Gisèle d’Ailly van Waterschoot van der Gracht is her full name – and only fitting for a 100 year old artist who grew up in an Austrian castle, studied at the Paris École des Beaux d’Arts (which was interrupted by the financial crisis in Europe  in the thirties & the oncoming war), provided shelter for Jewish Germans in her canal house apartment in Amsterdam during WWII – where she still lives today, rebuilt and lived in a ruined monastery on the island of Paros in Greece with her husband… she sounds like a remarkable woman, and her beautiful eclectic art filled home (she actually owns the entire building now) is a perfect reflection of that. do yourself a favour and read the entire article at Freunde von Freunden. what a treat for a random Tuesday morning.

Photography: Jordi Huisman for Freunde von Freunden

here is a picture of Gisèle during the war – thanks to Francesca Rheannon, whose father was part of the underground artist community that congregated at Gisèle’s home in WWII.