Gluck by Diana Souhami (most interesting books to read .TXT) 📗

the acceptance by the Galleries’ Committee of the anonymous painting along with various dolls’ clothes, dress accessories, and an eighteenth-century French woven shawl from Miss Whitehead of Bowdon. The Birmingham Art Gallery expressed delight in being given ‘Falmer Church’, but the Tate Gallery dithered over ‘Lords and Ladies’ and despite many members of the Committee wanting to acquire it, in the end the Trustees declined.

As for ‘They Also Serve …’, well, The Queen had hesitated before it, which must mean its proper place was on a palace wall. To get it there, the Meteor and Nesta were in cahoots, concealment deepened and the truth got further stretched. While the Meteor directed, Nesta pulled the strings. Nesta wrote again to the Queen’s Lady-in-Waiting:

14 December 1937

My Dear Lady Helen

An American collector has bought four of Gluck’s pictures. One he has presented to the Tate, one to Manchester and another to Birmingham. The fourth one, the Coronation picture ‘They Also Serve …’ he feels strongly should be presented to Her Majesty The Queen if she would be willing to accept it, for it is such a personal picture and would remind Her of a unique moment in Her Life.

In his opinion, Gluck is the one young artist of outstanding genius in this country today (he has never seen her, he only knows her work) and he feels Her Majesty might like to have a specimen of her painting.

He has gone to America today and has left the picture in charge of Gluck’s mother, so in the event of Her Majesty being willing to accept it, she would bring the picture whenever you wished.

Isobel came in the last day of the Show and simply loved it! She too feels that the coronation picture should be kept in the family!

Thank you so much for asking me to tea next Monday but alas we shall be in

Plumpton and won’t be back until after Xmas.

Yours very sincerely

Nesta Obermer

Darling Meteor

Here’s the copy. I sent the letter this morning. Not a word to Gluck!

Much love

Nesta

The Palace was not anxious to accept anything from anybody. In her reply to Nesta (21 December 1937), Lady Graham said she needed the name of the American collector before she could ‘bring his offer before Her Majesty’…

I fully appreciate his thought that the picture would be a very interesting and fitting souvenir for the Queen to have of that unique occasion, but there is always the difficulty of accepting a gift of this nature from an unknown and, in this case – un-named donor.… Whatever the outcome may be, I am sure the Queen will be touched at the kind intention which has prompted this offer …

Nesta withdrew from the charade and gave the Meteor the letter to deal with as she would. She wrote to Lady Graham (27 December 1937) saying how deeply she regretted it, but she had promised the anonymous donor not to divulge his name:

… but as all arrangements are left to me, and so far the picture has not been paid for, I have decided under the circumstances to buy the picture ‘They Also Serve …’ so I can truthfully say it will be Gluck’s mother who has the great honour of asking Her Majesty’s acceptance of it, and I am sure the un-named donor will not mind.

I had the honour of presenting a work of my daughter to Her Majesty Queen Mary at the last Exhibition and it would give me great pleasure and happiness to offer for Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth’s acceptance a remembrance of what must have been a most interesting day in Her Majesty’s life.

The Palace, passing no comment on the tortuous convolutions accompanying this act of generosity, graciously deigned to accept the gift:

Her Majesty is waiving Her usual rule in such matters, but the two facts that have weighed with her are: firstly that the Queen warmly appreciates your wish to present her with a specimen of your daughter’s work and, secondly, that this particular picture has a close connection with Their Majesties’ Coronation.

I am to assure you, therefore, that the picture will be greatly appreciated by the Queen and I am commanded to convey to you Her Majesty’s very sincere thanks for your kind thought.4

The picture was in the frame Gluck had designed. ‘Time marches on’, remarked the framemaker, John Footman, at the notion of this frame on a Royal wall. As for the Meteor, her gratitude was beyond words:

… I am unable adequately to express to you what I would desire to convey. How deeply touched and grateful I am at the Queen’s gracious acceptance of my dear daughter’s painting. Will you please convey to Her Majesty how honoured I feel and how much happiness it has given me. I am sure Gluck’s heart will be gladdened at the knowledge of Her Majesty’s acceptance and the Queen’s appreciation of her work.

… May I wish their Majesties and the members of their family a happy and peaceful New Year and add how truly the King and Queen have reached the hearts of their loyal subjects by human understanding and personal help and sympathy …5

Gluck suffered some kind of depressive reaction after her exhibition, went to bed and would not speak to her mother. She spent Christmas down in Plumpton and then went off with Nesta for a week in Lamorna. When they returned, Nesta wrote to the Meteor:

January

Private and confidential

Dearest Meteor

… She is furious about the Queen getting the picture because she thinks your name has got mixed up with it!! I have looked completely ‘Blah’ and I pretend to know nothing about it. But I keep telling her that you’ve done a very fine thing in getting it where it will be appreciated.

Watch your step though, because she is really annoyed at the moment and says she is not going to say one word to you about it, so don’t you say anything either! Just let her simmer down! She is very nervy though she makes gallant efforts to master her