Maria "São" Schlumberger (; 15 October 192915 August 2007), was a Portuguese-born American fashion and art patron and collector, and the second wife of

Pierre Schlumberger Pierre Schlumberger (1914February 18, 1986) was a French-born American businessman. He was the chief executive of Schlumberger, the world's largest oilfield services company. Early life Pierre Schlumberger was born in Paris in 1914, the son o ...

Early life

She was born Maria da Conceição Schroeder Diniz on 15 October 1929 in

Porto Porto (), also known in English language, English as Oporto, is the List of cities in Portugal, second largest city in Portugal, after Lisbon. It is the capital of the Porto District and one of the Iberian Peninsula's major urban areas. Porto c ...

, Portugal. Her father was a landowner, who grew cork and olives, and her mother – Erna Schröder – was a German heiress from

Hamburg Hamburg (, ; ), officially the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg,. is the List of cities in Germany by population, second-largest city in Germany after Berlin and List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, 7th-lar ...

. Her parents first met at the

University of Coimbra The University of Coimbra (UC; , ) is a Public university, public research university in Coimbra, Portugal. First established in Lisbon in 1290, it went through a number of relocations until moving permanently to Coimbra in 1537. The university ...

and were never legally married. She was largely, then only, raised by her Portuguese paternal grandmother when her German maternal grandmother had distanced herself after marrying another man. From the age of ten, she attended a Lisbon boarding school run by nuns and, in 1951, earned a degree in philosophy and history from the

University of Lisbon The University of Lisbon (ULisboa; ) is a public university, public research university in Lisbon, and Portugal's largest university. It was founded in 1911, but the university's present structure dates to the 2013 merger of the former Universit ...

Personal life

She studied psychology for three months at New York's

Columbia University Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...

, and then worked as a counsellor for juvenile delinquents in Lisbon, before switching to studying art at the

Museu Nacional de Arte Antiga The Museu Nacional de Arte Antiga (; MNAA), also known in English as the National Museum of Ancient Art, is a Portuguese national art museum located in Lisbon. With over 40,000 items spanning a vast collection of painting, sculpture, goldware, fu ...

, where she met Pedro Bessone Basto, a "boulevardier" from a wealthy family. They married in New York, and divorced in under a year. In 1961, the Lisbon-based

Gulbenkian Foundation The Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation (), commonly referred to simply as the Gulbenkian Foundation, is a Portuguese institution dedicated to the promotion of the arts, philanthropy, science, and education. One of the wealthiest charitable founda ...

awarded her a fellowship to research children's programs in New York museums, and once there was helped by Kay Lepercq, whose husband Paul Lepercq was an investment banker, and his clients included the Schlumberger family. After two months,

(1914-1986) proposed and they married in 1961. His first wife, Claire Schwob d'Héricourt, with whom he had five children, died from a stroke in 1959. Pierre and São had two children, Paul-Albert, in 1962, and Victoire, in 1968. They lived in

Houston Houston ( ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and in the Southern United States. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the county seat, seat of ...

, Texas, until he was ousted as CEO in "a family coup" in 1965, and moved to New York City and then Paris.

Art patron and collector

In Paris, they lived in an 18th-century

hôtel particulier () is the French term for a grand urban mansion, comparable to a Townhouse (Great Britain), British townhouse. Whereas an ordinary (house) was built as part of a row, sharing party walls with the houses on either side and directly fronting on a ...

in the , next door to

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, ...

, restored by French architect

Pierre Barbe Pierre Barbe (28 March 1900 – 26 April 2004) was a French architect. Barbe became the "house architect" for the Schlumberger family. He designed Pierre Schlumberger's house on Lazy Lane in Houston, Texas. For Pierre and his first wife Claire ...

, with interior design by

Valerian Rybar Valerian Stux Rybar (or Stux-Rybar; 17 June 19199 June 1990) was an American interior designer, called the "world's most expensive decorator" in 1972, and known for his opulent and extravagant taste. Early life Rybar was born on 17 June 1919, in ...

in "a provocative mix of classic and modern styles". She regularly organised parties, ranging from formal black-tie balls to a "hot-pants party". Schlumberger particularly liked the work of

Mark Rothko Mark Rothko ( ; Markus Yakovlevich Rothkowitz until 1940; September 25, 1903February 25, 1970) was an American abstract art, abstract painter. He is best known for his color field paintings that depicted irregular and painterly rectangular reg ...

Robert Rauschenberg Milton Ernest "Robert" or "Bob" Rauschenberg (October 22, 1925 – May 12, 2008) was an American painter and graphic artist whose early works anticipated the Pop art movement. Rauschenberg is well known for his Combine painting, Combines (1954� ...

, and

Roy Lichtenstein Roy Fox Lichtenstein ( ; October27, 1923September29, 1997) was an American pop artist. He rose to prominence in the 1960s through pieces which were inspired by popular advertising and the comic book style. Much of his work explores the relations ...

. Her portrait was painted by

Salvador Dalí Salvador Domingo Felipe Jacinto Dalí i Domènech, Marquess of Dalí of Púbol (11 May 190423 January 1989), known as Salvador Dalí ( ; ; ), was a Spanish Surrealism, surrealist artist renowned for his technical skill, precise draftsmanship, ...

, but in 1987, she said, "I don't really like it. I was expecting a fantasy... but he did a classic". Dali also designed for her an elaborate pearl-and-emerald necklace which she often wore.

Andy Warhol Andy Warhol (;''Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary''"Warhol" born Andrew Warhola Jr.; August 6, 1928 – February 22, 1987) was an American visual artist, film director and producer. A leading figure in the pop art movement, Warhol ...

also painted her portrait. She was a patron to the fashion designer

John Galliano John Charles Galliano (born 28 November 1960) is a British fashion designer. He was the creative director of his eponymous label John Galliano and French fashion houses Givenchy and Dior. From 2014 to 2024, Galliano was the creative director ...

, and lent him her empty 17th-century Paris hotel particulier (which she had left for a new Right Bank apartment), for his autumn 1994 show, designed with the help of

André Leon Talley André Leon Talley (October 16, 1948 – January 18, 2022) was an American fashion journalist, stylist, creative director, author, and editor-at-large of '' Vogue'' magazine. He was the magazine's fashion news director from 1983 to 1987, its f ...

Amanda Harlech Amanda Jane Ormsby-Gore, Baroness Harlech (''née'' Grieve; May 1958), is a British creative consultant, writer and actress with a long association with the couturiers John Galliano and Karl Lagerfeld. She was named to the International Best Dres ...

, and Steven Robinson.

Death

She died in Paris on 15 August 2007. Her funeral at Saint-Pierre-du-Gros-Caillou church in the 7th arrondissement was attended by six people, due to the city being "empty" in August: her daughter Victoire, Henri, Count of Paris, André Dunstetter, Nicholas Dadeshkeliani, the graphic artist Philippe Morillon, and Maria, her personal maid.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Schlumberger, Sao 1929 births 2007 deaths Schlumberger people American art collectors Women collectors University of Lisbon alumni People from Porto Portuguese art collectors Portuguese people of German descent