Alma Mahler Gropius Werfel 1879-1964
A Viennese born socialite well known in her youth for her beauty and vivacity, she was the composer of at least seventeen Lieder.
In later years her salon became an important feature of the artistic scene, first in Vienna, then in Los Angeles.
In addition to her three marriages, between 1912 and 1914 she had a tumultuous affair with the artist Oskar Kokoschka, who created many works inspired by his relationship with her, including, perhaps most famously, his painting Bride of the Wind.
Her own deeply flawed accounts of Mahler's life have left their mark upon several generations of scholars, interpreters and music-lovers. This is called the "Alma Problem."