Ethel Kibblewhite
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Ethel (Dolly) Kibblewhite (1873–1947Ferguson, 2012, p. 273.) was the host of an important artistic and literary
salon Salon may refer to: Common meanings * Beauty salon A beauty salon or beauty parlor is an establishment that provides Cosmetics, cosmetic treatments for people. Other variations of this type of business include hair salons, spas, day spas, ...
in London in the 1910s. The salon was held at her home at 67 Frith Street and presided over by the poet and critic T.E. Hulme.


Early life

Born to Ethel Curtis, Kibblewhite was the oldest daughter of Thomas Figgis Curtis, a stained glass maker, and his wife Mary. Her sister, Dora Curtis, was also an artist. The two sisters studied drawing under Fred Brown, latterly at the
Slade School of Art The UCL Slade School of Fine Art (informally The Slade) is the art school of University College London (UCL) and is based in London, England. It has been ranked as the UK's top art and design educational institution. The school is organised as ...
.


Marriage

Ethel married Gilbert Kibblewhite in London in 1900. They moved to
Storrington Storrington is a town and former civil parish, now in the parish of Storrington and Sullington, in the Horsham district of West Sussex, England. Storrington lies at the foot of the north side of the South Downs. it had a population of around 6 ...
in West Sussex where Gilbert became the manager of a dairy farm which his father had bought for him. The marriage was unsuccessful as Gilbert was unable to control his temper, causing Ethel to several times flee from him with their children Peter and Diana (later the lutanist Diana Poulton). On one occasion when they were separated, Gilbert arrived at his father in law's house at
Rustington Rustington is a village and civil parish in the Arun District of West Sussex. Rustington is approximately at the midpoint of the West Sussex coast and midway between Chichester and Brighton. The A259 runs along the north of Rustington, west ...
where Ethel had sought refuge from him and demanded to see her. Being denied, Gilbert burned down one of his father in law's outhouses along with the eight beehives stored inside. The marriage was effectively over by 1903 and Gilbert soon after left for Australia at the behest of his family. He returned during World War One with an Australian army regiment and he and Ethel met to discuss a divorce.


Frith Street

After the separation, Ethel Kibblewhite worked at the
Royal School of Needlework The Royal School of Needlework (RSN) is a hand embroidery school in the United Kingdom, founded in 1872 and based at Hampton Court Palace since 1987. History The RSN began as the School of Art Needlework in 1872, founded by Lady Victoria Welby. ...
. She lived at her father's house at 67 Frith Street, a Queen Anne house on the corner of
Soho Square Soho Square is a garden square in Soho, London, hosting since 1954 a ''de facto'' public park leasehold estate, let by the Soho Square Garden Committee to Westminster City Council. It was originally called King Square after Charles II of Engla ...
in London that had once been the Venetian embassy. Her father ran his business, Ward & Hughes, Ecclesiastical Stained Glass Manufacturers, from one floor of the house, the rest was family accommodation.
Arnold Dolmetsch Eugène Arnold Dolmetsch (24 February 185828 February 1940), was a French-born musician and instrument maker who spent much of his working life in England and established an instrument-making workshop in Haslemere, Surrey. He was a leading figu ...
was a visitor to the house. From 1911, T.E. Hulme had a study of his own in the house. He and Kibblewhite became lovers and they spent the summers together at Rustington with the children but Hulme never lived at Frith Street and he never stopped chasing other women. From 1914, Hulme was in a relationship with the painter
Kate Lechmere Kate Elizabeth Lechmere (13 October 1887 – February 1976) was a British painter who with Wyndham Lewis was the co-founder of the Rebel Art Centre in 1914. As far as is known, none of Lechmere's paintings have survived.
and latterly they regarded themselves as engaged as Hulme could not countenance marrying a divorcee (Kibblewhite was separated but not yet divorced) but Hulme was killed in action in 1917 before he could marry Lechmere. Hulme was careful not to let Kibblewhite know about Lechmere, though she was aware of Kibblewhite.


The Salon

The salon at Frith Street, presided over by T.E. Hulme, was attended by many of the important literary and artistic figures before the First World War. These included
C.R.W. Nevinson,
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 ...
, J.C. Squire,
Henri Gaudier-Brzeska Henri Gaudier-Brzeska (né Gaudier; 4 October 1891 – 5 June 1915) was a French artist and sculptor who developed a rough-hewn, primitive style of direct carving. Biography Henri Gaudier was born in Saint-Jean-de-Braye near Orléans. In 1910, ...
,
Rupert Brooke Rupert Chawner Brooke (3 August 1887 – 23 April 1915The date of Brooke's death and burial under the Julian calendar that applied in Greece at the time was 10 April. The Julian calendar was 13 days behind the Gregorian calendar.) was an En ...
and others. From Gaudier-Brzeska, Kibblewhite acquired the small bronze ''Fish'' sculpture, now in the
Tate Gallery Tate is an institution that houses, in a network of four art galleries, the United Kingdom's national collection of British art, and international modern and contemporary art. It is not a government institution, but its main sponsor is the UK ...
. Gaudier-Brzeska asked Kibblewhite to keep the item in her handbag. He made a number of similar small items for friends including knuckledusters for T.E. Hulme. Kibblewhite was at Charing Cross Station when his friends said goodbye to Gaudier-Brzeska before he left for France where he was killed in action. The salon was the scene of the fight between
Wyndham Lewis Percy Wyndham Lewis (18 November 1882 – 7 March 1957) was a British writer, painter and critic. He was a co-founder of the Vorticist movement in art and edited ''Blast (British magazine), Blast'', the literary magazine of the Vorticists. His ...
and T.E. Hulme in 1914 after Lewis became convinced that Hulme was a rival for the affections of Kate Lechmere (he was) and control of the
Rebel Art Centre Vorticism was a London-based modernist art movement formed in 1914 by the writer and artist Wyndham Lewis. The movement was partially inspired by Cubism and was introduced to the public by means of the publication of the Vorticist manifesto in '' ...
(he wasn't). After a quarrel between Lewis and Lechmere, Lewis pronounced his intention to kill Hulme and Lechmere was forced to follow Lewis through the streets of London begging him "Please don't kill him, please don't". When Lewis eventually found Hulme at Frith Street, he burst into the room with the words "What are you doing to me?"Ferguson, 2012, p. 133. A fight ensued and Lewis managed to get Hulme by the throat but Hulme, who was the more powerful man, got the better of Lewis and after the struggle went outside, hung him upside down on the railings of nearby
Soho Square Soho Square is a garden square in Soho, London, hosting since 1954 a ''de facto'' public park leasehold estate, let by the Soho Square Garden Committee to Westminster City Council. It was originally called King Square after Charles II of Engla ...
."Kate Lechmere's ''Wyndham Lewis from 1912''". Jeffrey Meyers, ''
Journal of Modern Literature The ''Journal of Modern Literature'' is a quarterly peer-reviewed literary journal covering studies of literature in any language produced after 1900. It was established in 1977 at Temple University; since 1996, it has been published by Indiana ...
'', Vol. 10, No. 1 (Mar. 1983), pp. 158–160.


Art forgeries

In 1930, Kibblewhite was a witness in a case brought by Jacob Epstein against a London gallery which he alleged had been selling works which they attributed to him but which he had not made.Epstein, Jacob. (1940)
Let There Be Sculpture
'. New York: Putnam, p. 111.


Later life

Kibblewhite never married again and spent her later life quietly in West Sussex. She died in 1947.


References

{{Reflist, 2 1873 births People from Soho 1947 deaths People from Storrington