This is the third program in the From Exile to Avant-Garde: The Life of Princess Natalie Paley exhibition lecture series. 

Join Dr. Wilfried Zeisler, Hillwood’s Chief Curator and Deputy Director, as he explores the forbidden love story, elegant art collection, and tasteful lifestyle of Princess Natalie Paley’s parents, Olga Paley and Grand Duke Paul of Russia highlighted in the new English translation of his 2018 study, The Belle Époque Life in Paris: Olga Paley and Paul of Russia, released in connection with Hillwood’s current special exhibition, From Exile to Avant-Garde: The Life of Princess Natalie Paley. Hillwood’s Curator of Textiles, Apparel, Jewelry and Accessories, Megan Martinelli, will connect her chapter contribution focused on Princess Natalie Paley’s life and role in twentieth century fashion, culture and design to the nearly one hundred years covered in the exhibition.

Image courtesy of Hillwood Estate, Museum, and Gardens.

HYBRID PROGRAM 

This lecture will be presented in the theater in the Ellen MacNeille Charles Visitor Center and will be livestreamed via Zoom. Visitors can submit questions for the speaker from any location. 

IN-PERSON TIMELINE

5:30–6:30 p.m. | Explore Hillwood

• Enjoy Hillwood’s mansion, gardens,  greenhouse, and exhibition, From Exile to Avant-Garde: The Life of Princess Natalie Paley
• Find the perfect memento from your visit at the museum shop

6:30–7:30 p.m. | Lecture 

7:30 p.m. | Book signing. The Belle Époque Life in Paris: Olga Paley and Paul of Russia will be available in the museum shop.

ABOUT THE SPEAKER

Dr. Wilfried Zeisler is Hillwood’s deputy director and chief curator. He is a graduate of Sorbonne University and the Ecole du Louvre, Paris. Wilfried has written extensively on French and Russian decorative arts, including several articles and contributions to books. Wilfried’s dissertation, L’Objet d’art et de luxe français en Russie (1881-1917) [French Objets d’art and Luxury Goods in Russia], was published in Paris in 2014. 

Wilfried co-authored Konstantin Makovsky: The Tsar's Painter in America and Paris  (2015), and The Houses and Collections of Marjorie Merriweather Post – The Joy of It (2022). He is the author of Fabergé Rediscovered, (2018), Les Youssoupoff – Un siècle de collections françaises (2023), and The Belle Epoque Life in Paris -- Olga Paley and Paul of Russia (2018 and 2025 for the English version).

Since 2009, Wilfried has participated in and curated exhibitions in Paris, Monaco, and Washington DC. At Hillwood, his most recent exhibitions include Fabergé Rediscovered (2018), Bouke de Vries: War and Pieces (2019), Natural Beauties: Exquisite Works of Minerals and Gems (2020), The Porcelain Flowers of Vladimir Kanevsky (2021), Determined Women: Collectors, Artists, and Designers at Hillwood (2023), Glass: Art. Beauty. Design. (2023), and Fragile Beauty: Art of the Ocean (2024). He is the co-curator of Hillwood's 2025 exhibition From Exile to Avant-Garde: The Life of Princess Natalie Paley.

Megan Martinelli joined Hillwood in January 2018 and is curator of textiles, apparel, jewelry, and accessories. She was the lead curator for the 2019 special exhibition, Mid-Century Master: The Photography of Alfred Eisenstaedt, 2021’s Roaring Twenties: The Life and Style of Marjorie Merriweather Post, 2022’s Grace of Monaco: Princess in Dior, 2024’s Marjorie Merriweather Post’s Paris, and co-curator of From Exile to Avant-Garde: the Life of Princess Natalie Paley, on view through January 4, 2026. Megan contributed two chapters on her Hillwood portfolio to the 2022 Rizzoli Electa publication, The Houses and Collections of Marjorie Merriweather Post: The Joy of It¸ and a chapter focused on Natalie Paley to the 2025 English translation of Wilfried Zeisler’s publication, The Belle Époque Life in Paris: Olga Paley and Paul of Russia. She is working on a forthcoming publication with Rizzoli Electa on the apparel, textiles and jewelry collection, expected in September 2026. Prior to Hillwood, Megan was a Research Assistant at The Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Costume Institute, where she assisted with exhibitions including “China: Through the Looking Glass” (2015) and “Manus x Machina: Fashion in an Age of Technology” (2016). Megan holds a Master of Science in Historic Textiles and Costumes from the University of Rhode Island. Her research focuses on identity and expression through fashion and adornment.