Muse: Monika Pon-su-san

From BBC News:

Earlier this year Vladimir Tretchikoff's portrait Chinese Girl, often referred to as The Green Lady, was sold for almost £1m ($1.5m) at auction in London - a reflection of its status as one of the most popular prints ever made. The model, Monika Pon-su-san, recalls what it was like to be thrust into the limelight. 

One day in 1950, a curly-haired stranger walked into my uncle's laundry in Cape Town, where I worked. He stood there as I served a customer, his eyes fixed on me the whole time. He only spoke when we were alone together in the shop. "Hello!" he said. "I'm Tretchikoff. I'd love to paint you." 

 At that time Vladimir Tretchikoff wasn't very famous but by chance I had read about him in a newspaper just the Saturday before. So I was a bit nervous, but I said yes. He picked me up after work and took me back home.