The Renoir Girls
A Hidden History of Art, War, and Betrayal
Book • 2026
In 1881, Pierre-Auguste Renoir painted 'Pink and Blue,' a portrait of sisters Elisabeth and Alice Cahen d'Anvers from one of France's richest banking dynasties, capturing the glamour of Belle Époque Paris.
Catherine Ostler chronicles the lives of these three sisters—Irène, Alice, and Elisabeth—amidst opulent society, family secrets, rising antisemitism, the Dreyfus Affair, and the tragedies of two world wars, including collaboration, evasion, and deportation to Auschwitz.
Drawing on letters, diaries, and new research, the book reveals privilege, beauty, betrayal, and the clash of personal lives with Europe's turbulent history.
Catherine Ostler chronicles the lives of these three sisters—Irène, Alice, and Elisabeth—amidst opulent society, family secrets, rising antisemitism, the Dreyfus Affair, and the tragedies of two world wars, including collaboration, evasion, and deportation to Auschwitz.
Drawing on letters, diaries, and new research, the book reveals privilege, beauty, betrayal, and the clash of personal lives with Europe's turbulent history.
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Adam McCauley
Who Are Renoir’s Mystery Girls? With Catherine Ostler
