Italian letters
1990
‘We have an actual attack cat here, and scratches to prove it. He does a “Wall of Death” act’
03/03
I would be very grateful for the reference numbers on the backs of such pictures of mine as you have collected, although the earlier pictures probably have no numbers. If my exhibition does take place, I shall have to collect the paintings held by the investment people R– in Bristol and by M–, who has them at his house in Elgin Crescent. A– of the “Day Book” exhibition, which incidentally toured as far as Edinburgh, Lincoln, Rye, and a few other centres, has written to say that the promised book will be promoted at the International Contemporary Art Fair at Olympia in April, and if he can’t get enough orders there, will be returning money subscribed, and pictures. It sounds like an A– disaster to me. [The “Day Book” was intended as a kind of diary with a painting for each day, for which 365 artists, including Canney, had produced works; an exhibition of the paintings went on tour, but the book was never published.]
Have started painting again after a long break, occasioned by house-sale upsets, visitors, aggravation with the bar, and now that awful chimney built next door – ruining our terrazzo view to the south – and sundry other trials and tribulations.
I have heard nothing from I– about my projected show, but he is not very good at answering letters, and it is his problem anyway as I have the money and now he has to recoup his investment. I have re-done my life history for the catalogue and have done a definitive list of exhibitions, etc., so now it is up to him.
15/04
I sold two expensive pictures to P– and J– – he being the ex-finance director of H– in the City. They have a “podere” with acres of land, over in Chiantishire, and are pretty objectionable, but…perhaps our affection for them will increase on further acquaintance. He is a warped Etonian on the permanent verge of a nervous breakdown (having been made redundant, early) and she is Singapore Chinese I think – almost certainly a Far Eastern merchant banker’s daughter – so it isn’t easy to converse in a relaxed way. Their London house is next to Kensington Gardens. Need I say more?
I very much liked the “Attack Cat” card, but we have an actual attack cat here, and scratches to prove it. He also does a “Wall of Death” act, like those motor cyclists in fairgrounds, hurtling around the room at eye level. It is all a matter of speed getting the better of gravity, and having a cat-nip mouse to pursue. Stamina is not pronounced, as each performance requires a long rest, to clean a back leg or paw. Then he’s off again.
No news from the Belgrave, but that uppity-yuppity character J– has just arrived, and says that one of my pictures is on view there. Testing the water I suppose for Canney saleability. Thank you incidentally for the picture reference numbers. I have now identified all of them and all is well, but I still have three to collect from Parkin. I am very glad that N– had that piece in the “Observer”, as he had already written to me about it. He has done very well recently, filling the gap left by Dufy and the late Anthony Gross. However……………
23/06
I’m afraid my criminal tendencies have just reasserted themselves, regarding neighbours. You may recall that I once threw a rock through the window of the people opposite our cottage – a poor bit of marksmanship as I was aiming at their barking dogs in an upstairs window that had been driving us insane. We returned from a Saturday morning shopping trip to find the police across the way and the woman saying – “Ood do a thing loik thart then? Roit thru ower front winder! It ’ud toik a Sherlawk ’Omes ter foind ther copritt”.
Early this morning, taking advantage of the absence of that [unprintable] in Chile or somewhere (the creature who lives opposite us), and who had hung a foul-smelling bucket of pigeon-shit and ashes outside her window for two years, just to annoy us, I managed with the aid of two pieces of angle-iron, lashed together with wire, plus a giant hook that I had kept ever since Newlyn days (knew it would come in useful one day), to yank the bucket off an iron support. It immediately plunged towards the internal courtyard on the end of my contraption, and nearly had me out of the window. However, with the help of your mother, I managed to retrieve the bucket, and subsequently threw it into the courtyard! All this had to be done at night, as the bar downstairs would have heard the crash. Indeed, there was a sporting chance that it could have gone through their roof. This is the ridiculous and undignified behaviour that one is driven to, by the “people next door”.
…Talking of reproductions, I enclose a page from the Belgrave Gallery catalogue (in which they get the date of my last one-man show all wrong) but it was encouraging to have the picture reproduced. They now say the show will definitely be in November or October…
I have written to A– about the “Day Book” and to ask what the hell is happening…
The Tilsons went off to the Biennale, since when we haven’t heard from them; but the last time they lumbered us with an awful woman who was John Lennon’s secretary (when we went to lunch) and the time before, with a man who makes stoves, and a ghastly girl who never stopped talking and was on the verge of a nervous breakdown, so perhaps we will give them a miss.
I have written to one of my ex-students, from long ago, who was modern pictures expert at Christie’s, and have had a very nice letter back from him. I see that he is a private dealer and valuer now, so he should be useful if we ever need to sell any of our collection, which we don’t intend to do unless facing starvation. He is, of course, an Old Etonian – and hated it there!
Hope H– gets the…job. One tends to hold back from extra responsibility, as I did for years at the art school, but encouraged by my old friend, John Barnicoat, I did in the end agree to accept the post of Principal Lecturer, and it wasn’t really a problem at all – AND it meant more pay, and a bigger pension. This sounds like old gentleman’s advice!!!!!
09/07
We have two Americans coming for the Palio (local one). They are friends of Professor Howard Fenton, one of my old Santa Barbara colleagues. David Ligare, one of them, is a very efficient realist painter and appears in Edward Lucie-Smith’s giant tome on modern art. I suppose one would call him a kind of photo-realist, crossed with Magritte. They are staying at Eve Borsook’s villa above Florence and we went to see them there. She is an American lady who has written a major guide-book on Florence; it looks interesting but is rather long.
My exhibition is mid-October to mid-November, a good time. Have fixed up for the pictures that Mark Searle held to be delivered to the gallery, and have written to Parkin, saying that I will collect the three pictures that he has, at the time of my show. Some other pictures that I left in Bristol are going to be picked up by my dealer’s partner, so that is all the stray art taken care of, with the exception of the “Day Book” exhibition pictures. Will write to that chap today to find out what is happening. What a bore all this is.
PS: Dame Peggy Ashcroft has been staying down the road with a theatrical party at John Huntingford’s place, and came up to see Nigel, whom she knew, somehow or other, but we didn’t see her. You can see what this, once remote area, is now getting like!
27/10
Having now got back to Casole…we were quite amazed to find that ARTS REVIEW (October 19th issue) had a Michael Canney on the cover in glorious technicolour, a review (favourable) inside, and another black and white reproduction as well – but small – although I am not quibbling. There were advertisements with colour reproductions in one or two other magazines, so I feel that the gallery did rather well for me. A number of pictures that I sold to them but which were not shown – a pity as they were amongst the best – seem to have been spirited away, and I suspect that they will end up in a show that Austin-Desmond are putting on next year, of Cornish art. I shall be more than happy if this is so, as it is rather difficult keeping control of things at this distance.
