Henry Clews Jr.
Henry Clews Jr. (April 23, 1876 – July 28, 1937) was an American-born artist who moved to France in 1914 in search of greater artistic freedom. He is known for the reconstruction of a Mediterranean waterfront chateau on the French Riviera a few miles west of Cannes, known as the Château de la Napoule, which today is operated by a trust and is open to the public. Together with his American wife, Elsie Whelan Goelet Clews, Clews began rebuilding the medieval fortress in 1918; the couple continued the fantasy-themed construction for the rest of their lives.
Henry Clews Jr. | |
|---|---|
| Born | April 23, 1876 New York City, U.S. |
| Died | July 28, 1937 (aged 61) Luzern, Switzerland |
| Education | Amherst College Columbia University Leibniz University Hannover |
| Spouses | Louise Hollingsworth Morris
(m. 1901, divorced)Marie Elsie Whelan
(m. 1914) |
| Children | 3, including Louise Timpson |
| Parent(s) | Henry Clews Lucy Madison Worthington |
| Relatives | Elsie Clews Parsons (sister) Ian Campbell, 12th Duke of Argyll (grandson) James Blanchard Clews (cousin) |
The main building included an artist's studio for Henry and an adjacent seaside castle tower enclosing a lover's tomb where both Henry and Marie are laid to rest in side-by-side stone caskets.