Letter from Frances Hodgkins to Isabel Field
Date
15 Sep 1901
See full details
See transcription
Object Detail
Date
15 Sep 1901
Transcript
Sept 15.9.01 21 Av. De la Grande Armee Paris
My dearest Sis
I would have given worlds if you could have been with me this last week in Paris how you would love it all, and my one thought has been how Sis would enjoy if she were only with me. You must certainly paint & save up and come Home with Will some day soon & leave the chicks for Mother & me to look after. Molly & I have been here now for 10 days & had a glorious time & yesterday morning I saw Molly off for England and tomorrow I am off myself. Molly left Paris very sad and in a most insolvent condition, both of us have spent far more than we intended, instead of £5 it is much nearer £10 , it is a giddy gay world this Paris and money has a little way of slipping thro’ one’s fingers. It is a much more expensive place to live in than London, the system of tipping a “pour boires” is a most iniquitous one I think especially for impecunious artists. We are in a very nice pension kept by an English lady and they are mostly all Americans here. They do us for 5 frcs a day which is really cheap for Paris, every where you go in Paris you meet Americans, you sit beside them in the trams & in cafes and you bump up against them in galleries and you hate the whole clamjamfry, with their shrill nasal voices & their pinchedin over dressed figures. They ape the Parisians in dress and cover over here in swarms. I don’t admire the French figures a scrap, squeezed in waits with abnormal hips & busts and wobbely look about their shoulders which is very ugly. For a nation who uphold the Venus of Milo as the highest type of beauty, they seem to be curiously lacking in a sense of beauty & form. On those marbles at the Luxembourg & and the Louvre they send you crazy with their beauty, modern French sculpture is magnificent and contrary to all expectations I thought the sentiment in both pictures & sculpture far less degrading than I was led to believe, on the contrary I found much that was ennobling & uplifting in most of the pictures. I confess with much disappointment that I have not had one single shock since I came to Paris.
Molly & I stood for quite a long time the other day in front of what they call a ‘shocking machine’ which undertakes for the price of 1d. to shock any person disposed to put a penny in the slot. As Molly was about to succumb I dragged her away & have regretted it ever since. This is really the worst time to come to Paris the Parisians are out of town – Paris is practically deserted. The theatres are all closed likewise the Café Chantants, Moulin Rouge, Folies Bergeres and other nice places of amusement, however we haven’t done badly. We went to the opera which is the only place open. (Tell Mother it is where Uncle Sandie lost himself in his efforts to get out & get a drink). Molly & I took seats in the 10th tier & at 7 o’clock found ourselves tucked away under the roof. Such a place, I never saw anything as gorgeous in all my life. It was Wagner’s Tannhauser with one of the leading orchestras in Europe. Nearly all the parts were taken by musical celebrities, there was something so weird & uncanny sitting so high up and listening to this grand volume of sound coming from below and seeing little fore-shortened pinhead figures acting on the stage. There is something wicked about Wagner’s music I think which seemed heightened by the gorgeous staging & magnificent surroundings, it was not over till 12 o’clock and as we were too tired to wrestle with our bus we took a cab home and drove thro’ Paris at midnight which was as brilliantly lit up then as earlier in the evening. You can have no idea of the beauty of Paris. There is a white glamour about it which is dazzling, the wide open streets & the almost silent traffic on the wooden pavements. The buildings are truly magnificent & everything is built with a view to beautifying the city. There is not an ugly spot to be seen. In spite of all this I infinitely prefer smoky grimy old London. Between you & me, only don’t let it go further I get so tired of sight seeing. I am longing to settle down again in some quiet place where I can get my spirit lamp out & make my own afternoon tea and darn my stockings and sew on all those button which have come off since I left N.Z. Sight seeing is the most fatiguing & brain wearing thing, you can imagine, it empties your purse, makes holes in your stockings & leaves your temper absolutely thread bear. I am looking forward to a long peaceful winter with Miss Richmond who has a rooted objection to over exertion and abhors sight seeing, if Molly’s & my private opinions were only known I think we would confess our happiest moments were spent in the cafes. We had to tramp about a good deal so as to economise as much as possible and in consequence we were always in a state of intense weariness, which however never prevented us from seeing everything conscientiously. I shall never forget how we dropped into Notre Dame & eat an orange in a back pew then had forty winks with our feet up on a prie Dieu. There is really some excuse for me for I have been getting up at 5.30 every morning to finish my sketches which I was unable to finish at Caudebec as the last week I was seedy & could not paint so I brought them with me to Paris and much to my relief got them posted safely away and I hope by the time this reaches you should be in your possession. I am afraid they will only just arrive in time for the 9th, if they should be late please use all your influence with Dr Scott to admit them. I am writing to him myself, I wonder what you will think of them. I am not a bit pleased with them myself and wld far sooner not have sent any out except for you & Mother to see. It is too soon to expect any great wonders and I feel myself I shall paint much better when I am by myself. Too much advice is just as bad as too little & only bewilders one. I felt the whole time a desperate feeling that it was necessary to send out so as to keep the pot boiling and it is not conducive to good painting. Get McGregor Wright to frame them for me. I expect you have got some lovely things yourself ready for the Dunedin show, price mine as you think fit. I had to send them off in such a hurry I had no time to put prices on them. I was packing them up on the dining room and a little American woman came in & was seized with a wild desire to possess the sketch of the old buildings. She was on her way to the train and there was no time for me to think over her offer and I particularly wanted you to see it so I decided not to sell it it was a most amusing interview in which she guessed many times I was on the right trail sure enough and that my work reminded her strongly of Phineas B. Shipley of Buffalo (have you ever heard of him) and if I came right out to Chicago I would do real well. She finally wound up by shaking m warmly by the hand and saying “I reckon dearie, you’re a genius”. She was a quaint little soul & everyone like her in the house & I was sorry I had not produced my work before. I am so glad that Mother & Bert think of setting up a little house together. I shall be quite ready to come out by the middle of next year if I can manage to hang out till then. I have still got £100 & with management I should make it last (with fresh supplies from N.Z.) till then. I have got plenty of clothes and have never ceased being thankful I got such a good outfit in Dunedin. The only mistake I made was in getting too many washing things – prints are a luxury and are only worn on very special occasions. Tell Mother my light blue cloth skirt has seen champion service, my brown tweed is quite new & I am keeping it for the winter. Tomorrow I am off to a place called Les Andelys about 60 miles from Paris where Miss Nickalls is to join me for a fortnight. If we report very favourably on it Mr Garstin will most likely join us and I will wait there for Miss Richmond. I have bought a bicycle for £5, a really good one and I think a bargain the gay Parisiennes all ride men’s bikes & “bycyclettes pour dames” are not in demand in consequence. I had a great hunt to get one and finally struck this one. They all wear bloomers here, so hideous tho’ I confess they have points. How are Jean & Willie, no I mean Willie & Jean it sound too much like Clara & “Skottowe”. I hear from the communicative Stuart that Jean is quite the boss – how does she know I wonder. I have had a letter from Alice McG full of woe, pride & pleasure over her anything but enviable position – poor old girl I do hope things will go well with her this time. Cheerful for Majory n’est ce pas? who is getting an elaborate outfit for the N.Z. trip, don’t pass this letter on to brother Willie. I am writing to him & will make a copy of this with modifications. Thanks so much for papers, most interesting. I must stop now & get my things together for an early start tomorrow. It is rather exciting going off by myself. My French is hardly what you wld call fluent but I can get along. I shall be two days by myself, but I shall not mind that if the place is pretty as I am told it is & I shall have by bicycle. If I do not like the place I shall go further on to a little town called La Bouilli wh Mr Garstin says is beautiful I have not managed to see any of the Paris studios which are unfortunately all closed. Give dear old Mother my love I am longing [to see] you both again. I hope you have good news of Frank and that the poor boy shows some signs of improvement. With fondest love to you all your loving sister Fanny. Tell Mother to be sure & always address to the Bank. Tell me all about your pictures when you write & any art gossip you can pick up.
My dearest Sis
I would have given worlds if you could have been with me this last week in Paris how you would love it all, and my one thought has been how Sis would enjoy if she were only with me. You must certainly paint & save up and come Home with Will some day soon & leave the chicks for Mother & me to look after. Molly & I have been here now for 10 days & had a glorious time & yesterday morning I saw Molly off for England and tomorrow I am off myself. Molly left Paris very sad and in a most insolvent condition, both of us have spent far more than we intended, instead of £5 it is much nearer £10 , it is a giddy gay world this Paris and money has a little way of slipping thro’ one’s fingers. It is a much more expensive place to live in than London, the system of tipping a “pour boires” is a most iniquitous one I think especially for impecunious artists. We are in a very nice pension kept by an English lady and they are mostly all Americans here. They do us for 5 frcs a day which is really cheap for Paris, every where you go in Paris you meet Americans, you sit beside them in the trams & in cafes and you bump up against them in galleries and you hate the whole clamjamfry, with their shrill nasal voices & their pinchedin over dressed figures. They ape the Parisians in dress and cover over here in swarms. I don’t admire the French figures a scrap, squeezed in waits with abnormal hips & busts and wobbely look about their shoulders which is very ugly. For a nation who uphold the Venus of Milo as the highest type of beauty, they seem to be curiously lacking in a sense of beauty & form. On those marbles at the Luxembourg & and the Louvre they send you crazy with their beauty, modern French sculpture is magnificent and contrary to all expectations I thought the sentiment in both pictures & sculpture far less degrading than I was led to believe, on the contrary I found much that was ennobling & uplifting in most of the pictures. I confess with much disappointment that I have not had one single shock since I came to Paris.
Molly & I stood for quite a long time the other day in front of what they call a ‘shocking machine’ which undertakes for the price of 1d. to shock any person disposed to put a penny in the slot. As Molly was about to succumb I dragged her away & have regretted it ever since. This is really the worst time to come to Paris the Parisians are out of town – Paris is practically deserted. The theatres are all closed likewise the Café Chantants, Moulin Rouge, Folies Bergeres and other nice places of amusement, however we haven’t done badly. We went to the opera which is the only place open. (Tell Mother it is where Uncle Sandie lost himself in his efforts to get out & get a drink). Molly & I took seats in the 10th tier & at 7 o’clock found ourselves tucked away under the roof. Such a place, I never saw anything as gorgeous in all my life. It was Wagner’s Tannhauser with one of the leading orchestras in Europe. Nearly all the parts were taken by musical celebrities, there was something so weird & uncanny sitting so high up and listening to this grand volume of sound coming from below and seeing little fore-shortened pinhead figures acting on the stage. There is something wicked about Wagner’s music I think which seemed heightened by the gorgeous staging & magnificent surroundings, it was not over till 12 o’clock and as we were too tired to wrestle with our bus we took a cab home and drove thro’ Paris at midnight which was as brilliantly lit up then as earlier in the evening. You can have no idea of the beauty of Paris. There is a white glamour about it which is dazzling, the wide open streets & the almost silent traffic on the wooden pavements. The buildings are truly magnificent & everything is built with a view to beautifying the city. There is not an ugly spot to be seen. In spite of all this I infinitely prefer smoky grimy old London. Between you & me, only don’t let it go further I get so tired of sight seeing. I am longing to settle down again in some quiet place where I can get my spirit lamp out & make my own afternoon tea and darn my stockings and sew on all those button which have come off since I left N.Z. Sight seeing is the most fatiguing & brain wearing thing, you can imagine, it empties your purse, makes holes in your stockings & leaves your temper absolutely thread bear. I am looking forward to a long peaceful winter with Miss Richmond who has a rooted objection to over exertion and abhors sight seeing, if Molly’s & my private opinions were only known I think we would confess our happiest moments were spent in the cafes. We had to tramp about a good deal so as to economise as much as possible and in consequence we were always in a state of intense weariness, which however never prevented us from seeing everything conscientiously. I shall never forget how we dropped into Notre Dame & eat an orange in a back pew then had forty winks with our feet up on a prie Dieu. There is really some excuse for me for I have been getting up at 5.30 every morning to finish my sketches which I was unable to finish at Caudebec as the last week I was seedy & could not paint so I brought them with me to Paris and much to my relief got them posted safely away and I hope by the time this reaches you should be in your possession. I am afraid they will only just arrive in time for the 9th, if they should be late please use all your influence with Dr Scott to admit them. I am writing to him myself, I wonder what you will think of them. I am not a bit pleased with them myself and wld far sooner not have sent any out except for you & Mother to see. It is too soon to expect any great wonders and I feel myself I shall paint much better when I am by myself. Too much advice is just as bad as too little & only bewilders one. I felt the whole time a desperate feeling that it was necessary to send out so as to keep the pot boiling and it is not conducive to good painting. Get McGregor Wright to frame them for me. I expect you have got some lovely things yourself ready for the Dunedin show, price mine as you think fit. I had to send them off in such a hurry I had no time to put prices on them. I was packing them up on the dining room and a little American woman came in & was seized with a wild desire to possess the sketch of the old buildings. She was on her way to the train and there was no time for me to think over her offer and I particularly wanted you to see it so I decided not to sell it it was a most amusing interview in which she guessed many times I was on the right trail sure enough and that my work reminded her strongly of Phineas B. Shipley of Buffalo (have you ever heard of him) and if I came right out to Chicago I would do real well. She finally wound up by shaking m warmly by the hand and saying “I reckon dearie, you’re a genius”. She was a quaint little soul & everyone like her in the house & I was sorry I had not produced my work before. I am so glad that Mother & Bert think of setting up a little house together. I shall be quite ready to come out by the middle of next year if I can manage to hang out till then. I have still got £100 & with management I should make it last (with fresh supplies from N.Z.) till then. I have got plenty of clothes and have never ceased being thankful I got such a good outfit in Dunedin. The only mistake I made was in getting too many washing things – prints are a luxury and are only worn on very special occasions. Tell Mother my light blue cloth skirt has seen champion service, my brown tweed is quite new & I am keeping it for the winter. Tomorrow I am off to a place called Les Andelys about 60 miles from Paris where Miss Nickalls is to join me for a fortnight. If we report very favourably on it Mr Garstin will most likely join us and I will wait there for Miss Richmond. I have bought a bicycle for £5, a really good one and I think a bargain the gay Parisiennes all ride men’s bikes & “bycyclettes pour dames” are not in demand in consequence. I had a great hunt to get one and finally struck this one. They all wear bloomers here, so hideous tho’ I confess they have points. How are Jean & Willie, no I mean Willie & Jean it sound too much like Clara & “Skottowe”. I hear from the communicative Stuart that Jean is quite the boss – how does she know I wonder. I have had a letter from Alice McG full of woe, pride & pleasure over her anything but enviable position – poor old girl I do hope things will go well with her this time. Cheerful for Majory n’est ce pas? who is getting an elaborate outfit for the N.Z. trip, don’t pass this letter on to brother Willie. I am writing to him & will make a copy of this with modifications. Thanks so much for papers, most interesting. I must stop now & get my things together for an early start tomorrow. It is rather exciting going off by myself. My French is hardly what you wld call fluent but I can get along. I shall be two days by myself, but I shall not mind that if the place is pretty as I am told it is & I shall have by bicycle. If I do not like the place I shall go further on to a little town called La Bouilli wh Mr Garstin says is beautiful I have not managed to see any of the Paris studios which are unfortunately all closed. Give dear old Mother my love I am longing [to see] you both again. I hope you have good news of Frank and that the poor boy shows some signs of improvement. With fondest love to you all your loving sister Fanny. Tell Mother to be sure & always address to the Bank. Tell me all about your pictures when you write & any art gossip you can pick up.
Pages
8 pages
Sender's address
21 Av. De la Grande Armee, Paris
Institutional No.
MS-Papers-0085-10
Credit Line
Frances
Hodgkins
-
Letters.
Field,
Isabel
Jane,
1867-1950
:
Correspondence
of
Frances
Hodgkins
and
family
/
collected
by
Isabel
Field.
Ref:
MS-Papers-0085-10.
Alexander
Turnbull
Library,
Wellington,
New
Zealand.
https://natlib.govt.nz/records/22587964
https://natlib.govt.nz/records/22587964