A new show at Washington’s Hillwood Estate, Museum and Gardens delivers an exquisite look at a fascinating but forgotten 20th century icon.

Whether you’re familiar with her story or just getting to know her for the first time, you’re in for a real treat with the museum’s “From Exile to Avant-Garde: The Life of Princess Natalie Paley.” This show delves deeply into the relationships, revolutions and fashions that shaped Paley, a woman who seemed to be at the nexus of the most intriguing people and events of the last century. 

“Those who know her really know her, and were excited about this show and couldn’t wait for it to happen,” Wilfried Zeisler, Hillwood’s deputy director and chief curator, told the Washington Diplomat. “But many people have also heard of her indirectly. She’s connected with so many different art expressions: dance, fashion, jewelry, cinema, paintings.”

The exhibition fully explores the elegant, glamorous and dramatic life of Paley, a Russian aristocrat and princess in exile whose parents were Grand Duke Paul Alexandrovich, the uncle of Emperor Nicholas II of Russia, and Princess Olga Valerianovna. 

Her parents were banished from Russia due to the marriage — Olga was divorced and of a lower class — but the family led an idyllic existence just outside of Paris. They were eventually pardoned and moved back to Russia, but war broke out in 1914, upending the family’s existence. Natalie then began a series of moves that transformed her life and brought her further into the spotlight. 

She became a genuine fashion icon, marrying couture designer Lucien Lelong and working as a model with appearances in magazines like Vogue and Harper’s Bazaar. She came to the United States in the 1930s and made new artistic connections thanks to the fashion label Mainbocher and the circle of her second husband, the theater producer Jack Wilson. Throughout it all, she carved her own path, Zeisler said.

“We all thought it was really time for her to have her own moment, to not talk about her in connection with others, but try to explore her life and role in this art world of her time,” he said.

The exhibition covers her many relationships and friendships with artists, designers and writers, with a strong focus on her own creative and tumultuous life. If you like soap operas, this exhibition feels like you’ve stepped into one — complete with affairs, fashion and high drama. 

And it all came together thanks to a major acquisition in 2022 of pieces that once belonged to Paley and the Romanovs, Zeisler said.

“In 2022, we were able to acquire a collection that originally came from the family, and then some other documents and archival material related to her and other members of the family,” he said. “That triggered the idea of doing a whole exhibition around her fascinating story.”

Megan Martinelli, Hillwood’s curator of apparel, jewelry, accessories and textiles, added that the initial draw of the acquisition came from the connection to Grand Duke Paul Alexandrovich and the museum “being a kind of repository for these imperial Russian family family stories,” as a legacy of founder Marjorie Merriweather Post.

“Having Natalie as this more contemporary figure coming out of this collection, I think that just made us want to interpret it in a different way, to spotlight her story,” Martinelli said. 

“We’re always looking for ways to reinterpret the material that we have, and this seemed like such an obvious direction to go… starting with the context of what we’re rooted in, and then moving out to explore other angles. She’s such a compelling figure and just hasn’t been touched on yet, so it’s cool to bring her to the surface.”

And there’s truly a wealth of objects on display here to get to know Paley’s story. Visitors can enjoy some spectacular jewelry — brooches, intricately painted tiny Easter eggs, rings and hat pins — along with stunning photographs, clothing, home wares, paintings and porcelain. 

A major highlight of the show is the cinema room, where Paley’s brief career as an actress is the star. The selected clips are well-worth settling in for, and add some additional depth to the show. After getting to know her so well throughout the exhibition, it’s a joy to watch Paley come to life on screen before heading back out into Hillwood’s gardens.

Another notable piece in the show is an iconic red dress from the 1940s, which Martinelli picked up after a long road trip in southern France to visit the home of Paley’s biographer. She thought she was going to borrow the dress for this exhibition, but after lunch, the “extremely kind and generous” biographer surprised her, Martinelli recalled. 

“He said, ‘My mom and I were talking and we think that you should have the dress in your collection,’” she said. “So instead of borrowing it, I took it back and it’s ours…It’s kind of amazing that we were able to get this piece for our collection.”

That’s just one of the many remarkable items held within this exhibition, which is the first devoted to Paley. It’s well-worth stopping by Hillwood soon to excavate the story of this forgotten icon and get to know her fascinating story yourself.

“From Exile to Avant-Garde: The Life of Princess Natalie Paley” is on view at Hillwood Estate, Museum & Gardens’ Adirondack Building through Jan. 4, 2026. 

All photos by Mark Finkenstaedt, Hillwood Estate, Museum & Gardens.