PENGUIN BOOKS AMONG THE BOHEMIANS ‘Racy, vivacious, warm-hearted. Offers an illuminating and well- researched portrait of life among the artists, a century ago’ The Times Literary Supplement ‘Cheerful, amusing, entertaining, engagingly illustrated’ Country Life ‘A crackingly good account, packed with anecdotes, but through them runs a rich seam of research. Richly illuminating’ Literary Review ‘Fascinating’ Metro ‘My new favourite book… screamingly funny’ Sunday Telegraph ‘I enjoyed Virginia Nicholson’s Among the Bohemians – a survey of English counter-culture from 1900–1939’ Alain de Botton, Books of the Year, Independent ‘Offers all the pleasures of an old scrapbook… filled with colourful images and anecdotes’ Scotsman ‘Nicholson has a magpie’s eye for the glittering anecdote’ Dubliner ABOUT THE AUTHOR Virginia Nicholson was born in Newcastle-upon-Tyne. After studying at Cambridge University she lived in France and italy and then worked as a documentary researcher for BBC Television. Her first book, charleston-A Bloomsbury House and Garden(Written in collaboration with her father,Question Bell), was an account of the sussex home of her grandfather, the painter Vanessa Bell. She is married, has three children, and lives in Sussex AMONG THE BOHEMIANS Experiments in Living 1900–1939 VIRGINIA NICHOLSON PENGUIN BOOKS PENGUIN BOOKS Published by the Penguin Group Penguin Books Ltd, 80 Strand, London WC2R 0RL, England Penguin Putnam Inc., 375 Hudson Street, New York, New York 10014, USA Penguin Books Australia Ltd, 250 Camberwell Road, Camberwell, Victoria 3124, Australia Penguin Books Canada Ltd, 10 Alcorn Avenue, Toronto, Ontario, Canada M4V 3B2 Penguin Books India (P) Ltd, 11 Community Centre, Panchsheel Park, New Delhi – 110 017, India Penguin Books (NZ) Ltd, Cnr Rosedale and Airborne Roads, Albany, Auckland, New Zealand Penguin Books (South Africa) (Pty) Ltd, 24 Sturdee Avenue, Rosebank 2196, South Africa Penguin Books Ltd, Registered Offices: 80 Strand, London WC2R 0RL, England www.penguin.com First published by Viking 2002 Published in Penguin Books 2003 10 Copyright © Virginia Nicholson, 2002 All rights reserved The moral right of the author has been asserted The acknowledgements on pages 333–5 constitute an extension of this page Except in the United States of America, this book is sold subject to the condition that it shall not, by way of trade or otherwise, be lent, re-sold, hired out, or otherwise circulated without the publisher’s prior consent in any form of binding or cover other than that in which it is published and without a similar condition including this condition being imposed on the subsequent purchaser ISBN: 9780141933405 For Bill Contents List of Illustrations Line Drawing Acknowledgements Introduction 1. Paying the Price Why is poverty so romantic? – Why do artists despise money? – How does one survive while producing something that no one will buy? – What does an artist do who runs out of money? – Does being rich disqualify one from Bohemia? – If being Bohemian means being poor, is the gain worth the pain? 2. All for Love What is wrong with talking about sex? – What is wrong with sex outside marriage? – Why shouldn’t self-expression extend to the bedroom? – Is homosexuality wrong? – Must relationships be confined to members of the same sex, class and colour? – Is marriage a meaningful institution? – Is there such a thing as free love? 3. Children of Light What is it like to be brought up in Bohemia? – Should children be kept clean and tidy? – Should children be given rules and punishments? – How do you bring up a creative child? – Should children be educated, and if so, how? 4. Dwelling with Beauty How can one recognise a Bohemian interior? – Does one really need furniture? – How can one live beautifully and cheaply? – Is innovation in design compatible with authentic living? – Do things have to match? – What is the point of wallpaper? – Must furniture be new? – Is comfort more important than appeaance? – Is living the simple life the answer to poverty? 5. Glorious Apparel What do one’s clothes tell people about one’s beliefs? – Does one have to wear what other people wear? – Must one wear sober colours? – evening dress? –corsets? – Which is more important, comfort or appearance? – Must women wear skirts? – Must men be clean-shaven? – Is jewellery wrong for men? –- Do clothes have to be expensive to be beautiful? 6. Feast and Famine Must one eat English food? – Are table manners important? – Must one eat meat? – What are the alternatives if one can’t cook? – Are creativity and cookery compatible? – Where do Bohemians dine out? – Is it possible to eat on an artist’s income? – Why must women prepare meals? 7. New Brooms Must women give all their time to housework? – How can one cope with housework without modern machinery? – Is an experimental lifestyle compatible with having servants? – What are the advantages of remaining dirty? – Must one have baths? – Can one admit to the existence of lavatories? – Must creativity be sacrificed for the sake of cleanliness and order? – Does domesticity have any value for the artist? 8. The Open Road Is it necessary to stay in one place? – What is the purpose of travel? – Is it preferable for English people to live in England, or is France better? – How does one differentiate the true traveller from the tourist? – What does one need to pack? – Is it necessary to have a roof over one’s head? – Is the love of speed a symptom of creativity? 9. Evenings of Friendliness What do Bohemians want out of life? – ha party an occasion for the observation of the rules of society? – How can one entertain with no money? – Must guests know each other, or their hosts? – What kind of behaviour is acceptable at parties? – How have pubs and clubs changed their status? – Is it necessary to stay sober? – Is it all worth it in the end? Epilogue Appendix A: Monetary Equivalents Appendix B: Dramatis Personae Notes on Sources Select Bibliography Acknowledgements Index List of Illustrations Section 1 Augustus John, Norfolk, 1909 (photograph National Portrait Gallery, London; copyright reserved) Café scene from H. Murger, Scènes de la Vie de Bohème, 1845 (British Library, London, Tab. 501.a.6) ‘An Unfinished Masterpiece’ by Philip Bume-Jones, c. 1900 (Rochdale Art Gallery, Lancashire/Bridgeman Art Library) Robert Graves in his kitchen, photograph by Douglas Glass (© J. C. C. Glass, photograph National Portrait Gallery, London) Kathleen Hale and her boyfriend, possibly Frank Potter, on holiday in Italy, 1926 (Courtesy of Peregrine McClean) Rosalind Thornycroft and her children in Italy, 1920s (Courtesy of Chloë Green) Quentin and Julian Bell, Asheham, c. 1914 (Tate Gallery Archive, London) John Hope-Johnstone, portrait by Augustus John, c. 1911 (Glynn Vivian Art Gallery, Swansea/© courtesy of the artist’s estate/Bridgeman Art Library) Bedales pupils wheeling barrows (Courtesy of Bedales School) Romilly John, bronze by Jacob Epstein, 1907 (© estate of Jacob Epstein/Tate Gallery, London/photograph Conway Library, Courtauld Institute of Art, London) By the Avon, 1930. Poppet John, Jean – a friend, Nicolette Macnamara, Vivien John and Caitlin Macnamara (Courtesy of Prosper Devas) Vaslav Nijinsky dancing in Le Dieu Bleu, 1912 (AKG, London)