🧵I begin with a story of lost love told in curated objects: a funereal silk glove; a wedding ring; a heart-shaped locket; [love] letters secured with pink ribbon; fallen petals of a dog rose (purity, love & marriage); & an inscription in Latin:
'Truth is great and will prevail'
This is the work of the great muralist, #RexWhistler and can be found on the wall of the large saloon in #MottisfontAbbey in #Hampshire. Now owned by the @nationaltrust, it was once the 'luxuriously ordered' home of art patron and socialite, #MaudRussell and her husband, Gilbert.
Whistler was commissioned by Maud to paint Trompe L'oeil murals that would reflect the history of the house & dazzle her coterie of glamorous guests. Consider the spine of the green volume: here, Whistler has left us a time clock.
Begun December 19 1938
Finished October 31 1939
On Sunday, Sep 3 1939, Britain declared #war on Germany. #OTD, Whistler paused the painting of these ermine drapes to write:
'I was painting this ermine curtain when Britain declared war on the Nazi Tyrants.'
This micro testimony is a well-hidden gem, glimpsed only on stilts.
And here, seemingly forgotten by the artist and left on top of this superbly realized gothic column, sits his paint pot and brush, the tools of his trade. Though Maud wished to pay Whistler more for his work, he refused, accepting just £100 for his 'superior kind of wallpaper'.
I return to the niche of lost or unrequited love. Who inspired this rather sad story? Might it have been Lady Caroline Paget (pictured with Whistler, her father and pug)? In 1936, Whistler painted a mural at #PlasNewyyd, the family home of the Marquises of Anglesey. It is said...
that during the year it took to complete the Plas Newyyd mural, #Whistler fell deeply in love with Lady Caroline, but the feeling was not reciprocated. In June 1940, Whistler was commissioned into the #WelshGuards serving as a Lieutenant in the #GuardsArmouredDivision.
He was killed in #Normandy on his first day of active duty on 18 July 1944 & is buried in #BannevilleWarCemetery.
On learning of Rex's death, Maud wrote:
'I felt a great pang; but I knew he would be killed. Everybody knew it. Lovely Rex; difficult, strange, rare, unhappy Rex.'
And finally, if you wish to learn more about #MaudRussell, A Constant Heart - The War Diaries of Maud Russell 1938 - 1945, is a joyous read.
And #RexWhistler will be remembered by @sommecourt and I on our #WarPoetsAndWarLiteratureTour @LegerBattleTour
#WW2 #WarWriting
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