DLA017-0126  Transcription

HOTEL TIMÈO

TAORMINA

16th January 1930

dearest Philip.

Very many thanks for your long account of the doings of yourself and family, it gave me great pleasure. Living as I do, so to speak in exile, to hear from friends one is fond of, is a great pleasure, indeed! I greatly appreciate your kind thought of sending those beautiful photos and reproductions and that splendid photo of yourself in that fine Hungarian dress, Mrs de L^[1]– and Paul^[2] in his going out gown, Not only I myself looked and admired these treasures you sent me but I showed them here to people and they universally admired them. In short, all you wrote and sent me to illustrate palpably your friendship for me, gives me the greatest satisfaction.

I read with interest you [illegible words] have now in [illegible words] your projects of [losses to page]

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to carry out your old dream of painting that great picture of which you have often spoken to me.^[3] I am looking forward to see it finished. I hope to come one day for a visit to England and to see your great work. I often think of those happy days I spent in your beautiful house amongst the family circle and in the studio. I remember so accurately that I could make an inventory of the furniture etc. also that of charming and [sweet?] Littleworth Corner House with that fairy wood belonging to it.

I hope to see all this once again and to be with you all!

I read with the greatest – interest your short account of the Italian Exhibition.^[4] I wish I could see it myself. What you said about the section of drawings, I read in an article too where it was pointed out that the great [illegible words] of Italian [illegible words] is the masterly drawing, they have achieved. Yes, the ultra moderns/ some of them from Hungary are pestering you, aren’t they?!/ are keeping still now to gather with their promoters the art cities who Van Donghens^[5] and their associates!!! [illegible words]

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almost word for word the plain truth about these matters you do so very well, put down [illegible]. Your article in the “Evening [illegible]” last year”! –

It is very lucky for you that all the 5 Boys^[6] though coming and going in all sorts of directions, crossing the Atlantic etc.! they are all strong and healthy. This is a very great thing Philip, you can be thankful to God that both you and Lucy and your sons enjoy good constitutions and apart from little troubles on [sic] the main you all are strong both physically and mentally. Especially in these strenuous times we live in, phisical [sic] strength is absolutely necessary to get through successfully the battle of life which gets harder every year.

I hope you are pleased with your Paris visit, I stayed once for a short time at the Hotel Astor myself and liked it very much. I expect you will be pleased to see the progress your sister in law has made in [illegible words] and also you will thoroughly enjoy the Costebelle rest and enjoy play golf to your hearts’ [sic] desire. I miss golfing very much, in fact here I don’t take any exercise all my time I spent [losses to page]

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bedroom balcony, it is a bit too cold to sit out of doors [illegible], but later in the spring I will go for a walk to [hotel?], only one has to go up and down all the time and the mountain roads are rather rough. I hope you will come here when you are at Rome, I can’t go so early in the spring as I want to spend all my summer here to restore my health thoroughly. But, apart from me, you ought to come here, from an artist’s point of view this is one of the most beautiful spots in Europe. I see painters – with their paint boxes and stools going about the place every day, they come here, from all parts of the Globe! Yesterday I met accidentally Miss Hilda Legh, Lord Newton’s daughter,^[7] she too, said one never saw such a beautiful spot.

It is interesting that they make a copy of your portrait of Lord Curzon [likely 3893].^[8] I saw the original at Oxford [3890], it is a fine picture indeed. But all your portraits are splendid. But you ought, as you have often said, do a little more landscape painting. The beauty of Nature is so fascinating. I myself am a slave of painting Etna. the gigantic mountain. About my poor endeavours in Art, I am writing shortly in Hungarian^[9] as this letter is going to be too long, I know you are busy [losses to page] With love to [losses to page]

Editorial Note:

Vilmos Ruttkay de Felső-Ruttka (born 1869), commercial attaché at the Hungarian Embassy in London; for biographical notes, see [4856]. 

SMDL

20/01/2018