Author Archives: picturesinpowell

Dr. Brightman analyzes Russell Gwinett for Jenkins: Brightman: “He is a small fragment detached from the extensive and cavernous grottoes of gothic America. He is part of an Old America — the oldest — yet has become in some respects the … Continue reading →

“The smell from my bonfire, its smoke perhaps fusing with one of the quarry’s metallic odours drifting down through the silvery fog, now brought back that of the workmen’s bucket of glowing coke, burning outside their shelter.” [HSH 251/271]  Powell’s … Continue reading →

During their time together in France, Jenkins, still a school boy, learned more of Widmerpool’s drive and ambition and of his awkward relationship to art.  When Widmerpool was about to depart, his “last week at La Grenadière [was] blighted by another … Continue reading →

“’I never pay my insurance policy, ‘ Moreland said, ‘without envisaging the documents going through the hands of Aubrey Beardsley and Kafka, before being laid on the desk of Wallace Stevens.’” [HSH 53 /54] On June 24, 2015, Bonhams auctioneers … Continue reading →

After many years in South America, Jean Duport reappears in London at the centenary exhibition of Mr. Deacon’s paintings.  As she enters the gallery, Henderson remarks of Jean, “She looks like one of those sad Goya duchesses.”  Later, Jenkins reflects, … Continue reading →

A television program celebrating the life of St. John Clarke starts and ends with “St. John Clarke’s portrait (butterfly collar, floppy bow tie) painted by his old friend, Horace Isbister, R.A.” [HSH 39/40 ]. Isbister, whom Powell introduced in QU, has … Continue reading →

Walking near Westminster bridge, Jenkins pauses by the statue of Boadicea to watch the passing vintage cars: The chariot horses recalled what a squalid part the philosopher Seneca, with his shady horse-dealing, had played in that affair. Below was inscribed … Continue reading →

Jenkins visits Moreland, now terminally ill, in his hospital bed. Moreland recalls a time when Sir Magnus had been erroneously told that he had a year to live. Moreland said, “I now find myself in a stronger position than in those … Continue reading →

Jenkins describes Mrs. Erdleigh in her old age: “Lighter than air, disembodied from a material  world, the swirl of capes, hoods, stoles, scarves, veils, as usual encompassed her from head to foot, all seeming of so light a texture that, … Continue reading →