BEGIN:VCALENDAR VERSION:2.0 PRODID:-//ChamberMaster//Event Calendar 2.0//EN METHOD:PUBLISH X-PUBLISHED-TTL:P3D REFRESH-INTERVAL:P3D CALSCALE:GREGORIAN BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART:20240621T140000Z DTEND:20240627T200000Z X-MICROSOFT-CDO-ALLDAYEVENT:FALSE SUMMARY:Pride Month Mini-Exhibit: Anything Goes: Cafe Society and Lady Mendl at Hammond Castle Museum DESCRIPTION:When you hear that Lady Mendl standing up\n\nNow does a handspring landing up-\n\nOn her toes\n\nAnything goes\nCole Porter\n\n"Anything Goes" from Anything Goes 1934\n \n\nElsie Anderson De Wolfe\, Lady Mendl (b.1865-d.1950)\, immortalized performing her famous daily yoga routine in Cole Porter's "Anything Goes" from the seminal musical of the same name\, embodies the international dimension of John Hays Hammond Jr.'s circle of Queer associates. A world famous eccentric and interior decorator\, whose clientele included the poet and playwright Oscar Wilde and the Duke and Duchess of Windsor\, De Wolfe typified the Bohemian "Caf Society\," the collection of flamboyant "beautiful young things" aristocrats and socialites that emerged in Europe in the period between the First and Second World War. \n\nWhile not all members of the Caf Society are understood by modern historians to themselves be Queer figures\, romantic and sexual diversity was undoubtedly a major component in the social movement. De Wolfe's 1926 marriage of convenience to the Paris-based English diplomat Sir Charles Mendl came three decades into her near 40-year lesbian relationship with the producer and literary agent Elisabeth "Bessie" Marbury. Mendl was not only a personal friend of John Hays Hammond Jr.\, but an epicenter of international Queer society\, bringing together not only world-famous cultural luminaries\, but also more personal figures including Hammond's brother Richard "Dick" Pindle Hammond and his partner George Martin\, the Hammond's second cousin Vogue columnist Johnnie McMullin\, and Hammond's close friend\, and potential onetime paramour\, the concert pianist Lester Donahue. \n\nThis mini-exhibit will focus not just on Mendl\, but on the diverse international Queer community she represented\, one which Hammond and his wife Irene Fenton Hammond interacted with often during their frequent trips abroad\, in particular during the period in which the Museum was constructed and Hammond was acquiring the Museum's collection. Utilizing Hammond's diaries and correspondence visitors will learn about the history of this vibrant community\, and what happened to it\, from an insider's perspective. X-ALT-DESC;FMTTYPE=text/html:When you hear that Lady Mendl standing up
\nNow does a handspring landing up-
\nOn her toes
\nAnything goes\n

Cole Porter

\n\n

&ldquo\;Anything Goes&rdquo\; from Anything Goes 1934

\n \;\n\n

Elsie Anderson De Wolfe\, Lady Mendl (b.1865-d.1950)\, immortalized performing her famous daily yoga routine in Cole Porter&rsquo\;s &ldquo\;Anything Goes&rdquo\; from the seminal musical of the same name\, embodies the international dimension of John Hays Hammond Jr.&rsquo\;s circle of Queer associates. A world famous eccentric and interior decorator\, whose clientele included the poet and playwright Oscar Wilde and the Duke and Duchess of Windsor\, De Wolfe typified the Bohemian &ldquo\;Café\; Society\,&rdquo\; the collection of flamboyant \; &ldquo\;beautiful young things&rdquo\;&ndash\;aristocrats and socialites&ndash\;that emerged in Europe in the period between the First and Second World War. \;

\n\n

While not all members of the Café\; Society are understood by modern historians to themselves be Queer figures\, romantic and sexual diversity was undoubtedly a major component in the social movement. De Wolfe&rsquo\;s 1926 marriage of convenience to the Paris-based English diplomat Sir Charles Mendl came three decades into her near 40-year lesbian relationship with the producer and literary agent Elisabeth &ldquo\;Bessie&rdquo\; Marbury. Mendl was not only a personal friend of John Hays Hammond Jr.\, but an epicenter of international Queer society\, bringing together not only world-famous cultural luminaries\, but also more personal figures including Hammond&rsquo\;s brother Richard &ldquo\;Dick&rdquo\; Pindle Hammond and his partner George Martin\, the Hammond&rsquo\;s second cousin Vogue columnist Johnnie McMullin\, and Hammond&rsquo\;s close friend\, and potential onetime paramour\, the concert pianist Lester Donahue. \;

\n\n

This mini-exhibit will focus not just on Mendl\, but on the diverse international Queer community she represented\, one which Hammond and his wife Irene Fenton Hammond interacted with often during their frequent trips abroad\, in particular during the period in which the Museum was constructed and Hammond was acquiring the Museum&rsquo\;s collection. Utilizing Hammond&rsquo\;s diaries and correspondence visitors will learn about the history of this vibrant community\, and what happened to it\, from an insider'\;s perspective. \;

\n LOCATION:Hammond Castle Museum 80 Hesperus Avenue Gloucester\, MA 01930 UID:e.2981.31008 SEQUENCE:3 DTSTAMP:20260426T143018Z URL:https://visit.rockportusa.com/events/details/pride-month-mini-exhibit-anything-goes-cafe-society-and-lady-mendl-at-hammond-castle-museum-31008 END:VEVENT END:VCALENDAR