Bringing Joséphine’s legacy to life in Le Vésinet.
This public art installation, Timeless Grace, will be a celebration, experience, and educational encounter. Two stone benches will feature life-sized bronze sculptures inviting viewers into Joséphine’s life in the Parisian suburb of Le Vésinet where she became a star, spy, and pilot.
The informative bench
On the bench near the park’s main footpath, we discover sculptures of Joséphine’s pilot goggles, her sheet music, and a bouquet of flowers:
During World War II, Joséphine was an “honorable correspondent” (spy) for the French Resistance and wrote secret intelligence on her sheet music in invisible ink.
As one of the first black women in France to get her pilot’s license, Joséphine used her skills to fly for the Red Cross and the French Air Force.
When the Tour de France passed through Le Vésinet, Joséphine participated in the Grand Départ by greeting cyclists and putting bouquets on their bicycles.
The Joséphine bench
A second bench, set her previous home, the villa Beau-Chêne, offers a reflective perspective of Joséphine as she enjoys a peaceful pause with her pet cheetah.
Just outside the garden gate of her previous home, we find young Joséphine Baker at the age she lived in this very town and became a star, spy, and pilot.
At Joséphine’s feet, we find her stage sidekick and beloved pet Chiquita the cheetah who roamed Le Vésinet’s sweeping gardens and parklands.
About the villa Beau-Chêne
The Villa Beau-Chêne was constructed in 1890–1891 by the local Le Vésinet architect Louis Gilbert. Around 1929, the celebrated entertainer Joséphine Baker made it her Parisian suburb refuge, and she lived in it in varying periods through 1947. The public parklands outside of this historic site is where the commemorative sculpture site will be installed in September, 2026.
“Here, I always feel like singing, dancing... But just for myself, my friends, my rabbits, my pigeons, my panther.”
- Joséphine Baker, L’Intransigeant, August 31, 1930
“I love Le Vésinet for the privacy of its villas, for the tranquil beauty of its countryside, so close to Paris...”
- Joséphine Baker, L’Intransigeant, August 31, 1930
Donate Now •
Donate Now •
Help us get the public commemorative site built by September 2026 and be a part of Joséphine’s legacy forever.