Biography
Montague Russell Page was born in Britain on 1 November 1906, in Lincolnshire. He was the second son of three children of Harold Ethelbert Page, a solicitor in Lincoln. He was educated at Charterhouse School in Surrey (1918 - 1924), and afterwards studied in London at the Slade School of Fine Art in London University (1924 - 1926), under Professor Henry Tonks. From 1927 to 1932 he studied art in Paris, and took some small gardening jobs in France.
He began his professional career with projects in Rutland (1928), and chateaux in France at Melun (1930) and Boussy Saint-Antoine (1932).
On his return to Britain Page was employed by the landscape architect, Richard Sudell, and he began remodelling the gardens at Longleat - work which would continue for many years.
Between 1934 and 1938 he contributed articles to the periodical, Landscape and Gardening.
From 1935 to 1939 he worked in partnership with Geoffrey Jellicoe. Page and Jellicoe designed the landscape and building for the 'Caveman Restaurant' at Cheddar Gorge on the Longleat estate in Somerset, and worked at Royal Lodge, Windsor; Ditchley Park, Oxfordshire; Holme House, Regent's Park, London; Broadway in the Cotswolds; Charterhouse school.
During this period Page also worked at Leeds Castle, Kent (1936 and later); chateau Le Vert Bois, in France (1937); Chateau de la Hulpe, Belgium (1937); chateau de Mivoisin, France (1937 - 1950s).
During World War II Page served in Britain's Political Warfare Department, in France, the United States of America, Egypt and Sri Lanka.
Page went on to design gardens in Europe and the USA. His clients included: Prince Edward, Duke of Windsor and Duchess of Windsor, King Léopold III of Belgium, Sir William Walton, Babe Paley and William S. Paley, Oscar de la Renta, Marcel Boussac, Olive, Lady Baillie, PepsiCo, Baron and Baroness Thierry Van Zuylen van Nijevelt and the Frick Museum. His works include the National Capitol Columns in Washington's United States National Arboretum.
In 1947 Page married Lida Gurdjieff, a daughter of the spiritual teacher G. I. Gurdjieff; they had one son, David, but divorced in 1954.
In 1954 Page married Mme Vera Milanova Daumal, widow of poet Rene Daumal and formerly wife of the poet Hendrick Kramer; she died in 1962.
In 1962 Page's autobiography, The Education Of A Gardener, was published.
Page died on 4 January 1985 in London.
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