Countess Lily Pastré (a.k.a. Marie-Louise Double de Saint-Lambert) (1891–1974) was a French heiress and patron of the arts. She sheltered many Jewish artists in her Château Pastré in

Marseille Marseille (; ; see #Name, below) is a city in southern France, the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Departments of France, department of Bouches-du-Rhône and of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Regions of France, region. Situated in the ...

during World War II. After the war, she helped establish the Aix-en-Provence Festival, an annual opera festival in

Aix-en-Provence Aix-en-Provence, or simply Aix, is a List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, city and Communes of France, commune in southern France, about north of Marseille. A former capital of Provence, it is the Subprefectures in France, s ...

Biography

Early life

Marie-Louise Double de Saint-Lambert was born in 1891 at 167 rue Paradis in

.Le Salon de Lily, Hommage à la Comtesse Pastré, mécène
, Culture 13
, Culture 13Lily Pastré, mécène éclairé et âme généreuse
'' La Croix'', 4/8/13David Coquille
Lily Pastré, du vermouth pour un conte de fée
, ''La Marsellaise'', April 07, 2014 Her father was Paul Double (1868-1935). Her paternal grandparents were Léon Double and Marie Prat (1849-1939), whose father, Claudius Prat (1814-1859), was the co-founder of Noilly Prat. She was thus an heiress to the Noilly Prat vermouth fortune. Her mother, Véra Magnan, was Russian. Her maternal great-grandfather was Bernard Pierre Magnan, a

Marshal of France Marshal of France (, plural ') is a French military distinction, rather than a military rank, that is awarded to General officer, generals for exceptional achievements. The title has been awarded since 1185, though briefly abolished (1793–1804) ...

. Beyond the Noilly Prat fortune, her family had become large landowners thanks to the

dowry A dowry is a payment such as land, property, money, livestock, or a commercial asset that is paid by the bride's (woman's) family to the groom (man) or his family at the time of marriage. Dowry contrasts with the related concepts of bride price ...

systems and good marriages. They were originally from

Lyon Lyon (Franco-Provençal: ''Liyon'') is a city in France. It is located at the confluence of the rivers Rhône and Saône, to the northwest of the French Alps, southeast of Paris, north of Marseille, southwest of Geneva, Switzerland, north ...

before they moved to Marseille. Lily grew up in Marseille. She was raised as a

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

. As a child, she was an avid tennis player and swimmer, and learned how to play the piano. One of her brothers, Maurice, was killed during the First World War in 1916.

Philanthropy

In the 1920s, she was a member of many society salons in Paris, including Marie-Blanche de Polignac's. It was there that she met many artists started supporting them, including Henri Sauguet. She appeared in

Man Ray Man Ray (born Emmanuel Radnitzky; August 27, 1890 – November 18, 1976) was an American naturalized French visual artist who spent most of his career in Paris. He was a significant contributor to the Dada and Surrealism, Surrealist movements, ...

's 1929 film set at the Villa Noailles, '' Les Mystères du Château de Dé''. She also attended the opera festivals in

Bayreuth Bayreuth ( or ; High Franconian German, Upper Franconian: Bareid, ) is a Town#Germany, town in northern Bavaria, Germany, on the Red Main river in a valley between the Franconian Jura and the Fichtel Mountains. The town's roots date back to 11 ...

and

Salzburg Salzburg is the List of cities and towns in Austria, fourth-largest city in Austria. In 2020 its population was 156,852. The city lies on the Salzach, Salzach River, near the border with Germany and at the foot of the Austrian Alps, Alps moun ...

. In 1940, she established a philanthropic foundation to support the arts known as Pour que l’esprit vive (May the spirit live).Agnes Grunwald-Spier, ''The Other Schindlers: Why Some People Chose to Save Jews in the Holocaust'', The History Press, 2010, p. 3

/ref> In particular, it was meant to support struggling artists. It was headquartered on the Canebière. During World War II, she sheltered Jewish artists in the Château Pastré, including the harpist Lily Laskine, the pianists Youra Guller and Monique Haas, the painter Rudolf Kundera, etc. She was also asked by her friend

Édith Piaf Édith Giovanna Gassion (19 December 1915 – 10 October 1963), known as Édith Piaf (), was a French singer and lyricist best known for performing songs in the cabaret and modern chanson genres. She is widely regarded as France's greatest popu ...

to shelter her Jewish lover, Norbert Glanzberg, and she agreed to do so.Carolyn Burke, ''No Regrets: The Life of Edith Piaf'', Chicago, Illinois: Chicago Review Press, 2012, p. 8

/ref> Moreover, she arranged for the pianist Clara Haskil to receive medical care and then escape to

Vevey Vevey (; ; ) is a town in Switzerland in the Vaud, canton of Vaud, on the north shore of Lake Leman, near Lausanne. The German name Vivis is no longer commonly used. It was the seat of the Vevey (district), district of the same name until 200 ...

, in Switzerland. She also hosted the cellist

Pablo Casals Pau Casals i Defilló (Catalan: ; 29 December 187622 October 1973), known in English as Pablo Casals,Josephine Baker Freda Josephine Baker (; June 3, 1906 – April 12, 1975), naturalized as Joséphine Baker, was an American and French dancer, singer, and actress. Her career was centered primarily in Europe, mostly in France. She was the first Black woman to s ...

, Samson François,

Darius Milhaud Darius Milhaud (, ; 4 September 1892 – 22 June 1974) was a French composer, conductor, and teacher. He was a member of Les Six—also known as ''The Group of Six''—and one of the most prolific composers of the 20th century. His composition ...

, Georges Auric,

André Masson André-Aimé-René Masson (; 4 January 1896 – 28 October 1987) was a French artist. Biography Masson was born in Balagny-sur-Thérain, Oise, but when he was eight his father's work took the family first briefly to Lille and then to Brus ...

Paul Valéry Ambroise Paul Toussaint Jules Valéry (; 30 October 1871 – 20 July 1945) was a French poet, essayist, and philosopher. In addition to his poetry and fiction (drama and dialogues), his interests included aphorisms on art, history, letters, m ...

, Lanza del Vasto, André Roussin,

Victor Brauner Victor Brauner (, also spelled Viktor Brauner; 15 June 1903 – 12 March 1966) was a Romanian painter and sculptor of the surrealism (art), surrealist movement. Early life He was born in Piatra Neamț, Romania, the son of a Jewish timber manufac ...

, Luc Dietrich, Marcel Brion, Gérard Bauër,

Raoul Dufy Raoul Dufy (; 3 June 1877 – 23 March 1953) was a French painter associated with the Fauvist movement. He gained recognition for his vibrant and decorative style, which became popular in various forms, such as textile designs, and public build ...

, etc. On July 29, 1942, ''

A Midsummer Night's Dream ''A Midsummer Night's Dream'' is a Comedy (drama), comedy play written by William Shakespeare in about 1595 or 1596. The play is set in Athens, and consists of several subplots that revolve around the marriage of Theseus and Hippolyta. One s ...

'' by

William Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 23 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...

was performed on the estate. The directors were Jean Walls and Boris Kochno, the costume designer was Christian Bérard, the composer was

Jacques Ibert Jacques François Antoine Marie Ibert (15 August 1890 – 5 February 1962) was a French composer of 20th-century classical music, classical music. Having studied music from an early age, he studied at the Conservatoire de Paris, Paris Conservatoir ...

and the conductor was

Manuel Rosenthal Manuel Rosenthal (18 June 1904 – 5 June 2003) was a French composer and conductor who held leading positions with musical organizations in France and the United States. He was friends with many contemporary composers, and despite a considerab ...

. Ninety percent of the orchestra were Jewish. The performance was covered by ''

Le Figaro () is a French daily morning newspaper founded in 1826. It was named after Figaro, a character in several plays by polymath Pierre Beaumarchais, Beaumarchais (1732–1799): ''Le Barbier de Séville'', ''The Guilty Mother, La Mère coupable'', ...

''. In 1948, she helped establish the Aix-en-Provence Festival, an annual opera festival in

, by covering the entire costs. She hired

Hans Rosbaud Hans Rosbaud (22 July 1895 – 29 December 1962) was an Austrian conductor, particularly associated with the music of the twentieth century. Biography Rosbaud was born in Graz. As children, he and his brother Paul Rosbaud performed with thei ...

as well as a German orchestra, even though it was only three years after the war. She also hired the pianists Clara Haskil and Jean Doyen, the soprano Maria Stader, and the Quartetto Italiano. However, by 1949, she stopped serving on the Board of Trustees of the festival, due to disagreements with the President of the festival, Gabriel Dussurget, who wanted the festival to become more professional. She donated a parcel of land next to her Château Pastré to Emmaüs, a Catholic organization for the homeless.

Personal life

In 1918, she married Count Jean Pastré, an aristocrat and

polo Polo is a stick and ball game that is played on horseback as a traditional field sport. It is one of the world's oldest known team sports, having been adopted in the Western world from the game of Chovgan (), which originated in ancient ...

player who went on to play polo at the 1924 Summer Olympics. She received the title "Countess" via her marriage. They had three children: Nadia, Nicole and Pierre. They resided in Paris and summered at the Château Pastré in

. They divorced in 1940, and she was given the château, keeping her aristocratic title.

Death

She died in 1974.

Legacy

After her death, her son Pierre resided in the Château Pastré. He later donated it to the City of Marseille, where it became home to the

Musée de la Faïence de Marseille The Musée de la Faïence de Marseille was a museum in southern Marseille, France, dedicated to faience, a type of pottery. It opened to the public in June 1995, in Château Pastré at 157, Avenue de Montredon 13008 Marseille. It closed on 31 Dece ...

. Her daughter Nicole married Joachim, 7th Prince Murat and became known as Princess Murat.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pastre, Lily 1891 births 1974 deaths People from Marseille People from Aix-en-Provence Philanthropists from Paris 20th-century French philanthropists French women philanthropists