Description
Book SynopsisAs stubborn as she was gifted, as fierce as she was tender, and notorious for her mannish dress that was provocative and chic in equal measure, Gluck was an artist and a rebel. Born Hannah Gluckstein in 1895 into the family that founded the J. Lyons & Co. catering company, she had passionate affairs with society women such as Constance Spry and exhibited her portraits, flower paintings and landscapes in 'one man' shows that captivated the beau monde of the 1920s and 30s. But Gluck's success was never unmixed with controversy: at the height of her fame she stopped working, caught in a bitter campaign over the quality of artists' materials, and her personal life was rarely less than torrid. In Gluck Diana Souhami captures this paradoxical, talented and unusual woman in all her complexity.
Trade Review'Diana Souhami has written a fascinating and well-researched book about this remarkable woman and important artist, who dressed as a man and painted in her own unique style. She has caught Gluck's mania for excellence and the passion she spent on her lovers' Mary Wesley, Daily Telegraph. * Daily Telegraph *
'A quiet triumph' Publishing News, Book of the Year. * Publishing News *
Table of ContentsA Personal Note. 'Gluck, no prefix, no quotes'. REBELLION 1895-1936: 'The Family'. Stage and country. Bolton House. White Flowers. The Gluck Frame. LOVE 1936-1944: 'YouWe'. Roots and brambles. Blaze with a fire. The Queen wore peacock blue. 'the brind and the wheeze'. The war effort. The war within. THE FACTS OF LIFE 1945-1978: The eternal triangle. Yeats's bones. Cosmic injustice. The paint war. Lacuna. A retrospective view. The dying of the light. Afterword. Notes. Bibliography. Works Illustrated. Index.
