Henry Clews
1876–1937
Introduction
Henry Clews Jr. (April 23, 1876 – July 28, 1937) was an American-born artist who moved to France in 1914 in search of greater artistic freedom. He is known for the reconstruction of a Mediterranean waterfront chateau on the French Riviera a few miles west of Cannes, known as the Château de la Napoule, which today is operated by a trust and is open to the public. Together with his American wife, Elsie Whelan Goelet Clews, Clews began rebuilding the medieval fortress in 1918; the couple continued the fantasy-themed construction for the rest of their lives.
The main building included an artist's studio for Henry and an adjacent seaside castle tower enclosing a lover's tomb where both Henry and Marie are laid to rest in side-by-side stone caskets.
Wikidata identifier
Q16856104
Information from Wikipedia, made available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License . Accessed February 16, 2026.
Roles
Artist, painter, sculptor
ULAN identifier
500046089
Names
Henry Clews
Information from the Getty Research Institute's Union List of Artist Names ® (ULAN), made available under the ODC Attribution License. Accessed February 16, 2026.