Rosamond Bernier went to Paris the same way that Isak Dinesen went to Africa, with crazy dreams in her head. Both of these privileged, high-spirited ladies got up and moved far away from home, throwing off conventions that might have held them in check had they just stayed put. And both of them, in between their adventures, wrote. Traveling to Paris after the war to serve as a European cultural editor for Vogue, Bernier fell right in with Picasso, Matisse, Miro and other art stars, started the magazine L’Oiel, and then returned stateside triumphantly, writing art history books and lecturing at the Met.
Today, at ninetey-five, Bernier retains an aura of glamor. She wears couture separates, grooms herself regally, and walks with the assistance of a handsome young escort. She spoke in New York recently to promote her latest book, Some of My Lives: A Scrapbook Memoir. As slides flashed on the screen she offered up gossip about her brilliant friends. Before meeting Picasso, she remembered, her publisher advised, “Whatever you do, don’t wear a hat and don’t ask any questions.” Those words served her well. The great painter made her a confidante and granted her exclusive access to some of his work. Bernier lives life big. When she married her third husband, art critic John Russell, at the Glass House in Darien, Aaron Copland was the best man, Leonard Bernstein was a witness, Richard Avedon was the photographer, and Philip Johnson was in attendance. Looking back at it all and summing it up, she said, “I made terrible mistakes and had a marvelous time.” There has got to be some wisdom in that.