Iris Tree

Iris Tree (27 January 1897 – 13 April 1968) was an English poet, actress and artists' model, described as a bohemian, an eccentric, a wit and an adventurer.

Iris Tree was born on 27 January 1897 in London, United Kingdom. She came from an influential British family; her parents, Herbert Beerbohm Tree and Helen Maud Holt, were acclaimed British actors. She had two elder sisters; baronetess Felicity Tree (7 December 1894 – 15 September 1978) and noted British actress Viola Tree (17 July 1884 – 15 November 1938).

Comedy writer Constance Beerbohm (1856–8 January 1939) was her aunt and famous explorer Julius Beerbohm (1854 – April 1906) and caricaturist and parodist Max Beerbohm (24 August 1872 – 20 May 1956) were her uncles.

Iris studied art at the Slade School of Fine Art in London, alongside the modernist writer and heiress Nancy Cunard and became associated with bohemian circles.

Poetry

In 1917, aged 20, Iris contributed poems to the Wheels anthology by The Sitwells (Edith Sitwell, Osbert Sitwell, Sacheverell Sitwell.) In the following years, she published Poems (1919), The Traveller and other Poems (1927). Her last work, "The Marsh Picnic" was published in 1966, 2 years before her death.

Artist's muse

Iris was a sought after artists' model. She was painted by Welsh painter Augustus John (1925), Italian painter Amedeo Modigliani (1916), British painters Duncan Grant (1915), Vanessa Bell (1915) and Roger Fry (1915) among others.

In 1915, she was sculpted by American-born British sculptor Sir Jacob Epstein. 

The sculpture, currently on display at the Tate Britain Art Museum in London, caused much uproar at the time. The critics called it "ridiculous" and a "loathsome sculpture." It was also suggested that Iris's sculpture may have been copied from Constantin Brancusi's works. One bust was purchased by famed American lawyer and art collector John Quinn.

Iris was photographed by Cecil Beaton (1965) and often by American photographer Man Ray.

Acting

In 1925 Iris played the role of the Nun opposite Lady Diana Cooper (as the Madonna) in Karl Vollmöller's play The Miracle (directed by Max Reinhardt).

She also appeared in supporting roles in two films: John Huston's Moby Dick (1956,) in which she portrayed the character of a Bible woman; and Federico Fellini's La Dolce Vita (1960,) in which she played the role of a poetess at a party.

Iris was married twice. Her first marriage, from 1916 to 1932, was with American photographer Curtis Moffat. Their son Ivan Moffat is a noted British screenwriter.

In 1934, she married Austrian actor and ex-officer of the Austrian cavalry Friedrich von Ledebur. The two had met in 1925 when Iris was in the United States to perform in the play "The Miracle." They roamed around California, gypsy style, with their son, then moved back to Europe where they were involved in the Chekhov Theatre Studio. After their divorce in 1955, the couple appeared in the 1956 film Moby Dick.

Iris died in London on April 13, 1968, at age 71.