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24 July 1890 — 1 Queen Anne Street | |
Thursday. 24th July [1890]. Got up about 11. Henry went out to the National Portrait Gallery commission. I wrote some letters & as taking some out of my pocket found one inviting us out to lunch with Mr & Mrs Watts at Little Holland House wh I had entirely forgotten– I had however still time to go. Mama came to sit with me at 12 with her work but she had to go early as I was going out. I started at ¼ to 1. Henry was not back so I went without him & left Mama at her own house. I got to Little Holland House abt ¼ to 1 & made excuses for Henry & sent back the carriage in case he would come & join me. The Watts were very kind. We lunched in the little room outside his gallery & were surrounded with lovely pictures—& were a very cosy little party—only us 3. Watts was very kind about Nelly Alderson’s work & said he hoped she would get on with her drawing & said he had put her under a Mr Moore to study the human form. He also asked after my work & strongly advised me to give up modelling in clay on acct of my great tendency to rheumatism. After lunch we took coffee in the picture gallery & he pointed out to me different portraits, those of Lords Salisbury, Dufferin, Gladstone, Argyll—Mathew Arnold & many other celebrities wh he had given to the Nation. We went to walk in the little garden & he showed me the great colossal horse & figure he is modelling in the old Italian fashion with plaster & tow. A fine undraped figure of a man leaning back on his horse & shading his face with his hand– Then we sat talking in the garden & abt 3 Henry joined us & then we went to the studio where we saw many fine things amongst them a portrait of Tennyson just done for the University of Cambridge. We returned home by 4.30 when Henry had a meeting of the Directors of the Venezia Murano & I saw Sir Wm Drake afterwards. A sad wreck. He can hardly walk & speaks with difficulty tho’ his intellect is clear– Eda & Ola returned from Holdenby where they had been since Saturday. Richard Du Cane dined with us. | |
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