Born into a wealthy family, she lost both parents during childhood and inherited a considerable fortune from them. This allowed her to devote herself to her interests from an early age, free from parental supervision. She developed an interest in the arts during her teenage years, and her financial independence enabled her to purchase a painting by Van Gogh in 1908, when she was just 20. The Dutch artist had painted this work, which is on display in the exhibition, in 1889. It is a portrait of Charles-Elzéard Trabuc, a male nurse who helped care for Van Gogh while he was staying at an asylum in southern France, before the artist died at the age of 37.
