Yolande Marie Louise Lyne-Stephens (Pauline Duvernay)
Yolande Marie Louise Lyne-Stephens (Pauline Duvernay)
Artist: Boilvin, Emile, printmaker - French printmaker, 1845-1899; Date(s): 1890; Classification(s): print, print, etching; Acquisition: given by Rushforth, M.K. (Miss), 1979-10 [P.30-1979]
Description: Two letters from Miss Rushforth relating to the gift are stored with the print. They provide some biographical detail; Yolande Marie Louise de Varnay (sometimes known as Pauline Duvernay) was a ballerina, trained by Marie Taglioni, and married Mr Lyne-Stephens, a wealthy Englishman in 1845. She moved to Lynford Hall, Near Norwich, Norfolk and when her husband died in 1861 she was left with a vast fortune. The widow formed a passionate attachment to a general who had been British Ambassador to France, which apparently caused a scandal. After the death of the general, Mrs Lyne-Stephens decided to give her money to charities and built the Church of Our Lady and the English Martyrs in Cambridge. Within the chruch is a bust of the widow and the coat of arms of her husband. The original portrait by Carolus-Duran was at some point on display in the church. Mrs Lyne-Stephens died in 1894.
