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Anthony Powell — The Artist as a Young Man
Powell is known as a novelist and book critic, but he probably began drawing before he knew how to write. In his autobiography, he relates that by the time he was six, his drawings, including a Mephistopheles, were shown to a visitor to his family. The term Post Impressionism (then recently introduced by Roger Fry) was bantered as the pictures were critiqued. He began at Eton in 1919 and took Extra Drawing from the drawing master Sidney Evans, who first told him of Picasso and Matisse. At Eton he drew for an art magazine, The Eton Candle (1922) , and at Oxford, which he attended from 1923 to 1026, his drawings appeared in another magazine, The Cherwell. His drawing Colonel Caesar Cannonbrains of the Black Hussars (1922) is reproduced in To Keep the Ball Rolling (p56).
Author Archives: picturesinpowell
Bronzino’s Folly
On first meeting Hugh Moreland, Nick describes his physical appearance: “Moreland, like myself, was then in his early twenties. He was formed physically in a ‘musical’ mold, classical in type, with a massive, Beethoven-shaped head, high forehead, temples swelling outwards, … Continue reading
Truth Unveiled by Time
At the Mortimer, Mr. Deacon tells Nick, “I have come to this gin palace primarily to inspect an object of virtu — a classical group in some unspecified material, to be precise. I shall buy it, if its beauty satisfies me. … Continue reading
Legat Caricatures
Jenkins describes Moreland’s apartment: “The walls were hung with framed caricatures of dancers in Diaghilev’s early ballets, coloured pictures drawn by the Legat brothers, found by Moreland in a portfolio outside a second-hand book shop; Pavlova, Karsavina; Folkine; others, too … Continue reading
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Our Van Troost
General Conyers makes some rambling reflections on Dogdene: “Then there is the Veronese (see our post Constable, Pepys, and Veronese at Dogdene). Geoffrey Sleaford has been advised to have it cleaned, but won’t hear of it. Young fellow called Smethyck told … Continue reading
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Portraits of Pepys
Jenkins meets Widermerpool at Lady Molly’s. Widermerpool is looking wan but revives when he starts to talk about an invitation to visit Dogdene. “The reflection seemed to give him strength. I thought of Pepys and the ‘great black maid’; and … Continue reading
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A Sergeant from a Snaffles
Dicky Umfraville talks about the artistic aspirations of his ex-wife, Lady Anne Stepney, but adds that he, himself, “Can’t tell a Sargent from a ‘Snaffles.’” (ATM p 181) A snaffle is a common type of horse bit. ‘Snaffles’ was Charles … Continue reading
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The School of Paris and The Celtic Twilight
Visits to the Jeavons’ household help Nick begin to fill out his picture of Molly Jeavons: “She might have the acquisitive instinct to capture from her first marriage (if that was indeed their provenance) such spoils as the Wilson and … Continue reading
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A Portrait by Lawrence
At Thrubworth, Jenkins sees a “full-length portrait by Lawrence, of an officer wearing the slung jacket of a hussar.” Errigde explains that this is the “4th Lord Erridge and 1st Earl of Warminster,” a contemporary of the Duke of Wellington. [ALM … Continue reading
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A Statue of Venus
Jenkins saw Mona as “like a strapping statue of Venus, conceived at a period when a touch of vulgarity had found its way into classical sculpture. “ [ALM 107/105 ] We have already seen how Quiggins thought contemporary sculptors might treat … Continue reading
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Dutch Genre Painting
The thought of General Conyers playing his cello reminds Jenkins of “Dutch genre pictures, sentimental yet at the same time impressive, not only on account of their adroit recession and delicate colour tones, but also from the deep social conviction … Continue reading
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Pictures in Powell 