Jean Barnard’s grandfather was an oil painter. He sat in a room — one-legged after losing a bout with diabetes — and painted. His daughter Flora inherited his artistic tendencies and at the age of 17 she was employed by a designer to lurk in the corners of the Waldorf Astoria Hotel and Madison Square Garden, recording the latest Paris fashions. Then, with the designs freshly in her head, Flora ran back to the office to sketch the details, from the neckline to the hem, of the dresses she had just seen.
