La Pausa - Coco Chanel's Home

I was able to visit to the Dallas Museum of Art recently.  One of the permanent exhibits was a reconstruction of La Pausa, a home that Gabrielle (Coco) Chanel built on the French Riviera in 1927.  The 5 acre lot was originally located near Monaco.  In the early 1950's, fellow model Emery Reves, purchased the home and it's contents from Chanel.  In 1985, Reves donated the home and it's vast collection of art and antiques to the museum.

The home is reconstructed inside the walls of the museum and is pretty much in contrast to the other galleries inside the modern building.

This is the entry hall into the reconstruction of the house.

The reconstruction includes a replica of the exterior coutryard

Some of the furniture was given to Coco by the Duke of Westminister with whom she was romantically involved with.

The master bedroom

The house is full of antique furniture and great works of art including Renoir and Monet.

The dining room opens into the courtyard

The living room  or Salon opens to the courtyard opposite the dining room

Each room has a directory identifying the artist and the date

The home has hosted all kinds of dignitaries: Greta Garbo, Aristotle Onassis, and The Duke and Duchess of Windsor, just to name few.  Another frequent guest was Winston Churchill.  He would stay for months at a time. The following are paintings that Churchill worked on while staying at the home.

Churchill first stayed at the estate in 1956 after retiring from public life.