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· American · 1883–1975

Sara Murphy

Half of the Murphy household at Cap d'Antibes, whose hospitality organised the expatriate 1920s and whose presence shaped Nicole Diver in Tender Is the Night.

Details

Lived
1883–1975
Born
1883
Died
1975
Nationality
American
Roles
PatronMuse

About Sara Murphy

Sara Murphy, born Sara Sherman Wiborg in 1883, married Gerald Murphy in 1915 and moved with him to France in 1921. At Villa America on Cap d'Antibes the couple built the summer household that drew the American and European avant-garde to the Riviera before it was fashionable.

She was the object of considerable devotion from the writers and painters around her, F. Scott Fitzgerald among them, and she is one of the figures behind Nicole Diver in Tender Is the Night. Three of the Murphy children's early deaths — two sons lost in the 1930s — ended the era the villa represented.

People Sara Murphy Knew

Relationships with other people, with sources for each connection.

Illustrated portrait of Gerald Murphy

Gerald Murphy

  • Painter
  • Patron

Married to · 1915

Gerald Murphy and Sara Sherman Wiborg married in 1915 and moved to France in 1921, where their household at Cap d'Antibes became the centre of expatriate Riviera summers.

— A Fitzgerald Chronology — Bruccoli Collection

Works Connected to Sara Murphy

Books, art, and other works connected to Sara Murphy, with sources explaining each connection.

Cover of Tender Is the Night by F. Scott Fitzgerald

Dedicatee · Book

Tender Is the Night

F. Scott Fitzgerald · 1934

Tender Is the Night carries a dedication to Gerald and Sara Murphy; elements of Sara Murphy inform Nicole Diver.

— A Fitzgerald Chronology — Bruccoli Collection

Connections and Sources

Sara Murphy’s connections to people, places, and works, with the sources behind each one.

Married to · 1915

Gerald Murphy

Gerald Murphy and Sara Sherman Wiborg married in 1915 and moved to France in 1921, where their household at Cap d'Antibes became the centre of expatriate Riviera summers.

— A Fitzgerald Chronology — Bruccoli Collection

Dedicatee · 1934

Tender Is the Night

Tender Is the Night carries a dedication to Gerald and Sara Murphy; elements of Sara Murphy inform Nicole Diver.

— A Fitzgerald Chronology — Bruccoli Collection

References

References

The sources below include biographies, scholarly essays, interviews, and primary materials that informed this page. They reflect both the historical record and ongoing critical conversations about Sara Murphy and their work.

  1. 1A Fitzgerald Chronology — Bruccoli Collection

    Archive
    University of South Carolina Libraries
    Used for

    Archival evidence used to document the historical record connected to Sara Murphy.

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Why these sources are here

These references anchor the page in the documented record and in the scholarly conversations around Sara Murphy. Every claim on this page traces back to one or more of the works listed here.

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