Idina Sackville - The woman who scandalised 1920s Society

Known for having more lovers than anyone could count, Idina Sackville hosted wife-swapping parties in Africa at which she would allocate bedroom keys over a throw of the dice or the turn of a card. She couldn’t be left alone in a room with a man without igniting gossip that they were having an affair.

When Sir William Orpen, the World War I artist and incorrigible womaniser, painted her portrait in 1915, rumours flared about a liaison.

Nearly a century on, the electricity between sitter and artist is palpable. Her wide, blue eyes are limpid and vulnerable and a low-cut black dress by Edward Molyneux, the most fashionable couturier of the day, is draped around her slender frame. Via