Gerald Murphy

The Murphys - 1/4

The part of the French Riviera which was transformed by Americans one century ago is certainly Antibes Juan les Pins!

Benefiting from a weak franc to the dollar, some well-off, forward-thinking Americans, eccentric and visionary, wanted to create their own Eden in Europe, to escape the dull mood of the Prohibition, the strict social norms of America’s upper class, and probably the absence of cultural stimulation in America.

These “Lost Generation” Americans were the first ones to stay throughout the summer, enjoying the sun, building villas, yachts, casinos and hotels, often leaving the local French people puzzled by their extravagant lifestyles. They helped put Antibes on the map as a glamorous destination.

Gerald and Sara Murphy, La Garoupe Beach, Cap d’Antibes, 1926 © Beinecke Library, Yale.

The iconic couple that played the most important role in this transformation is probably Sara and Gerald Murphy, subject of four of my articles… Let’s start with Gerald Murphy in this first one… 

Gerald Murphy at Yale University

Jazz-age dilettante Gerald Murphy, born in 1888 in Boston, MA, was heir to the Mark Cross luxury leather goods company, founded in 1845 in Boston, originally saddlers and harness-makers. His father Patrick bought the company and, in 1902, the Mark Cross shop opened on Fifth Avenue at 25th Street, New York. Gerald’s father introduced into the American market products such as thermos bottles, driving gloves, wristwatches and cocktail shakers. He excelled in finding and importing from Europe those luxury items that conferred class and status. And Gerald spent many years in his father’s old position as president of Mark Cross, until 1956 when he retires.

Mark Cross luggage features in Alfred Hitchcock’s “Rear Window” in 1954, starring Grace Kelly.

Closed in 1997, Mark Cross was reborn in 2010. Today one of their luxury bag ranges is called Antibes.

Gerald Murphy, ca. 1930, by Man Ray © Centre G. Pompidou, Paris

Gerald Murphy and Cole Porter had been classmates at Yale. In 1923, Gerald’s ballet “Within the Quota”, written with his close friend Cole, was staged in Paris with the very avant-garde Ballet Suédois, as a curtain raiser for another event. Gerald painted a stunning curtain, which was a parody of Hearst newspapers of the day, with an ocean liner standing on end beside the Woolworth Building.

In France, Pablo Picasso and Fernand Léger became friends of Gerald’s.

Watercolor by Fernand Léger of Gerald Murphy aboard his schooner The Weatherbird while sailing along the Côte d’Azur in 1934.

Venice, 1923 - Gerald Murphy, Geneviève Carpenter, Cole Porter, Sara Murphy.

Born in Peru, Indiana, American composer and songwriter Cole Porter (1891-1964) who was mobilized in France during World War I, was among the soldiers who dreamed about coming back, and especially to the French Riviera.  He was reputed to have a flair for finding little known places. His dream came true and while staying at the Château de La Garoupe, an incredible estate that still exists today, he received in 1922 the visit of two American expatriates who were to fall in love with the Côte d’Azur, Sara & Gerald Murphy. Cole was the godfather of Honoria, the Murphy’s beloved daughter. Among his most famous songs, “Night & Day”, “True Love”, and “I’ve Got You Under My Skin”.

Next article: Sara….