have played a key role in health and well-being and have been linked to reductions in high blood pressure, heart disease, weight gain, and diabetes.

According to healthline.com, milk intake has also been linked to good bone health, an increasingly prevalent issue as people live longer lives, as drinking milk can stave off bone issues associated with aging such as osteoporosis and frequent fractures.

Aside from its tasty and nutritional advantages for internal health, milk is also good for the outside of the body, and the recent uptick in milk bath offerings at spas

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around the world is a testament to its therapeutic benefits for external well-being.

Milk baths have been a popular beauty ritual throughout the ages—these luxurious and nourishing ablutions have been used to pamper the skin since ancient Egyptian times when Queen Cleopatra was known to immerse herself in tubs of milk and honey to keep her skin soft and supple.

And the ancient Romans believed that milk baths could help soothe and heal damaged skin, especially if accompanied by a massage. Roman soldiers often indulged in this duo to help ease achy muscles and to treat injuries. In the Middle Ages, milk baths were used to treat a variety of ailments, including skin conditions, infections, and even the plague.

Milk was believed to have antibacterial properties and was often used as a disinfectant to help prevent the spread of disease.

Today, milk baths are used primarily for their cosmetic benefits and are elixirs for dry, sensitive, and irritated skin.

Milk, which contains lactic acid, is wonderful for skin texture and tone, as immersion helps exfoliate dead skin cells, promotes collagen production, and promotes cell turnover. Experts recommend the gentle use of a loofah or mild scrub to enhance the bath’s exfoliating benefits.

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Milk’s lactic acid (an alpha hydroxy acid) also helps to hydrate chapped skin by attracting and retaining moisture.

Lactic acid is also helpful in dissolving the intercellular “glue” that holds dead skin together. Cells treated with lactic acid slough off more effectively and make the skin’s surface appear brighter and smoother.

Milk baths are especially beneficial to those suffering from eczema or psoriasis, as they can help reduce the redness and inflammation during outbreaks. In one study about skin care for women over age 65, researcher Dr. Wendy E. Roberts also found milk baths to provide effective relief from pruritus, or itchy skin. And the vitamins and minerals in milk can also help to brighten skin and reduce the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles, according to some aestheticians.

T

he practice of milk bathing is also a form of selfcare, and taking a milk bath can be a rich and satisfying experience, as the warm water and milk create a soothing and relaxing environment that can help melt away the stress and tension of the day. Those who choose to indulge in this opulent practice can enhance the experience by adding a few drops of fragrant essential oils or a sprinkling of dried herbs to heighten the pleasure and create an olfactory oasis that helps to calm the mind and soothe the senses.

Milk baths can also be romantic. Sharing a milk bath with a beloved partner can be an intimate and sensual experience that can help strengthen bonds and create a sense of closeness and connection.

Some take the milk bath to the heights of decadence, such as those who frequent the Chocolate Spa in Hershey, PA. At this European-style spa, known for its range of sweet chocolate-themed treatments, clients can immerse themselves in a “whipped cocoa bath,” which has been described as “steeping yourself in a cup of hot chocolate.”

At the Ritz-Carlton Spa in Dubai, guests can enjoy the Arabia Felix experience, which includes a gentle exfoliation of the feet and legs in a salt/sand mixture, followed by a soak and cleansing with warm camel’s milk. And at Sunstone Spa in Rancho Mirage, CA, you can experience the Milk and Honey retreat, which blends an immersive coconut milk bath with a skin-smoothing sugar scrub and a restorative massage.

Taking a milk bath* is very straightforward. While many choose to include a milk bath as part of a spa day, it is, in fact, easy to create your own milk bath at home with just a few simple ingredients. Here’s how to do it:

1.

Gather your ingredients. To make a milk bath, you will need 2-4 cups of whole milk or cream, depending on the size of your bathtub. Other alternatives include buttermilk, nut milk, soy milk, or dried milk (if using dried, use 1/3 cup).

2.

You can also add in other ingredients, such as essential oils or dried herbs if desired. If you are feeling particularly creative, you can add finely ground oats, lavender buds, rose petals, a teaspoon of honey, or some Epsom salts.

Some package their preferred ingredients together ahead of time to make their own homemade “bath bombs.”

3.

4.

Fill your tub with warm water, ensuring the temperature is comfortable and soothing.

Add your milk by slowly pouring your milk or cream into the bath, and stir the water with your hand to evenly distribute the liquid in the water. Some prefer to heat their milk before adding it to the water, but this is a matter of preference.

5.

Add in your extras. Whether it’s essential oils or dried herbs, a few drops or sprinkles can add some welcome fragrance to the bath experience. Candlelight and soft music are also lovely, optional extras.

6.

Soak and relax. Immerse your body in the milk bath and soak for at least 20-30 minutes, or until you feel relaxed and rejuvenated. You can also use a loofah or gentle scrub to exfoliate your skin while you soak.

7.

Rinse and moisturize your skin. When you are done soaking, rinse off any excess milk with warm water and pat your skin dry with a soft, fluffy towel. To lock in the benefits of your milk bath, apply a rich and nourishing moisturizer to your skin.

Taking a milk bath is a luxurious and indulgent way to pamper yourself and treat your skin to a nourishing and therapeutic experience. If you want to elevate your skin ritual from the banal to the sublime, this time-honored treatment will turn a simple soak into a regal ablution. ■ * If you are lactose-intolerant or have a milk allergy, you should avoid taking milk baths with milk sourced from animals. Immersing yourself in a milk bath could cause a reaction such as itching, rashes, or hives. Check with your physician before taking a milk bath.

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philanthropy

Rooted & Established in Love

BY MARCY DUBROFF

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S

ometimes, everything you know and love can be lost in a matter of seconds. On January 12, 2010, a 7.0 earthquake struck the Caribbean nation of Haiti, leaving its capital, Port-auPrince, devastated and claiming hundreds of thousands of lives across the island. More than 1.5 million people were left homeless and some 300,000 people were injured as a result of the 35-second event.

One of the major casualties of the quake was an orphanage, run by well-known Pastor Jean Claude. The entire structure was destroyed, but thankfully, none of the children who lived there were injured. The pastor knew that he needed to rebuild, and turned his sights to a piece of land he owned in the tiny mountain community of Fond Blanc. It was the perfect solution, as not only would the children from Port-au-Prince have a new home, but he would also be able to serve a brand-new community.

Pastor Jean Claude’s congregation got to work on building the new orphanage, and even though the road through the mountains to Fond Blanc was not yet complete, congregants carried cinderblocks one by one up the slopes to begin construction on the orphanage’s new home. The pastor also formed an alliance with Sure Foundations to get the additional assistance he needed to complete the construction of the new facility.

Fast forward to 2023, and the Fond Blanc orphanage is now home to more than 60 children. School is in session every weekday, and three times a week, the gates are opened for church; on Sunday nights, young adults from the community gather for a bible study; and several times a week, the Fond Blanc church band practices under the orphanage’s mango tree. The orphanage is more than just a home to the children that live there—it is a gathering place for the community, and, according to Fond Blanc Foundation president and executive director Tia Bunz, “a light and hope for the future.”

However, Pastor Jean Claude has never been one to sit on his laurels. Although the orphanage is a central part of his life and his work, he is, in fact, the founder of several churches across Haiti and is an active partner in Next Step Ministries, a non-profit organization that allows students to take mission trips that connect them with sustainable, community-led initiatives. His relationship with Next Step began in 2013 when Next Step ran its first summer of mission trips in Fond Blanc. For nine weeks, students from across the United States gathered to partner with the Pastor and his congregation on the construction of the church building that is now part of the orphanage. As they worked in the hot sun, they noticed that the need for this building was just scratching the surface of the needs of this vulnerable community. They saw that the children living at the orphanage needed more nutritional meals, richer educational opportunities, as well as the basic love and care that would come from an expanded staff. They also realized that the surrounding community was also in need of critical services.

From this passion to enrich the lives of the children and the community in which they lived, the Fond Blanc Foundation was born—a partnership between Pastor Jean Claude, Next Step Ministries, and Sure Foundations, with a mission of “providing a foundation, rooted and established in love, to promote the educational,

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health, spiritual, and life development needs of the children of the Fond Blanc orphanage and the surrounding community.” ccording to the pastor, for a child to thrive, they need to live in an environment where they know they are loved and cared for. Currently, there is a small team of orphanage staff working hard to look after children at the orphanage. The pastor oversees the general operations of the orphanage, and a small team of dedicated workers assists him with orphanage logistics.

Jake Bunz, CFO, said that “in the early days, we just needed the children to be cared for. Now, however, we realize that it goes beyond the basics. We are trying to ensure that both the children and the community have access to medical care and a regular source of food,” sharing that even before the earthquake, almost 2 million Haitians were “food insecure” and only 50 percent had access to safe drinking water. Malnutrition was and continues to be rampant on the island.

“When the children were moved up to Fond Blanc, there was limited staff, an inconsistent supply of food, and the children actually helped care for each other,” said Bunz. “We now have a full-time care staff, access to some medical services, and a regular

• été 2023 • l’édition blanc • readelysian.com

The primary purpose of the organization is to provide for the educational, spiritual, health, nutritional and life development needs of the children at the Fond Blanc Orphanage in Haiti.

source of food. The most important lesson we learned was that we needed to help the children and residents of Fond Blanc find a sustainable solution for nutrition, so we now have an agronomy program to grow produce and raise chickens and to provide regular meals.”

Pastor Jean Claude added that “My vision is to see every single student at the orphanage and anyone in the community be successful. Right now, we are helping them as much as we can with the help of God and the support of the foundation. I believe in teaching people how to fish on their own rather than just helping them daily. Don’t get me wrong, there’s nothing wrong with helping them while they are in need. However, at the same time, we need to show people the path that will help them survive on their own. That is why it is good to give them a piece of fish daily, but also to teach them to get their own fish!”

According to Bunz, nutrition and water are only one element of the children’s health. While the children at the orphanage are relatively healthy, there is always an ongoing need for basic healthcare. Problems like ringworm, intestinal parasites, eczema, common colds, and flu have historically gone untreated.

“At the outset, there were health issues with our children that included malnutrition and skin disorders,” Bunz explained. “We initially brought up teams of doctors to help with these issues, but once we created the foundation, we were able to raise money toward addressing some of these ongoing problems.” One way that the Fond Blanc Foundation is able to do this is through child sponsorship—donors can “adopt a child” with a monthly gift that goes entirely toward health and nutritional care.

Bunz said that one of the foundation’s main initiatives in the coming year is to build a triage clinic. Haiti is currently in a state of extreme unrest and political turnover. Doctors Without Borders, which has traditionally provided much of Haiti’s health care, is threatening to leave the island if the unrest continues.

“This triage clinic will be located on the land just outside of the orphanage where we have created a space for gardens and farming for the entire Fond Blanc community,” Bunz explained.

“This clinic will be home to a nutrition program and a medical team, and our goal is to have a regular medical team on staff for everyday issues, and rotating teams of specialists (think dentists, ophthalmologists, dermatologists) visit the clinic to treat the children and the residents.”

According to Bunz, this is the next pressing goal for Fond Blanc Foundation, and raising money for this effort is the goal for the coming year. Pastor Jean Claude added that “having a clinic will give our community an opportunity to be healthy and safe, especially since the country is in such turmoil.”

The Fond Blanc Foundation also takes great pride in its educational program. Any Haitian will tell you that education is the only way to

secure a future for themselves and their country. The school does charge a nominal attendance fee for those outside of the orphanage, but that fee goes toward essentials such as uniforms and books. The school currently serves almost 400 students from Pre-K through high school and has 17 teachers. Additionally, it helps those who are interested to enter a post-academic program to help students transition to the next phase of their lives. According to Bunz, this has included such paths as nursing and the trades, and “we even have four of the young people in this program currently in college in the United States, thanks to sponsors. Our number one goal has always been to provide an education for these children. It is something that is taken for granted in the U.S., but not so much in Haiti.”

“We envision a school that can provide an excellent education for the entire community of Fond Blanc, and scholarship opportunities for children to attend university,” added Pastor Jean Claude.

Finally, the Fond Blanc Foundation is guided by a strong, spiritual mission. Church is held in Fond Blanc three days a week, “and the children will tell you that they love attending church and learning about God!” said Bunz. “We are grateful for the children’s spirit and their eagerness to learn,” said Pastor Jean Claude.

“Our goals are simple,” he added. “We want to create an environment rooted and established in love. We want to see these children grow and flourish into thriving adults. We will do this through providing loving, nurturing care, health and nutrition, a solid education, and supporting their spiritual development. But it doesn’t stop there. There is a vibrant community outside the gates of the orphanage—a community that is very much in need of these resources too. Our goal is to expand our efforts to serve the whole village of Fond Blanc and surrounding areas. This will take time, but we are confident that it can be done.” ■ Editor’s note: For more information visit fondblanc.org.

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