Diary & Memoir extracts for May 1925
1st May 1925:
Worked hard all day in life class. Perhaps my drawing is improving a little. Walter Russell was rather helpful.
4th May 1925:
Life class all day. Made a shocking mess. Back to hostel and painted till 7.30.
5th May 1925:
NEAC Show . .
Paul Nash had some wonderful paintings and drawings . . . Sargent’s portraits very uninteresting, a wreath was hung over one of them. One of C.J. Holmes’ landscapes rather fine - and an early portrait of Cunningham Grahame by Bill Rothenstein is miles ahead of what he is doing now. A fine portrait of a dentist by William Roberts.
5th May 1925:
A hell of a mess drawing in life class. Painted in the evening.
7th May 1925:
Howling mess at drawing in life class as usual. I don’t think I shall ever be able to draw. I seem to get worse and worse.
10th May 1925:
Felt very depressed and wretched – decided to go and hunt the Wilkinsons up, found I had arrived for Ted’s 21stbirthday. Had a topping time though there was rather a crush. Revived me somewhat.
11th May 1925:
Life class in the morning. Tonks said my drawing was quite good up to a point of development, which is rather great words from Tonks.
17th May 1925:
Chaps at the hostel threw 2 rolls of toilet paper over Richardson’s (subwarden) wireless aerial then set fire to them. Just about got the place on fire. Richardson gave us a discourse on lavatories and all details concerning them.
19th May 1925:
Life class in the morning. Tonks told me to paint but I think I shall be too nervous to do so. He spoke as though I should have been painting long ago. Gravell [fellow student and life long friend] has been told to paint too.
In the evening finished painting a head of a woman from memory.
May 1925:
In the afternoon went to see the recently unveiled memorial to Hudson by Epstein. It is a very fine thing indeed. A tremendous amount of controversy…. A little hostile chap has been there doing a non stop talk of abuse for hours.
. . . Some absolutely ridiculous abuse about the Epstein monument in the Daily Mail. They seem to be trying to get it removed. Bickerdike wrote an excellent letter to the editor which we took along to the offices in the evening.
. . . Bick’s letter appeared in the Daily Mail along with 3 bad ones.
. . . Bick had a nasty anonymous letter concerning the Hudson Memorial. We long to hear the end of it.
Memoir • [unknown date]:
. . . our old friend, Fred Jowett of Bradford, was the Minister for Works who had passed the design. John Bickerdike and I went to see Epstein and it was then, by the light of a candle, that we had a preview of the masterpiece known as “The Visitation” which he was working on.
27th May 1925:
Life class in the morning. As usual made a howling mess. Later went on with my carving.
29th May 1925:
[Went to the Zoo] Gaudier Breszka must have studied there a lot.
30th May 1925:
My carved torso will have to be cut off below the knees owing to poor wood. Shall try to make an alabaster base for it. Exciting, what!?'