Etienne de Beaumont. Artist: Adolf de Meyer (American (born France), Paris 1868-1946 Los Angeles, California). Dimensions: 23.7 x 18.6 cm (9 5/16 x 7 5/16 in.). Person in Photograph: Count Etienne de Beaumont (French, 1883-1956). Date: ca. 1923.
An aristocrat and patron of the avant-garde, Count Etienne de Beaumont cuts a dashing figure here, posed in one of the grand salons of his hôtel (grand townhouse) in Paris's rue Masseran. The count hosted a series of legendary masquerade balls at his residence during the interwar period, attended by avant-garde artists such as Jean Cocteau, Pablo Picasso, and Man Ray. De Meyer described these parties, which he and Olga often attended, as "fêtes of unsurpassed magnificence" in a 1923 article for Harper's Bazaar.