Sibyl Sophie Julia,[1] Lady Colefax (néeHalsey; 1874 – 22 September 1950) was an Englishinterior decorator[2] and socialite in the first half of the twentieth century.[3]
Colefax was born atWimbledon, third but only surviving daughter (and fifth and last child) of William Stirling Halsey, of the Indian Civil Service, and Sophie Victoria, daughter of the businessman and politicianJames Wilson.[4] Her mother's sister, Emily, married the eminentconstitutionalistWalter Bagehot.[5][6][7] She lived inCawnpore, India, until the age of 20 when she went on theGrand Tour. In 1901, she married patent lawyer SirArthur Colefax, who was briefly the MP forManchester South West in 1910. They set up home atArgyll House,King's Road,Chelsea and at Old Buckhurst inSussex. Widely admired for her taste, after she had lost most of her fortune in theWall Street crash she began to decorate professionally, using her formidable address book for contacts. She was able to purchase the decorating division of the antique dealers Stair and Andrew ofBruton Street,Mayfair and established Sibyl Colefax Ltd in partnership with Peggy Ward, the Countess Munster. On her 'retirement' (following a family tragedy) Peggy Ward advised her to take onJohn Fowler (1906–1977) as her partner, which she did in April 1938. The advent of war cut short this partnership. During theSecond World War, she organised asoup kitchen and continued to entertain. She often held small lunch parties atThe Dorchester known as 'Ordinaries' after which the guest would receive a small bill.[8]
She had an affair with the English writerVirginia Woolf, and corresponded with Woolf's husband upon Woolf's death in 1941.[9][10]
In 1944, the business, managed by John Fowler, took a lease on 39Brook Street, Mayfair where it remained until December 2016.[citation needed] Also in 1944 Sibyl Colefax sold the business to Nancy Tree (Nancy Lancaster as she became in 1948) for a sum in the order of £10000. She renamed the business Sibyl Colefax and John Fowler Ltd, the name continuing today as the decorating division of theColefax Group Plc.[citation needed]
Colefax died at her home inLord North Street, Westminster on 22 September 1950.Harold Nicolson penned an affectionate tribute that appeared shortly after inThe Listener.[11] She was the inspiration, according to the art historian John Richardson, for the designer Mrs. Beaver inEvelyn Waugh'sA Handful of Dust, and for Mrs. Aldwinkle inAldous Huxley'sThose Barren Leaves.[12] In the 1940s she was referred to frequently by the diarist and socialite politicianHenry "Chips" Channon, who describes her as "charming, gentle and sad".[13]
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