Not to dwell unduly on provenance, but I was pleased to note that A Lady Writing was once owned by J.P. Morgan, and later by Henry Havemeyer, and, between them, by Sir Harry Oakes, who, according to Vermeer scholar Arthur K. Wheelock (and Ben Broos) was "apparently murdered [in 1943] by the Mafia, because he would not tolerate a casino on the island" of Nassau.
Actually, there are lots of versions of the murder: Novelist William Boyd, noting that the Duke of Windsor was governor of the Bahamas at the time [sent into exile because of his Nazi sympathies] has recently suggested a possiblity that was filmed by the BBC.
In any case, Oakes's daughter, Nancy, learned of her father's death from Merce Cunningham; she had been on her way to Bennington to study for the summer with Martha Graham.
Nancy's husband was accused of the murder (motive: for the money), but was acquitted. Deported to Cuba, they stayed with Hemingway.
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