Emmeline 'Nina' Cust (1867–1955) was an English writer, editor, translator and sculptor. She was a member of

The Souls The Souls was a small loosely-knit but distinctive elite social and intellectual group in the United Kingdom from 1885 to the turn of the century. Many of the most distinguished British politicians and intellectuals of the time were members. Th ...

, an upper class circle that challenged the conventions and attitudes of their class in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.

Personal life

Cust was born at Denton Hall to

Victoria, Lady Welby Victoria, Lady Welby (27 April 1837 – 29 March 1912), more correctly Lady Welby-Gregory, was a self-educated British philosopher of language, musician and watercolourist. Early life Welby was born to the Hon. Charles Stuart-Wortley-Ma ...

, a philosophical writer and Sir William Earle Welby-Gregory, a politician and landowner. Her maternal grandmother,

Lady Emmeline Stuart-Wortley Lady Emmeline Charlotte Elizabeth Stuart-Wortley (née Manners; 1806 – 20 October 1855) was an English poet and writer, best known for her ''Travels in the United States, etc. During 1849 and 1850''. She was editor of ''The Keepsake'' volumes ...

was a renowned Victorian poet and travel writer. In 1893, Cust married another member of The Souls, Henry John Cockayne-Cust known as Harry. She supported her husband in much of his work, including correspondence for the Central Committee for National Patriotic Organisations. Cust was devoted to her husband, despite a reputedly unhappy marriage that lasted until his death in 1917. A detailed look at Nina and Harry, as individuals and as a married couple, can be found in 'Tangled Souls: Love & Scandal among the Victorian Aristocracy' by Jane Dismore (pub. The History Press, 2022). Cust was a direct neighbour of sculptor

Jacob Epstein Sir Jacob Epstein (10 November 1880 – 21 August 1959) was an American and British sculptor who helped pioneer modern sculpture. He was born in the United States, and moved to Europe in 1902, becoming a British subject in 1910. Early in his ...

when they both lived at

Hyde Park Gate Hyde Park Gate is a street in Central London, England, which applies to two parallel roads in Kensington on the southern boundary of Kensington Gardens. These two roads run south, perpendicular to Kensington Road, but the name Hyde Park Gate a ...

in London.

Writing and translation

Cust wrote a biography of her mother, Victoria, Lady Welby's first thirty years, entitled 'Wanderers: episodes from the travels of Lady Emmeline Stuart-Wortley and her daughter Victoria, 1849-1855'. She also published accounts of her grandmother's travels. Cust contributed shorter pieces to contemporary periodicals including the journal of the

English Association The English Association is a subject association for English dedicated to furthering the study and enjoyment of English language and literature in schools, higher education institutes and amongst the public in general. It was founded in 1906 by ...

Virginia Woolf Adeline Virginia Woolf (; ; 25 January 1882 28 March 1941) was an English writer and one of the most influential 20th-century modernist authors. She helped to pioneer the use of stream of consciousness narration as a literary device. Vir ...

is known to have reviewed at least one of Cust's published books, probably 'Gentleman Errant'. Cust's translation of 'Semantics; studies in the science of meaning' by Michel Jules Alfred Bréal presented the text's first appearance in English.

Other published works include

* ''Gentlemen Errant: being the journeys and adventures of four noblemen in Europe during the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries,'' first published by John Murray, London, in 1909 * ''Not all the suns; poems, 1917-1944,'' first published by Nicholson & Watson, London, in 1944 * ''A Tub of Gold Fishes,'' first published by James Bain, London * ''Dilectissimo'', first published by

Macmillan and Co. Macmillan Publishers (occasionally known as the Macmillan Group; formally Macmillan Publishers Ltd in the United Kingdom and Macmillan Publishing Group, LLC in the United States) is a British publishing company traditionally considered to be on ...

, London, in 1932

Artwork

Cust may have attended the

Académie Julian The () was a private art school for painting and sculpture founded in Paris, France, in 1867 by French painter and teacher Rodolphe Julian (1839–1907). The school was active from 1868 through 1968. It remained famous for the number and qual ...

in Paris, although it is unclear which art forms she trained in. It is also possible that she studied sculpture in London. Cust exhibited her sculpture at the

Royal Academy The Royal Academy of Arts (RA) is an art institution based in Burlington House in Piccadilly London, England. Founded in 1768, it has a unique position as an independent, privately funded institution led by eminent artists and architects. Its ...

in 1906 showing a bust of her niece and in 1927, part of a model of her husband. She exhibited both in the United Kingdom and abroad, with works shown in Manchester, Liverpool, Birmingham and Paris. In 1884, Cust was the subject of a portrait bust by

Alfred Gilbert Sir Alfred Gilbert (12 August 18544 November 1934) was an English sculpture, sculptor. He was born in London and studied sculpture under Joseph Boehm, Matthew Noble, Édouard Lantéri and Pierre-Jules Cavelier. His first work of importance wa ...

. Alexander Fisher produced an enamelled portrait of Cust in 1898.

Works held in collections

Cust's sculpture is represented in British collections including the following works,

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Cust, Emmeline 1867 births 1955 deaths 19th-century English women artists 20th-century English women artists 19th-century English women writers 19th-century English writers 20th-century English women writers English sculptors English women sculptors Writers from Lincolnshire