Emmeline Cust

Emmeline 'Nina' Cust (1867–1955) was an English writer, editor, translator and sculptor.[1] She was a member of The Souls, an upper class circle that challenged the conventions and attitudes of their class in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.[2]

Emmeline Cust
Cust in the 1890s; photo by Cyril Flower
Born
Emmeline Mary Elizabeth Welby

(1867-08-05)5 August 1867
Denton, Lincolnshire
Died29 September 1955(1955-09-29) (aged 88)
SpouseHarry Cust
Parent(s)Sir William Earle Welby-Gregory
Victoria Stuart-Wortley
Nina Cust's memorial to Henry John Cockayne Cust in St Peter and St Paul's Church, Belton
Emmeline Mary Elizabeth ('Nina') Cust (née Welby-Gregory) after Violet Manners, Duchess of Rutland lithograph, 1890s
An enamelled portrait by Alexander Fisher, 1898

Personal life

Cust was born at Denton Hall to Victoria, Lady Welby, a philosophical writer and Sir William Earle Welby-Gregory, a politician and landowner.[2][3] Her maternal grandmother, Lady Emmeline Stuart-Wortley was a renowned Victorian poet and travel writer.[2]

In 1893, Cust married another member of The Souls, Henry John Cockayne-Cust known as Harry. She supported her husband in much of his work, including correspondence for the Central Committee for National Patriotic Organisations.[2][4] Cust was devoted to her husband, despite a reputedly unhappy marriage that lasted until his death in 1917.[3][5] A detailed look at Nina and Harry, as individuals and as a married couple, can be found in 'Tangled Souls: Love & Scandal among the Victorian Aristocracy' by Jane Dismore (pub. The History Press, 2022).

Cust was a direct neighbour of sculptor Jacob Epstein when they both lived at Hyde Park Gate in London.[1]

Writing and translation

Cust wrote a biography of her mother, Victoria, Lady Welby's first thirty years, entitled 'Wanderers: episodes from the travels of Lady Emmeline Stuart-Wortley and her daughter Victoria, 1849-1855'.[6][7] She also published accounts of her grandmother's travels.[8] Cust contributed shorter pieces to contemporary periodicals including the journal of the English Association.[9]

Virginia Woolf is known to have reviewed at least one of Cust's published books, probably 'Gentleman Errant'.[10]

Cust's translation of 'Semantics; studies in the science of meaning' by Michel Jules Alfred Bréal presented the text's first appearance in English.[1]

Other published works include
  • Gentlemen Errant: being the journeys and adventures of four noblemen in Europe during the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, first published by John Murray, London, in 1909[11]
  • Not all the suns; poems, 1917-1944, first published by Nicholson & Watson, London, in 1944[12]
  • A Tub of Gold Fishes, first published by James Bain, London[13]
  • Dilectissimo, first published by Macmillan and Co., London, in 1932[14]

Artwork

Cust may have attended the Académie Julian in Paris, although it is unclear which art forms she trained in.[15] It is also possible that she studied sculpture in London.[3]

Cust exhibited her sculpture at the Royal Academy in 1906 showing a bust of her niece and in 1927, part of a model of her husband.[1][2] She exhibited both in the United Kingdom and abroad, with works shown in Manchester, Liverpool, Birmingham and Paris.[3]

In 1884, Cust was the subject of a portrait bust by Alfred Gilbert.[1][16] Alexander Fisher produced an enamelled portrait of Cust in 1898.[17]

Works held in collections

Cust's sculpture is represented in British collections including the following works,

Title Year Medium Gallery no. Gallery Location
Adelbert Wellington Brownlow Cust (1844–1921), 3rd Earl Brownlow 1908 bronze 436816 National Trust, Belton House Lincolnshire, England
Adelbert Wellington Brownlow Cust (1844–1921), 3rd Earl Brownlow 1908 marble 436814 National Trust, Belton House Lincolnshire, England
Henry John Cockayne Cust (1861–1917) c.1905 plaster 436783 National Trust, Belton House Lincolnshire, England
Henry John Cockayne Cust (1861–1917) 1905 marble 436777 National Trust, Belton House Lincolnshire, England
Self-portrait[5] 1900–1955 marble 436834 National Trust, Belton House Lincolnshire, England
The Hand of Katherine Hariet Kinloch (d.1952), Lady Brownlow 1952 marble 436781 National Trust, Belton House Lincolnshire, England

References
  1. "Emmeline Mary E. Cust - Mapping the Practice and Profession of Sculpture in Britain and Ireland 1851-1951". sculpture.gla.ac.uk. Retrieved 6 December 2019.
  2. "Emmeline 'Nina' Cust: Artist, Poet, Lover". National Trust. Retrieved 6 December 2019.
  3. Sara Gray. The Dictionary of British Women Artists. ISBN 978-1-78684-235-0. OCLC 980217899.
  4. Marshall, Alfred, 1842-1924. (1996). The correspondence of Alfred Marshall, economist. Whitaker, John K. (John King), Royal Economic Society (Great Britain). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-55888-3. OCLC 32168269.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  5. Rylance-Watson, Alice (21 April 2021). "The Great British Art Tour: from a ceiling alcove, an artist's quiet gaze". The Guardian. Retrieved 20 October 2022.
  6. Welby, Victoria, Lady, 1837-1912. (1985). Significs and language : the articulate form of our expressive and interpretive resources. Schmitz, H. Walter. Amsterdam: J. Benjamins Pub. Co. ISBN 978-90-272-7972-9. OCLC 773039609.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  7. Cust, Nina; Stuart-Wortley, Emmeline; Welby-Gregory, Victoria Alexandrina Maria Louisa Stuart-Wortley (1928). Wanderers: episodes from the travels of Lady Emmeline Stuart-Wortley and her daughter Victoria, 1849-1855. New York: Coward-McCann. OCLC 4263426.
  8. "Violet Manners: aristocrat and portraitist to 'The Souls' | Art UK". artuk.org. Retrieved 6 December 2019.
  9. Cust, Nina (1 March 1945). "O TIME! O LOVE!". English: Journal of the English Association. 5 (28): 117–c–117. doi:10.1093/english/5.28.117-c. ISSN 0013-8215.
  10. Weintraub, Stanley (8 March 1987). "MISS STEPHEN REVIEWS". Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved 9 December 2019.
  11. Cust, Nina (1909). Gentlemen errant: being the journeys and adventures of four noblemen in Europe during the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. London: John Murray. OCLC 2030246.
  12. Cust, Nina (1944). Not all the suns; poems, 1917-1944. London: Nicholson & Watson. OCLC 3012923.
  13. Cust, Nina. A tub of gold fishes. London: James Bain. OCLC 11064415.
  14. Cust, Nina (1932). Dilectissimo. London: Macmillan and Co. OCLC 10008576.
  15. "Nina Cust". National Trust. Retrieved 6 December 2019.
  16. "Nina Cust by Sir Alfred Gilbert". victorianweb.org. Retrieved 9 December 2019.
  17. "Emmeline 'Nina' Mary Elizabeth Welby-Gregory, Mrs Henry John Cockayne-Cust (1867-1955) 435439". nationaltrustcollections.org.uk. Retrieved 9 December 2019.
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