“Lord Curzon in His Study at Delhi” by Mortimer Menpes, R. I.

Lord Curzon in His Study at Delhi

Mortimer Menpes

1903

Watercolor

Source: Frontispiece, The Durbar

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Half-length Portraits

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“Without any delay the Viceroy came and sat. He was wearing a gray frock-coat, and had a flower in his button-hole. He looked crisp and well-groomed, and in the keen, searching light one had a splendid chance of studying his expres- sions, which were changing constantly. What an alert face ! With what bright, clear eyes he met my glance I Assurance seemed stamped in every line of those strong, almost stern, features. One felt that to this man there was no such thing as the insurmountable. In proportion to the face Lord Curzon's head is enormous. It is an obviously intelligent head; at the back it seems to have burst out into bulges with intelligence. I was struck not only by the strength and intelligence of the man before me, but also by his kindliness and sympathy. Whatever Lord Curzon's critics may say, after that one sitting in his verandah at Delhi, I shall always maintain that the Viceroy of India is a magnetic man, a sympathetic man, a stimulating man, a man who has the power to draw the very best out of people. To me as a painter he showed the most delightful side of his character. Busy beyond words, he allowed himself to drift sympathetically, giving me the impression that time was of no con- sequence, and art the only thing to live for. He did not sit down with watch in hand and say, "Now paint me," as I have known lesser men do. He talked just as an artist would talk. He stimulated me, and got me in the right condition for work : in a word, he made me feel restful, which is the proper mood for a painter” (186-87).

Bibliography

Menpes, Mortimer. The Durbar. Text by Dorothy Menpes. London: Adam & Charles Black, 1903. Internet Archive version of a copy in the University of California at Los Angeles Library. Web. 27 May 2017.

Last modified 31 May 2017