Library and Archive Reading Rooms
View by appointment- Created by
- John Banting 1902–1971
- Recipient
- Margaret Low died 1945
- Title
- Letter from John Banting to Humphrey Spender and Margaret Low, written on the back of a blue line-block proof by John Banting with pencil markings
- Date
- °Ú³¦.1939–40±Õ
- Format
- Artwork - on paper, print
- Collection
- Tate Archive
- Acquisition
- This collection was presented to the Tate Archive by Humphrey Spender in 1997.
- Reference
- TGA 9717/1/16
Description
In this letter John Banting thanks Humphrey Spender and Lolly for their cards and says that as a rule he feels 'a bit grim' around the festive season. He mentions that he has a man staying with him who has now had a recurrance of Malaria, which was rather alarming. He explains that the proofs on which he is writing are 'mistakenly in line block' and are for a new book.
The letter is written on the back of two prints. These are proofs from the series used in 'A Blue Book of Conversation' (London, Editions Poetry 1946). The image on the left is printed on p.22 of that book, but was mistakenly printed upside down. It depicted a satirical fictional character Sir Giles Mundens-Furnace. The image has featured as a motif in at least two other paintings by Banting, 'Encounters on a Terrace', c 1936 (private collection), and 'The Couple', c 1932-33 (Sherwin Collection, Leeds). The image on the right, of one seated and one standing figure, can be found on p. 53 of 'A Blue Book of Conversation'.