Anais Nin

Anaïs Nin wrote about female identity and sexuality in a style that was both explicit and poetic. Her most significant work, a diary spanning six decades, recounts her transformative experiences in Paris from 1926 to 1939.

At first, Nin felt intimidated by the city’s competitive literary scene. She hid her insecurity behind “original, striking clothes which distinguish me from other women.” She was delighted when a blue velvet coat she had made was mistaken for a design by the eminent couturier Jeanne-Marie Lanvin. It appears in this portrait by the Russian artist Natashia Troubetskoia, who admired Nin’s eccentric style.

In between portrait sittings, Nin was writing her first book—a study of the writer D.H. Lawrence. Published in 1932, its shocking sexual candor marked her distinctive literary voice. As she wrote in her diary, she no longer needed clothing to express her uniqueness. “I have other things to do.”