Vellacott's work is beautifully ethereal--so pale and luminous. I love the later paintings with the scarcely there figures. A lovely introduction to an artist I wasn't aware of.
I have grown to love the later paintings especially, there were so many I wanted to show. The Artist in Winter is extraordinary with the monochrome outsie and the warmth indoors. Both the drawings and paintings look so much better in the flesh, they really do glow.
Another wonderful new (to me) artist, thank you, Deborah. I find it hard to choose between her styles as they are so different. The ghostly line of trees in the first image grabbed my attention, but her oil paintings and strangely out of proportion figures are also really striking. Thanks for the insights.
Thank you, Wendy. I like the fact that she stayed true to her convictions and kept going. The drawings were all made on location and she said her knowledge from them fed into her paintings which were entirely from her imagination. I love both!
Such a wonderful and detailed account Deborah. I particularly love the Lucy Boston connection. We spent a truly wonderful day at Hemingford Grey with Diana Boston, who kindly allowed us to photograph the quilts. Lucy was an incredibly generous and talented woman. A true friend.
She is a wonderful guide, isn't she? I would love to visit again in summer to see the roses. I am so pleased you liked it and thank you very much for reading it.
Hurrah! 🎉 A new Deborah Vass post arrived in my in-box yesterday morning. It’s that joyful feeling like when a letter arrives on your doormat and you recognise the writing as that of a much loved friend. Another amazing artist to learn about, another one that I hadn’t heard of and what a delight to look at her ethereal drawing and what an inspiration! I love the connections to Kettles Yard (I have only been once and clearly need to go again to see this picture in real life!) and the Lucy M Boston. I haven’t been there yet but hope to this year. So after such enthusiasm why didn’t I post this yesterday when it arrived? Well, because as usual with a Deborah Vass post I go down soooooo many rabbit holes looking at books and things to read and watch and visits to plan that I realise I haven’t actually posted a comment. I was probably just talking aloud as I read and researched!😂. Many dear Deborah 🐝 for another gem of a post! ❤️
I hope I sent you down some happy rabbit holes! When researching the posts, I go for miles and find it hard to not put everything in! I must return too to Kettle's Yard. I went this year, after several years, and had forgotten how beautiful it is. Hemingford Grey is a must visit too, quite magical. Thank you very much for reading it and hope you discover some lovely new reading adventures.
Reading your epistles is akin to waking in the morning in a new place, having arrived in the dark on the previous evening, and discovering a novel view through the window.
Thank you so much for an introduction to another intriguing artist I hadn’t heard of. I am enchanted by both the drawings and the paintings (and the cats!) - unfortunately must have missed seeing that drawing on our visit to Kettle’s Yard a few years ago, as I don’t remember noticing it - must return there again sometime, it’s such an amazing place. I also loved the connection with Lucy M Boston and Hemingford Grey - another place on my visit wishlist! Thank you!
It isn't easily seen! There are two others, but both in very discreet places and I had to ask where they were. She paints cats beautifully I think. I would love to revisit too, it was such a magical place and had to keep pinching myself that I was actually there! Thank you x
Thank you for another wonderful introduction. Both her dedication to her art and a long life in which to practice it, are inspiring. I do love the drawings best, for their attention to the growth processes of the trees.
Thank you very much, Dudley. I found her resilience extraordinary. All the tree drawings were made en plein air and she said she wanted in drawing them to understand how they grew, and I do think you get a sense of that.
Thank you! What a revelation. I had never heard of Elizabeth Vellacott. A finely written review of her work and such cherishing of both her talent and persistence. I hope her studio is home to another artist, perhaps?
What a complete reassuring delight to read about Elizabeth and to see her work . Thank you. I was not aware of her before now- although I must have seen her drawing in Kettles yard on a visit there many years ago- perhaps it did not register with me then.
I love that she had such a close friend ship with Lucy Boston. A writer I know and have enjoyed .
The photo of Elizabeth’s studio has filled me with delight .. seems like the perfect space.
Thank you very much, Emma. Her work is very discreetly placed and very easy to miss! Something I should have mentioned was that Lucy Boston was a painter when they met, and that forged their friendship, as she didn't write the Green Knowe books until she was over 60. But I can see a direct connection in their work. I thought her description of Elisabeth so touching. And I would love such a studio!
Thank you for introducing me to Elisabeth Vellacott via this beautifully written review of her life. I've been wanting to get to Kettle's Yard for a number of years and this has made me determined to finally get there. It is inspiring to read of women in the past who were brave enough to insist on staying single so that their identity would not disappear as soon as they had walked down the aisle.
If you have the chance, you must visit, it is such a beautiful and inspiring place. I think it took such courage to live her life in the way she did, especially when it was certainly much less easy to do so. Thank you very much for reading it and your lovely message. If you visit, do let me know!
Such a beautiful post, Deborah! I am in awe – of your work as well as of Vellacott's. Love this, not least because of the wonderful connections with the Cambridge women I write about. The artist Mary Greene (Graham's aunt) had such a lasting influence on Vellacott, Raverat & others.
Thank you, there were so many threads I wanted to pursue in researching this, not least the photographs of Ramsay which then appeared in your post, which was such a lovely coincidence. And Graham Greene's aunt - what a delight! I so admired Elisabeth Vellacott.
Another new artist for me and gosh, I love her work, drawings and paintings. I love the composition of the one in her studio, she creates that real sense of concentrated isolation we all feel as artists. Thank you for the introduction.
I've been very interested reading this as I'm experiencing a phase where I feel like my work is quite invisible. It can at times feel hard to keep going when I see others taking up exciting opportunities, when I am lucky if some people even know if I have a new print. Oh and the love she had for her cat Lulu makes my heart sing! Reading about Elisabeth and the hardships she endured puts things in perspective for me. xx
Yes, I felt that too with the "Artist in Winter" painting. It is such an isolated, and isolating, activity. I love the position of the cat and the bird on the wall - would it be too far fetched to think of the bird being a metaphor for creativity too? I think it is a beautiful painting.
I think it is now increasingly hard to make our work visible, especially on social media, and understand how difficult this is to cope with. I found Elisabeth's ability to continue pushing forward, when she must have had very little response, very moving. I had no idea about the extent to which her work was overlooked until late in her life. Having seen it at Kettle's Yard I had assumed that it had been otherwise, as you do when you seen work in such a gallery.
I am so glad you responded to enjoyed her work and thank you very much for reading it.
Gosh that’s so fascinating. That corner of Kettles Yard is my favourite bit of one of my favourite places and that lovely drawing had escaped me - so thank you for telling us about it. My Mum used to tell a story of being reluctantly led into a darkened room by an RAF boyfriend during the war only to find when the lights when on it, the room was full of airmen silently listening to music…
It is very easy to miss, especially when the light floods through that window which is so beautiful.
What a marvellous story about those RAF airmen. I found it deeply moving that they made these evenings possible, it must have meant a great deal to those young men.
Vellacott's work is beautifully ethereal--so pale and luminous. I love the later paintings with the scarcely there figures. A lovely introduction to an artist I wasn't aware of.
I have grown to love the later paintings especially, there were so many I wanted to show. The Artist in Winter is extraordinary with the monochrome outsie and the warmth indoors. Both the drawings and paintings look so much better in the flesh, they really do glow.
Another wonderful new (to me) artist, thank you, Deborah. I find it hard to choose between her styles as they are so different. The ghostly line of trees in the first image grabbed my attention, but her oil paintings and strangely out of proportion figures are also really striking. Thanks for the insights.
Thank you, Wendy. I like the fact that she stayed true to her convictions and kept going. The drawings were all made on location and she said her knowledge from them fed into her paintings which were entirely from her imagination. I love both!
Such a wonderful and detailed account Deborah. I particularly love the Lucy Boston connection. We spent a truly wonderful day at Hemingford Grey with Diana Boston, who kindly allowed us to photograph the quilts. Lucy was an incredibly generous and talented woman. A true friend.
She is a wonderful guide, isn't she? I would love to visit again in summer to see the roses. I am so pleased you liked it and thank you very much for reading it.
Hurrah! 🎉 A new Deborah Vass post arrived in my in-box yesterday morning. It’s that joyful feeling like when a letter arrives on your doormat and you recognise the writing as that of a much loved friend. Another amazing artist to learn about, another one that I hadn’t heard of and what a delight to look at her ethereal drawing and what an inspiration! I love the connections to Kettles Yard (I have only been once and clearly need to go again to see this picture in real life!) and the Lucy M Boston. I haven’t been there yet but hope to this year. So after such enthusiasm why didn’t I post this yesterday when it arrived? Well, because as usual with a Deborah Vass post I go down soooooo many rabbit holes looking at books and things to read and watch and visits to plan that I realise I haven’t actually posted a comment. I was probably just talking aloud as I read and researched!😂. Many dear Deborah 🐝 for another gem of a post! ❤️
I hope I sent you down some happy rabbit holes! When researching the posts, I go for miles and find it hard to not put everything in! I must return too to Kettle's Yard. I went this year, after several years, and had forgotten how beautiful it is. Hemingford Grey is a must visit too, quite magical. Thank you very much for reading it and hope you discover some lovely new reading adventures.
Reading your epistles is akin to waking in the morning in a new place, having arrived in the dark on the previous evening, and discovering a novel view through the window.
Goodness India, what a lovely thing to say, thank you very much.
Very interesting read, I laughed when I read the sentence about a woman's talents being buried by a husbands needs.
Thank you, yes it is a very telling remark!
Thank you so much for an introduction to another intriguing artist I hadn’t heard of. I am enchanted by both the drawings and the paintings (and the cats!) - unfortunately must have missed seeing that drawing on our visit to Kettle’s Yard a few years ago, as I don’t remember noticing it - must return there again sometime, it’s such an amazing place. I also loved the connection with Lucy M Boston and Hemingford Grey - another place on my visit wishlist! Thank you!
It isn't easily seen! There are two others, but both in very discreet places and I had to ask where they were. She paints cats beautifully I think. I would love to revisit too, it was such a magical place and had to keep pinching myself that I was actually there! Thank you x
Thank you for another wonderful introduction. Both her dedication to her art and a long life in which to practice it, are inspiring. I do love the drawings best, for their attention to the growth processes of the trees.
Thank you very much, Dudley. I found her resilience extraordinary. All the tree drawings were made en plein air and she said she wanted in drawing them to understand how they grew, and I do think you get a sense of that.
Thank you! What a revelation. I had never heard of Elizabeth Vellacott. A finely written review of her work and such cherishing of both her talent and persistence. I hope her studio is home to another artist, perhaps?
Thank you very much, that is a very read thing to read! I am not sure who is in now living in her house, but do very much hope it is an artist too.
What a complete reassuring delight to read about Elizabeth and to see her work . Thank you. I was not aware of her before now- although I must have seen her drawing in Kettles yard on a visit there many years ago- perhaps it did not register with me then.
I love that she had such a close friend ship with Lucy Boston. A writer I know and have enjoyed .
The photo of Elizabeth’s studio has filled me with delight .. seems like the perfect space.
Thank you very much, Emma. Her work is very discreetly placed and very easy to miss! Something I should have mentioned was that Lucy Boston was a painter when they met, and that forged their friendship, as she didn't write the Green Knowe books until she was over 60. But I can see a direct connection in their work. I thought her description of Elisabeth so touching. And I would love such a studio!
Thank you for introducing me to Elisabeth Vellacott via this beautifully written review of her life. I've been wanting to get to Kettle's Yard for a number of years and this has made me determined to finally get there. It is inspiring to read of women in the past who were brave enough to insist on staying single so that their identity would not disappear as soon as they had walked down the aisle.
If you have the chance, you must visit, it is such a beautiful and inspiring place. I think it took such courage to live her life in the way she did, especially when it was certainly much less easy to do so. Thank you very much for reading it and your lovely message. If you visit, do let me know!
Such a beautiful post, Deborah! I am in awe – of your work as well as of Vellacott's. Love this, not least because of the wonderful connections with the Cambridge women I write about. The artist Mary Greene (Graham's aunt) had such a lasting influence on Vellacott, Raverat & others.
Thank you, there were so many threads I wanted to pursue in researching this, not least the photographs of Ramsay which then appeared in your post, which was such a lovely coincidence. And Graham Greene's aunt - what a delight! I so admired Elisabeth Vellacott.
Another new artist for me and gosh, I love her work, drawings and paintings. I love the composition of the one in her studio, she creates that real sense of concentrated isolation we all feel as artists. Thank you for the introduction.
I've been very interested reading this as I'm experiencing a phase where I feel like my work is quite invisible. It can at times feel hard to keep going when I see others taking up exciting opportunities, when I am lucky if some people even know if I have a new print. Oh and the love she had for her cat Lulu makes my heart sing! Reading about Elisabeth and the hardships she endured puts things in perspective for me. xx
Yes, I felt that too with the "Artist in Winter" painting. It is such an isolated, and isolating, activity. I love the position of the cat and the bird on the wall - would it be too far fetched to think of the bird being a metaphor for creativity too? I think it is a beautiful painting.
I think it is now increasingly hard to make our work visible, especially on social media, and understand how difficult this is to cope with. I found Elisabeth's ability to continue pushing forward, when she must have had very little response, very moving. I had no idea about the extent to which her work was overlooked until late in her life. Having seen it at Kettle's Yard I had assumed that it had been otherwise, as you do when you seen work in such a gallery.
I am so glad you responded to enjoyed her work and thank you very much for reading it.
Thank you. I love her drawings best. What a beautiful introduction to an artist I want aware of!
Thank you, Jen, I am so glad your enjoyed her drawings.
An interesting post, Deborah. I find so much peace in these paintings... inner contentment. Thank you for introducing this artist to me.
Thank you, Yasmin, I find her work very restful too, and am pleased you enjoyed her work too.
Gosh that’s so fascinating. That corner of Kettles Yard is my favourite bit of one of my favourite places and that lovely drawing had escaped me - so thank you for telling us about it. My Mum used to tell a story of being reluctantly led into a darkened room by an RAF boyfriend during the war only to find when the lights when on it, the room was full of airmen silently listening to music…
It is very easy to miss, especially when the light floods through that window which is so beautiful.
What a marvellous story about those RAF airmen. I found it deeply moving that they made these evenings possible, it must have meant a great deal to those young men.