Sunning One's Pearls

Sara Murphy and pearls, Antibes, 1924.

"Her bathing suit was pulled off her shoulders and her back, a ruddy orange brown set off by a string of creamy pearls, shone in the sun."—F. Scott Fitzgerald

Sara Murphy was a friend and muse to many of the artists of the Lost Generation. In 1923 she and husband Gerald Murphy purchased a house in Cap d'Antibes in the South of France, which they named Villa America. There the Murphys threw parties and played host to their friends, including Fitzgerald, Picasso, Hemingway, and Mrs. Parker, turning the quiet town into a fashionable summer resort. Days were spent at the beach, where the Murphys and their guests swam and sunbathed (a rather new concept). Sara was known to wear her famous rope of pearls on the beach, always draped down her back so as to not spoil her tan in the front. She claimed the sun was good for the pearls. I think Sara was on to something and plan to do the same next time I'm at the beach.