Louise Wise was born in Macon, Georgia on June 28, 1895 and died in Overlook Hospital, Summit, New Jersey (said to be after a heart attack, but actually suicide) on May 28, 1937. Her first husband, was Lawrence Lewis, son of Mr. & Mrs. Thornton Lewis of Cincinnati, whom she married on May 3, 1917 in New Hanover County, in the Carolinas, and by whom she had two children, Lawrence Lewis Jr. and Mary Lily Flagler Lewis. They divorced in 1926. She later twice remarried.
She was the niece of Mrs. Robert Worth Bingham, formerly Mrs. Henry Morrison Flagler (née Mary Lily Kenan) of Palm Beach, Florida. In 1917, one year after her marriage, Mrs. Bingham died (said to be in suspicious circumstances: see David Leon Chandler, The Binghams of Louisville, New York, 1987), leaving her niece an income of $200,000 per year and a $5 million lump sum aged 40, and amongst much real estate, her mansion at Palm Beach, Whitehall. This had been built for Mary Lily by Henry Flagler as a wedding present. Louise Lewis sold this shortly afterwards, and from 1925-1959 was used as a hotel. It opened as the Henry Morrison Flagler Museum in 1960.
A photograph published in the New York Times on 28 January 1917 of Muller-Ury with the portrait of Miss Wise.
A letter in the Knoedler Library dated February 20, 1917 (Domestic Letterbook January 18, 1917—March 5, 1917, No. 364) from Roland Knoedler to the artist says that Knoedlers would charge Mrs. Flagler Bingham the $144.00 for the frame for her niece’s portrait instead of the artist.
In the sitter’s diaries for this period, which have been privately printed (see Bibliography), there are the following entries:
September 13th, 1916: ‘…talked to the portrait painter’ at White Sulphur; this is evidently Muller-Ury as he had been there painting portraits of Mrs Barker Gummere and her daughter Margaret Simonds.
November 9th, New York: ‘Had my picture taken by Mr. Muller-Ury for the portrait.’
November 13th: ‘Mr. Muller[-Ury] told me about painting a portrait of the German emperor while he did my eyes.’
November 14th: ‘Two sittings – one for the portrait & one for pictures.’
November 15th: ‘Went for my last sitting…’
The picture cannot have been completed because she records more visits to his studio:
January 29th 1917, New York: ‘Sat for my portrait. Mr. Muller-Ury told me much scandal.’
January 30th: ‘Went to Mr. Muller-Ury’s again. He told me all sorts of gossip about Mr. Steven’s Lady Taylor.’
February 2nd: ‘Went for a last sitting.’
February 5th: ‘My last sitting for portrait’ on a day where there was a blizzard, and then in the evening she went ‘with Mr. Muller-Ury, Aunt M[ary]L[ily], Rob [presumably Robert Bingham, her aunt’s new husband] and Lawrence [Lewis, her fiancé] & I heard “La Boheme”.’
March 26th: She records that she received two pictures (i.e. photographs) of her portrait, presumably sent by the artist.
