58 _
governesstwentyyearsyounger,latein life.Carrington
lovedherbig,strongfather,whowasfullofexciting
stories.Forherconventionalmother,however,shedidn’t
feelmuchliking.Later,Carringtonwrotethatshewasa
childwhowaskeenlyawareofthesocialhierarchyatan
earlyage,wasquicktofeelashamedofherbody,and
likedsecrets.Thesearecharacteristicsthatshekept
throughoutherlife.
In thefallof1910,Carringtonstartedattherenowned
artacademy,theSladeSchoolofFineArtin London,UK.
Soonafter,shecutoffherlongblondhairandshedher
‘sentimental,lower-classEnglish’firstname,andonly
wentbyCarringtonfromthenon.Shewasnotverypretty,
althoughhereyeswerestrikinglyblueandhersmilecould
beenchanting.Everyoneagreedtherewassomething
mysteriousabouther.Shewasproficientatlavishing
admirationandseemedtoflirtwithalmosteveryoneshe
liked.Nowonderthemalestudentsfellforherlike
ninepins,andtheBritishpainterMarkGertlerwas
particularlycrazyabouther.Butnomatterhowrebellious
andflirtyCarringtonwas,shewasalsoterrifiedofsex—the
legacyofherprudishupbringing.Shehatedbeinga girl,
andtherelationshipwithherbodywascomplex:Her
periodfilledherwithdisgust,sheworetrouserswhenever
possible,andthelastthingshewantedwastoendup >Love strikes whenyouleastexpectit. Towardtheendof
1915, a 22-year-oldCarrington(thetalentedyoungpainter
had shed her firstname,Dora,a fewyearsearlier,as
bourgeois ballast)wasawayfortheweekendwithfriends.
During a walk,LyttonStrachey,a lanky35-year-oldwriter,
tried to kiss her,a boyishgirl.‘Thathorribleoldmanwitha
beard kissed me!’shetoldherfriendwhenshegotbackto
the house. In anattempttocalmherdown,thefriendsaid,
‘Lytton is homosexual,soit probablywon’thappenagain’.
Carrington hadneverheardoftheword‘homosexual’,and
her friend hadtospellit outforher.Outraged,Carrington
sought revenge.Thenextmorning,shesnuckinto
Strachey’s roomtosnipofftheoffendingpricklyredbeard
while he was sleeping.Assheleanedoverhim,heopened
his eyes and lookedather.Andshefellin love.Forlife.
Carrington isa painterwitha highlypersonaloeuvre,
which wasn’t verylargetobeginwithandmuchofit was
lost over the years.Shepaintedportraitsoffriendsand
relatives, landscapessheloved,andflowersfromherown
garden. Duringherlife,shehardlyeverexhibited,preferring
to keep her worktoherself.Thefirstsoloexhibitionof
Carrington’s workwasheldin 1970, 38 yearsafterher
death. In 1978,JohnRothenstein,directoroftheTate
Gallery in London,UK,from 1938 to1964,calledher‘the
most neglectedseriouspainterofhertime’.Anda
retrospective washeldin 1995,hotonthetrailofthe
movie CarringtonstarringEmmaThompson.
Carrington wasalsoanoriginalwriter,towhichher
letters and diaries(recentlyrepublished)bearwitness.That
she is, nevertheless,relativelyunknowncanbelargely
explained by onefact:Lovewasmoreimportanttoher
than work.REBELLIOUSANDFLIRTY
Dora de HoughtonCarringtonwasbornin Hereford,UK,
on March 29,1893.Shewasthefourthoffivechildren:she
had two elder brothers,oneeldersister,andoneyounger
brother. Her father,SamuelCarrington,was 61 whenshe
was born and wasalreadyretiredfroma careerin the
railways in India.HemarriedCharlotteHoughton,a1.WithLyttonStracheyin thegardenofHamSprayHouse.
2.RalphPartridge(inbathingsuit)andStracheypicnickingbyKennet
River,nearHamSprayHousein Wiltshire,UK,1928.
3.Collectingmushrooms,around1920.
4.MountainChurch,Larrau, oiloncanvas.
5.BritishpainterMarkGertlerin hisstudio,1928.
6.WithIrisTree,Britishpoet,actressandmodel,in thegardenof
HamSprayHouse,1929.
7.LyttonStrachey, byCarrington,oilonpanel,1916.
8.Carrington (right) having tea with British writer Frances Marshall
(second from the left) and Strachey (bottom middle), ca. 1928.‘ She was proficient at lavishing admiration
and seemed to flirt with almost everyone she liked ’