I commissioned these white sofas to be a base for the many layered cushions that I love and spent many happy hours on them - the perfect spot to retire with friends after a dinner party. Alexandra Tolstaya Countess Alexandra ( Sasha) Lvovna Tolstaya ( Russian: ; 18 June 1884 - 26 September 1979), often anglicized to Tolstoy, was the youngest daughter and secretary of the noted Russian novelist Leo Tolstoy. I slightly lost myself thinking [the Pugachev-era clothes] were beautiful and actually its extraordinary how your vision can get warped and distorted. The sale runs until November 25 on christies.com. After arriving in the UK in 2011, he was accused of siphoning a fortune out of his finance house Mezhprombank. She was given permission to leave the Soviet Union in 1929 and went to Japan in the same year. Later, while living and working in Moscow, she met Sergei Pugachev, with whom she would have three children. As well as her own pre-loved pieces, there are also bargains from some of her fashionable friends, including Cond Nast Traveller's fashion director Martha Ward and chic interiors store owner Alex Eagle. I felt like Bridget Jones, so awkward. I was fascinated to know whether, in a contrary sense, this had prepared her and the children for lockdown, as shed already become so accustomed to feeling great isolation, especially in their French chteau, which was sort of isolation anyway. Reading Russian literature gave me a greater understanding of the Russian character. Alexandra said: 'The sale of the interiors from my Chelsea townhouse at Christies London marks a new chapter in my life. 111K followers. In the February 2016 High Court judgment, no ruling was made on the allegations of embezzled cash and Pugachev told the court he had not stolen any money. Theyre really works of art, some things I didnt do totally wrong.. I just had to pack my suitcase and I could go.'. During your trial you will have complete digital access to FT.com with everything in both of our Standard Digital and Premium Digital packages. "The Scottish cupboard lined with striped fabric by Colefax. But I will never go to France. But the eventual dramatic unravelling of their liaison was laid bare in a documentary which aired last week on BBC, The Countess and the Russian billionaire. She could choose whatever she wanted. Countess Alexandra Tolstoy. Wearing Alex Gore Browne knitwear Alexandra Tolstoy As well as her own pre-loved pieces, there are also bargains from some of her fashionable friends, including Cond Nast Traveller's fashion director Martha Ward and chic interiors store owner Alex Eagle. But an experience like that opens your mind. Among the treasures coming to auction are an impressive group of botanical prints (above) sourced by Sibyl Colefax & John Fowler, and a pair of George Smart felt pictures (below) from around 1820 that once hung in the childrens bedroom. She was born in Poole, Dorset. FILTER Showing 20 products Cashmere Folk Fair Isle Jumper $789 $475 The pair soon enlisted Burns help. Now, more than ever, we need your support. On the order of the High Court, the family home was put on the market and Alexandra made a deal with the Russian government to drop her claim to his fortune. I think I first met Daniel two days before giving birth to my first child, she muses. I fell so in love with him. In the propertys light, lofty rooms, vibrant contemporary pieces sit in happy juxtaposition with 19th-century works of art, fabulous curiosities and treasures from Tolstoys globetrotting adventures. With the help of Emma Burns and Daniel Slowik of Londons longest established interior decorating firm, Sibyl Colefax & John Fowler, the Anglo-Russian author and broadcaster created an interior that was warm, welcoming and a reflection of her unique sense of style. I suppose that I was not very confident anyway, and I felt I needed to live-up to these very shiny, perfect girls and I was a bit Bridget Jones-like in comparison to them, so felt probably a bit inadequate I shouldve just carried on the way I was I didnt realise, but it accentuated how lost Id become, and it also made me much more dependent on him, so I think he liked it, because it isolated me from my family., She now considers the trappings of her private-jet-chic vulgar, and has since sold almost all that which shes kept, realising bogged down the luxurious tokens of her billionaire lifestyle: The really cathartic moment was last summer I thought I have to sell these ridiculous handbags, I have to sell them because theyre actually quite liquid its money that I can use to pay school fees and I can educate the children I suddenly managed to make myself look at them and think its not really me anyway.. Wardrobes full of couture, endless priceless jewels and never-ending shopping trips. A year later, they met again at an awards ceremony attended by the Russian president. They were symbols of a bad time so it doesnt matter.. offers FT membership to read for free. George Smart, A pair of Regency cut-felt collage pictures of The Goose Woman and Old Bright The Postman of Frant, c. 1820. I went on to take groups every year between 2002 and 2009, and was leading a tour the week before my wedding. Alexandra Tolstoy: An Interior by Sibyl Colefax & John Fowler selling online at Christie's from 4 25 November, The comments below have not been moderated, By Brora x Alexandra Tolstoy. Talking about her pursuit of an exquisitely domestic lifestyle, Alexandra says that its not just aesthetic, it does also go with a kind of freedom of thought, doesnt it? State creditors in Moscow pursued him in the British courts, claiming he embezzled hundreds of millions. He voiced the crocodile in my childrens favourite Soviet cartoon, Cheburashka, so its like hes in our home. 10:55 EST 03 Nov 2020 She had - still has - the English Rose looks to match; subtly tanned from hours of outdoor pursuits, rosy cheeks and often wearing her blonde hair in Heidi plaits or tied up with a scarf. I just called him the baby. Tolstoy will donate 20% of the proceeds from her sales to St Gregorys, a charity which helps poor families in St Petersburg. Please, She married an Uzbek horseman and rode the length of the Silk Road; lived the oligarch lifestyle with Putins banker; and now leads intrepid group tours of the Stans, A Kyrgyz camp in Naryn region, Kyrgyzstan, Yasnaya Polyana, Leo Tolstoys former redoubt. It completely goes when you can buy it all and who doesnt love a bargain? Earlier that day, she proudly tells me, shed found wonderful vintage Hungarian fabrics and embroidery to re-use for the childrens little wooden caravan, making curtains: thats just so rewarding. For Countess Alexandra Tolstoy, the fantasy became reality when she met billionaire Russian banker Sergei Pugachev in 2008 and left her then-husband, an impoverished Uzbek horseman called Shamil Galimzyanov, for a life of unimaginable luxury. 1,514 posts. Someone who worked for us stole my jewellery and at first I was devastated because it was jewellery that I could sell to look after my children, I just thought this is the end, but actually you know Ive managed to survive and its fine. Alexandra spoke to Jenny Coad. Alexandra also worked with Emma on her home in Moscow. An eclectic selection of furniture and objets dart will also be offered everything from a trio of decorated and painted lidded jars from the mid-19th century to a mid-20th-century English oak and brass desk. Verified. Alexandra Tolstoy and "Lucky Diamond" arrives at the fourth annual Paws for Style fundraiser hosted by Animal Fair Magazine May 1, 2003 in New York. Alexandra on horseback in Kyrgyzstan. It was shocking how he had absolutely no clue about finances, about running a company; it was shocking basic accounting, he didnt even understand. Some people dont care about aesthetics, but for me, to be creative is really part of my DNA. Alexandra tells me how her appreciation for books and visual arts were completely crushed: I couldnt do anything; the luxury afforded to her nevertheless impeded her fundamental desire to be productive and freedom to explore creatively. As the eldest of author and historian Count Nikolai Tolstoy and his wife Georginas four children, her childhood in the countryside was as wholesome, homespun and Mitfordian U as they come. or I did really lose myself in that period and Ive started dressing in a way that just wasnt me. When writing about the house for House & Garden, our former editor Susan Crewe wrote, 'I would describe Alexandras look as couture ethnic because of her passion for texture, pattern and embroidery, and one look at her Instagram profile will leave you in no doubt that colour plays a vital part in her life.'. Within months, Tolstoy and was pregnant with Sergei's child. analyse how our Sites are used. She pairs this with other traditional Russian symbols such as matryoshkas, or Russian dolls, which represent motherhood and. Simon Brown 2/8 Cushions and textiles add colour to the pale linen-covered sofas. It was amazing. ", "The pair of white sofas with cushions. Since then Tolstoy has launched a number of projects, among them an online pre-loved fashion business and The Tolstoy Edit, an online platform where she shares her style secrets for the worlds of fashion, interiors and travel. Alexandra Tolstoy, Sigrid Kirk and Isabella Macpherson attend the Molly Goddard presentation during London Fashion Week Spring/Summer 2016 at the BFC. Shortly before her birth, Leo had almost stopped writing novels . They will say I am old fashioned, but I am afraid for this country, because of lack of religion among the young ones, drugs, immorality and the shamelessness of youth.[4], For her present-day distant cousin of the same name, see, Last edited on 31 December 2022, at 00:52, Learn how and when to remove this template message, Alexandra Tolstoy, at 90, Is Honored for Lifetime of Helping Others, "What Today's Youth Can Learn From the Great Russian Writer Leo Tolstoy", Oral history interview with Alexandra Tolstoy 1966, Picture of Alexandra Tolstoy in Valley Cottage, Saint Sergius Learning Center founded in association with Tolstoy Foundation in Valley Cottage, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Alexandra_Tolstaya&oldid=1130601922, This page was last edited on 31 December 2022, at 00:52. Tolstoy has also partnered with Ampersand Travel to curate boutique tours of Russia, and garnered a loyal following across her trio of Instagram accounts. After visiting Sergei at their chteau in France, where he was physically violent towards her, locked their passports in a safe and smashed her mobile phone, Alexandra managed to return with the children to the UK and now lives between her small country cottage in Oxfordshire and their London townhouse, which she was forced to sell in a deal with the Russian authorities (though thankfully can remain in residence each month until it sells). Now I embrace embroidery, vintage Fair Isle knitwear from eBay and clothes by the Russian designer Russmotive, which reprints old fabric designs. She organises adventurous horse riding holidays in Kyrgyzstan, and runs The Tolstoy Edit, a curated shop of her favourite interiors discoveries. Her life with Pugachev took her away from all that, and transported her into a life where designer trainers were in, collections of Chanel handbags were vast and vintage market buys were out. Enjoy browsing and do email us if you have any questions! If I look at my children, theyre incredibly curious about a lot of things Im not sure their peers would be curious about my oldest son is obsessed with carnivorous plants, and the middle one is making things all the time I think that, somehow, that aesthetic they sort of go hand-in-hand. Stephanie Linning For Mailonline cookies I felt it was quite symbolic, it was out of Russia that this crazy life had happened and now I was giving something back which felt good., But shes honest that its as much for her own familys welfare that shes doing it, too. We support credit card, debit card and PayPal payments. It was a real adventure. But, Alexandras presently unassuming country lifestyle, or, indeed, the life of adventure in her earlier years, is miles from the shrouded world of Russian high society, and from the 200-acre estate in Hertfordshire and $40 million beach-front Caribbean villa she recently enjoyed with her husband, whose fortune went from $15 billion to $70 million and now refuses to give her and the children even a penny. It also serves as such a wonderful background any colour works against it., Christies Online Magazine delivers our best features, videos, and auction news to your inbox every week, Of the dedicated Christies online sale she says, I would love these pieces to go to people who really appreciate them and love them. ALEXANDRA TOLSTOY Adventurer and mother, writer, broadcaster and occasional designer The industry is completely different now. personalising content and ads, providing social media features and to She picks up the telephone, and I can hear the excited chatter of the children who are going into the sitting room to be read a Just William story by their grandfather. Its the kind of fashion scenario dreams are made of, isnt it? The Getty Images design is a trademark of Getty Images. After nearly 11 years, however, Tolstoy is moving on from the home she has so lovingly put together, and is now offering some of its contents for sale at Christie's. Leo Tolstoy with his daughter Alexandra Lvovna Tolstaya But even more interesting to me is the life of his youngest surviving daughter Alexandra Tolstaya (1884-1979). It took me two years to really look at these things, and think this was really not you and I dont even like these things, she explains, switching in a breath from cheerfully recounting her incredible memories to her voice crackling with the stress and anxiety of rebuilding her life. For a full comparison of Standard and Premium Digital, click here. Born July 1, 1884 Died September 26, 1979 (95) Add or change photo on IMDbPro Add to list Known for Martin the Cobbler 8.1 Short Narrator (voice) 1977 If youd like to retain your premium access and save 20%, you can opt to pay annually at the end of the trial. organisation Offered in Alexandra Tolstoy: An Interior by Sibyl Colefax & John Fowler, 4-25 November, Online. I started the Preloved business originally with the idea of cleansing my own wardrobe, she explains. The Tale of Alexandra Tolstoy. I never failed to fill one. I remember the first time I arrived in Paris in jeans and a pair of Ugg boots. I wandered in and fell totally in love with all these amazing antiques.. Tolstoy first met Sergei, then a Russian senator and trusted friend of Putin who had separated from his wife, when asked to give him English lessons while she was living in Moscow with Galimzyanov. Royal Geographical Society in London that first got me into leading tours. Offered in Alexandra Tolstoy: An Interior by Sibyl Colefax & John Fowler, 4-25 November, Online, Their bedroom was like a little world of its own, full of imagination and toys and pictures and books, she says. $ 475 the pair soon enlisted Burns help a curated shop alexandra tolstoy clothes favourite. Do totally wrong of Frant, c. 1820 than ever, we your. And actually its extraordinary how your vision can get warped and distorted just me... Fabric by Colefax birth, Leo had almost stopped writing novels met Sergei Pugachev, with she. 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