Mary Barnes Hutchinson (29 March 1889 – 17 April 1977) was a British short-story writer, socialite, model and a member of the

Bloomsbury Group The Bloomsbury Group—or Bloomsbury Set—was a group of associated English writers, intellectuals, philosophers and artists in the first half of the 20th century, including Virginia Woolf, John Maynard Keynes, E. M. Forster and Lytton Strac ...

Early life

Hutchinson was born in Simla, Bengal,

British India The provinces of India, earlier presidencies of British India and still earlier, presidency towns, were the administrative divisions of British governance on the Indian subcontinent. Collectively, they have been called British India. In one ...

, to Sir Hugh Barnes and Winifred (Strachey) Barnes.''India, Select Births and Baptisms, 1786-1947'' After spending her early childhood in India, she was raised in

Florence, Italy Florence ( ; it, Firenze ) is a city in Central Italy and the capital city of the Tuscany region. It is the most populated city in Tuscany, with 383,083 inhabitants in 2016, and over 1,520,000 in its metropolitan area.Bilancio demografico an ...

by her maternal grandparents, and later attended boarding school in England. Hutchinson moved to London in 1909 and in 1910 married barrister St John Hutchinson. Their marriage lasted until his death in 1942. They had two children,

Jeremy Hutchinson, Baron Hutchinson of Lullington Jeremy Nicolas Hutchinson, Baron Hutchinson of Lullington, (28 March 1915 – 13 November 2017) was a British barrister. He was the son of St John Hutchinson, KC, and his wife, Mary Barnes, and was descended from the regicide Colonel John H ...

and Barbara Judith, who later married

Victor Rothschild Nathaniel Mayer Victor Rothschild, 3rd Baron Rothschild (31 October 1910 – 20 March 1990) was a British banker, scientist, intelligence officer during World War II, and later a senior executive with Royal Dutch Shell and N M Rothschild & Son ...

, 3rd Baron Rothschild.

Bloomsbury Group

In 1910, her cousin Lytton Strachey and Duncan Grant introduced her to the

. Hutchinson eventually became a hostess and patroness, hosting lavish soirees at her two homes, Eleanor House and River House. In 1927, influenced by the Group's writers, Hutchinson published a single volume of thirteen articles and six short stories entitled ''Fugitive Pieces''. Throughout her life, she attracted a group of writers and painters to her house, where she and her husband entertained, among others, Mark Gertler, Edward Kauffer,

T. S. Eliot Thomas Stearns Eliot (26 September 18884 January 1965) was a poet, essayist, publisher, playwright, literary critic and editor.Bush, Ronald. "T. S. Eliot's Life and Career", in John A Garraty and Mark C. Carnes (eds), ''American National Biogr ...

, Aldous Huxley, and

Virginia Woolf Adeline Virginia Woolf (; ; 25 January 1882 28 March 1941) was an English writer, considered one of the most important modernist 20th-century authors and a pioneer in the use of stream of consciousness as a narrative device. Woolf was born i ...

. Hermione Lee asserts in her biography of Virginia Woolf that Hutchinson was the "main inspiration for the febrile socialite Jinny in ''

The Waves ''The Waves'' is a 1931 novel by English novelist Virginia Woolf. It is critically regarded as her most experimental work, consisting of ambiguous and cryptic soliloquies spoken mainly by six characters; Bernard, Susan, Rhoda, Neville, Jinny an ...

."''

Art model

Hutchinson often posed as a model for painters. In 1915, Vanessa Bell painted an unflattering portrait of her called ''Mrs. St. John Hutchinson'', describing it as "perfectly hideous... and yet quite recognizable." Hutchinson also posed for two of Bell's paintings, ''Nude with Poppies'' (1916), which Bell painted for Hutchinson, and ''The Tub''. Clive Bell introduced her to

Henri Matisse Henri Émile Benoît Matisse (; 31 December 1869 – 3 November 1954) was a French visual artist, known for both his use of colour and his fluid and original draughtsmanship. He was a draughtsman, printmaker, and sculptor, but is known prima ...

, who drew her portrait twice in 1936, both charcoal drawings entitled ''Portrait of Mary Hutchinson''. In the early 1930s, Russian artist

Boris Anrep Boris Vasilyevich Anrep (russian: Борис Васильевич Анреп; 27 September 1883 – 7 June 1969) was a Russian artist, active in Britain, who devoted himself to the art of mosaic. In Britain, he is known for his monumental mosaic ...

used her as a model for

Erato In Greek mythology, Erato (; grc, Ἐρατώ) is one of the Greek Muses, which were inspirational goddesses of literature, science, and the arts. The name would mean "desired" or "lovely", if derived from the same root as Eros, as Apollonius o ...

, the muse of lyric poetry, in ''The Awakening of the Muses'' mosaic in the entrance hall of the

National Gallery The National Gallery is an art museum in Trafalgar Square in the City of Westminster, in Central London, England. Founded in 1824, it houses a collection of over 2,300 paintings dating from the mid-13th century to 1900. The current Director o ...

in London.

Personal life

Although married until her husband's death in 1942, Hutchinson had many lovers, many of whom were part of, or in contact with, the Bloomsbury Group. She maintained a long term, indiscreet affair with Clive Bell from 1914 until 1927, who was married to fellow Bloomsbury Group member Vanessa Bell. On the other hand, her letters suggest that she maintained a similarly long term relationship from 1922 to 1930 with Aldous Huxley and his wife, Maria, although this was kept secret from the Bloomsbury Group and from Jack Hutchinson. Hutchinson also had brief liaisons with

Vita Sackville-West Victoria Mary, Lady Nicolson, CH (née Sackville-West; 9 March 1892 – 2 June 1962), usually known as Vita Sackville-West, was an English author and garden designer. Sackville-West was a successful novelist, poet and journalist, as wel ...

and Matisse's son-in-law,

Georges Duthuit Georges Duthuit (1891–1973) was a French writer, art critic and historian. Duthuit was a key commentator on Matisse, Nicolas de Staël, Jean-Paul Riopelle, and Bram van Velde. He maintained a close association with the surrealists, particular ...

. Mary Hutchinson and

were intimate friends. Hutchinson and T.S. Eliot also maintained a close correspondence from 1916 until the last months of his life. She was also an early supporter of

Samuel Beckett Samuel Barclay Beckett (; 13 April 1906 – 22 December 1989) was an Irish novelist, dramatist, short story writer, theatre director, poet, and literary translator. His literary and theatrical work features bleak, impersonal and tragicomic expe ...

and corresponded with him throughout his career. Hutchinson was also interested in fashion and interior design, and remained an active patron of the arts throughout her life. She supported the publication of the literary and artistic magazine, '' X''. She died in London in 1977.''England & Wales, National Probate Calendar (Index of Wills and Administrations), 1858–1995''

References

External links

Play by Mary Hutchinson on Great War Theatre website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hutchinson, Mary 1889 births 1977 deaths 20th-century British women writers British artists' models British women short story writers British people in colonial India