Mechtild Lichnowsky

Born Countess Mechtilde Christiane Marie von und zu Arco-Zinneberg in Bavaria in 1879, she became known as Mechtilde Lichnowsky after marrying Prince Karl Max von Lichnowsky. Reference works and biographical sources describe her as a German writer, and the Metropolitan Museum notes that she worked across novels, essays, and poetry while taking an active part in Germany’s cultural and intellectual life.

She was especially connected with modern artistic circles in the early 20th century. The Met describes her as a supporter of the literary and artistic avant-garde and an early collector of Picasso, which helps explain the cosmopolitan, curious spirit often associated with her life and work.

Later known also as Mechtilde Peto, she died in London in 1958. Though she is less widely read today than some of her contemporaries, biographical sources show a writer who stood at an interesting crossroads of literature, aristocratic society, and modern art.