Letter from Frances Hodgkins to Myfanwy Evans
Date
Mar 1943
See transcription
Catalogue number
FHL385
Date
Mar 1943
Transcript
Corfe Castle March 1943
Dearest Myfanwy
I return the Penguin or is is a Pelican? With my thanks finding greatest pleasure & surprises in reading over week end & keeping it longer than intended. Does this matter? I do hope not.
First of all please let me congratulate you I think it is very good. It is excellent. I call it uncanny the acute you way have unravelled the tangle of my life story & made it into a really lovely little grandiose Book.
Not quite quite me – but near enough as may be. Pleasantly salted with malice – as it should be. Very readable – very credible – really d----d good by your leave.
As far as pictures can ever be described no one could do it better. It may, of course prove difficult to know where word becomes pictures & vice versa. Between us, your words & my painting go well together. To my greatest regret you left out that little Fairy bit about my age & birthplace. What a pity. It was so much to my liking – it was exquisite I thought so truly Myfanwy*.
[Footnote to letter by Myfanwy Evans: *This refers to my first letter to her, saying that since no one knew where or when she was born she was probably a fairy – M.E.]
On the subject of age you are dead right. I regard myself as a mature veteran, not old, but ageing. In some ways finding my years more a privilege than anything else. Oh! The Drums that I have followed.
I can’t resist enclosing a letter for you to read, come into my hands recently, written by Dolla Richmond whom you wot of (She was Nelly Sickert’s friend went with her on the famous I’ll-look-at-Dolla-talk-to-you-honeymoon to Dieppe).
It is a good description of where I stood in 1900 the year of our Lord. As a start off in Europe it could hardly be more happy or propitious. Family advice about this time ran rather like this: Don’t paint for Eternity, enjoy success while you have it. Little fool I never knew what success was, or when it wasn’t failure. Heaps of magic in my life. Not much glamour. Difficult for the poor Biographer.
I am now madly keen to see the illustrations. You have done some wonderful sleuth work hunting up the vintage pictures. To my sorrow I have been so little use to you – you’ll agree that the Lady on Sofa in whilte fluff is pretty degraded art – emulation carried just too far.
That’s about all I think – I won’t weary you further. There are just 1-2 minor corrections otherwise it is in every way satisfactory & right enough approximately speaking.
My gratitude My admiration & thanks Frances
Dearest Myfanwy
I return the Penguin or is is a Pelican? With my thanks finding greatest pleasure & surprises in reading over week end & keeping it longer than intended. Does this matter? I do hope not.
First of all please let me congratulate you I think it is very good. It is excellent. I call it uncanny the acute you way have unravelled the tangle of my life story & made it into a really lovely little grandiose Book.
Not quite quite me – but near enough as may be. Pleasantly salted with malice – as it should be. Very readable – very credible – really d----d good by your leave.
As far as pictures can ever be described no one could do it better. It may, of course prove difficult to know where word becomes pictures & vice versa. Between us, your words & my painting go well together. To my greatest regret you left out that little Fairy bit about my age & birthplace. What a pity. It was so much to my liking – it was exquisite I thought so truly Myfanwy*.
[Footnote to letter by Myfanwy Evans: *This refers to my first letter to her, saying that since no one knew where or when she was born she was probably a fairy – M.E.]
On the subject of age you are dead right. I regard myself as a mature veteran, not old, but ageing. In some ways finding my years more a privilege than anything else. Oh! The Drums that I have followed.
I can’t resist enclosing a letter for you to read, come into my hands recently, written by Dolla Richmond whom you wot of (She was Nelly Sickert’s friend went with her on the famous I’ll-look-at-Dolla-talk-to-you-honeymoon to Dieppe).
It is a good description of where I stood in 1900 the year of our Lord. As a start off in Europe it could hardly be more happy or propitious. Family advice about this time ran rather like this: Don’t paint for Eternity, enjoy success while you have it. Little fool I never knew what success was, or when it wasn’t failure. Heaps of magic in my life. Not much glamour. Difficult for the poor Biographer.
I am now madly keen to see the illustrations. You have done some wonderful sleuth work hunting up the vintage pictures. To my sorrow I have been so little use to you – you’ll agree that the Lady on Sofa in whilte fluff is pretty degraded art – emulation carried just too far.
That’s about all I think – I won’t weary you further. There are just 1-2 minor corrections otherwise it is in every way satisfactory & right enough approximately speaking.
My gratitude My admiration & thanks Frances
Sender's address
Corfe Castle
Credit Line
E
H
McCormick
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