| Admin/Biog History | Nicolson began 1935 on a skiing holiday in Adelboden. He returned mid-January and continued his second year at Oxford. During the Easter holidays he spent a month (18 March-15 April) alone in Paris. He returned to Oxford completing his second year in June. After spending a few days at Sissinghurst and then in London, he travelled to Paris briefly before sailing on the Normandie, with his mother (Vita Sackville-West) and father (Harold Nicolson) for New York. |
| Description | In which Nicolson experiences his first skiing holiday in Adelboden: writes about learning to ski and socialising with friends.
Completes his second year at Oxford: writes about everyday life, including the history he is studying as an undergraduate; tutorials with Humphrey Sumner and Kenneth Bell; books he is reading; lectures attended; club & society events; drawing at the Ashmolean and learning German. Also writes, in particular, about the difficulties experienced establishing the Florentine club (engaging speakers, finding rooms, collecting subscriptions etc.) and the various meetings/talks held. Many of the entries concern his social life and reference, amongst others, Ronnie Jenkinson, Bill Garrod, John Mc Nair, Francis Graham-Harrison, John Usborne, John Pope-Hennessy ('Botticelli'), Tom Boase, Giles Robertson, Isaiah Berlin ('Shiah'), Maurice Bowra, Richard Panes, Jeremy Hutchinson, Stuart Hampshire, John Sparrow, Jasper Ridley, Jo Grimond, Bill and Christopher Davies, Guy [Branch?], Lionel [Brett?], Ralph [?], and Alastair [?].
Spends a month in Paris: writes about visiting galleries and exhibitions; meeting artists and visiting artists studios in Montmatre; drawing & buying pictures. Also writes about visits to London, socialising with friends; attending the ballet and, in particular, visiting exhibitions. Writes about time spent at Sissinghurst, although this journal contains fewer references to his immediate family than earlier volumes.
Of particular note:
January
-9th: leaves Adelboden for Paris
-10th: visits the Louvre and Montparnasse
-11th: returns to Sissinghurst, Raymond Mortimer and Eddy Sackville-West come to dinner
-13th: lunches, alongside other guests, at the house of Hannah Hudson
-16th: visits Grandma (Lady Victoria Sackville) at White Lodge
-17th: sees a film about the First World War featuring real images from the time, called 'Forgotten Men'; returns to Oxford
-19th: recounts a conversation with John Pope-Hennessy about a book review the latter has written for the New Statesmen
-20th: meeting of the Florentine club
-24th: writes about arrangements for the Florentine club & comments on the sexuality of members
-26th-29th: records his ambition to 'read everything Virginia [Woolf] has ever written' in preparation for a paper he is giving for the English Club. Also gives his opinion on specific texts as well as about Woolf as an author more generally
-28th: writes about an argument with a friend in which 'the young man made me see what an anachronism I am. How art and literature and everything I stand for are things of the past; how people today cannot afford to concern themselves with such things - Clive's 'Civilisation' must go; brilliance must go; Julian Grenfells must go.....'
-29th: visit to London; buys the new art paper Axis which 'debunks Roger Fry, Clive Bell and their intimate protegés as being out of date. Simply infuriating paper and not worth the money'. Visits an exhibition of paintings by Picasso, Leger, Gris, Matthew Smith at the Mayor Gallery; an exhibition containing works by Vlaminick at the Wildenstein Gallery; an exhibition of works by the Pre-Raphaelites and Filippo Lippi in the collection of Lady Harrington at the Beaux Arts Galleries; an exhibition of works by 18th century French and Italian painters at Tooths; an exhibition of British Art and Industry at Burlington House (which was 'ghastly'); an exhibition of Ethel Walker at the Lefevre Gallery. Reports that 'Vollard employs Rouault and Dufy to paint exclusively for him'. Also mentions finding premises for meetings of the Florentine Club.
30th: writes about the engagement of speakers for the Florentine Club
February
-1st: comments on Virginia Woolf's writing for a talk he is giving at the English Club; elects three honorary members to the Florentine Club
-2nd: lunches with Mr [Margies?]-Jones who promises him an introduction to Windsor Library
-4th: meeting of the Florentine Club; writes about an encounter with John Pope-Hennessy
-6th: visits the National Gallery to see the new Bosch painting; visits an exhibition of Miss Lydia's, Miss Hodgekins and Orovida Pissarro at the Leicester Galleries; meets Christopher Davies and together they see Gielgud in a production of Hamlet; attends a dinner party with - amongst others - John Pope-Hennessy
-7th-8th: Clive Bell visits and gives a paper at the Florentine club entitled 'What Next?' (see also correspondence in LBN/2/2)
-9th & 10th: meets Billy Winkworth and is given a tour of the Chinese pottery in the Ashmolean
-14th: attends a meeting of the Synoptic Society in John Pope-Hennessy's room
-16th: attends the inaugural ceremony of an exhibition of paintings by Lionel [?] and Colville Barclay
-21st-22nd: Duncan Grant gives a paper at the Florentine club entitled 'Form and Colour' and visits the Ashmolean with Nicolson (see also correspondence in LBN/2/31). [A digital copy of these entries can be found below]
March
-1st-2nd: Tommy Earp visits and gives a paper at the Florentine club entitled 'Provence and Post Impressionists'; concludes that the Florentine club is 'not as successful as it might be'
-4th: visits Blenheim Palace
-8th:-9th socialises with, amongst others, Isaiah Berlin
-10th: Guy Burgess, amongst others, attends a dinner party at Beaumont Street
-13th: meeting of the Florentine club
-14th-15th: Reginald Wilenski gives a paper at the Florentine club; visits the Ashmolean and discusses picture restoration work
-16th: visits the National Gallery; returns to Sissinghurst
-18th-15th April: travels to Paris and visits many of the galleries and museums including the Louvre, Luxembourg, Cluny, Rodin, Jacquemart-André, cemetery Père Lachaise
-19th: visits the studio of Othon Friesz
-22nd: visits an exhibition of Cubists works and an exhibition of works by Suzanne Roger in the Rue Faubourg St Honore
-26th: visits an exhibition of the masterpieces of the museum at Greonble
-28th: learns that Anthony Blunt will give a talk at the Florentine club
-29th-31st: Nicolson's father arrives in Paris; socialises with his father and James Lees-Milne
April
-2nd: meets Othon Friesz for the first time; visits the Musée des Arts Décoratifs
-3rd: meets Jacques-Emile Blanche and Francis Tailleux for the first time
-6th: meets Waldemar George for the first time
-7th: socialises with Jacques-Emile Blanche and Francis Tailleux
-8th: shows his drawings to Freisz; visits an exhibition of Italian futurists; visits an exhibition of self-portraits by modern French painters
-9th: visits the private collection of Paul Guillaume; socialises with Francis Tailleux
-10th: lunches with Clive Bell and Waldemar George; meets the wife of Neville Lytton, Rosa Alexandra Fortel
-13th-15th: visits the Pepins family at Les Avrins, near Tours
-15th: returns to England
-16th: visits the National Gallery, exhibitions at the Leicester & Wildenstein Galleries and an exhibition at the Beaux Arts Galleries of the sculpture of Tsapline
-17th-24th: returns to Sissinghurst and writes about building work and improvements
-22nd: writes about a visit to Greece made by his father, (Harold Nicolson), mother (Vita Sackville-West) and brother (Nigel Nicolson)
-25th: returns to Oxford
-27th: writes about developments and plans for the Florentine club
May
-1st: writes about developments and plans for the Florentine club
-9th: visits Warwick castle
-18th: invites Nash and Maze to speak at the Florentine club; members of the Florentine club view Michael Sadleir's private collection
-20th: George Duthuit gives a paper at the Florentine club on Byzantine Art
-22nd: attends a lecture on Japanese Art given by Lawrence Binyon
-25th: visit to London: visits a Bonnard exhibition at the Lefevre Gallery; the Royal Academy for the first time; an exhibition titled ' La Flèche d'Or' at Tooth's; a Jubilee exhibition at the Mayor Gallery; 19th Century Masterpieces exhibition at Wildenstein's Gallery; Wilson Steer at Barbizon House; an exhibition of works by Paul Maze at Wildenstein's; an exhibition of works by de Pisis at Zwemmer's [A digital copy of this entry can be found below]
-29th: attends a lecture given by D.S. McColl at the Arts Club on 'The art of the present and future'
June
-1st: Anthony Blunt gives a paper at the Florentine club on the Baroque
-2nd: Robert Birley visits for tea
-6th: Florentine club members visit the interior of Blenheim Palace; John Pope-Hennessy picked up 'in an old shop in Maida Vale somewhere 25 drawings by Varley, Oppé, Towne, Cozens.....'
-10th: dines with John Pope-Hennessy at the Carlton and writes about his character & intelligence
-11th: visits 'Fifty years of portrait paintings' at the Leicester Galleries; a Renoir exhibition at the Lefevre Gallery; attends 'first night of the ballet at Covent Garden'
-14th: writes about his relationship with his Grandma (Lady Victoria Sackville)
-15th-16th: visit to the opera at Glyndebourne; returns to Sissinghurst for the night with Francis Graham-Harrison
-19th: holds a party at Beaumont Street
-20th: organises a party for the Synoptic society at which both his father (Harold Nicolson) and Cyril Joad give a speech
-22nd: returns to Sissinghurst; learns his father (Harold Nicolson) is 'contemplating standing for Sevenoaks constituency'
-26th: visit to London: views George Harwood's collection at Lowndes Court; sees the ballet Les Sylphides
-27th: visits Hampton Court with John Pope-Hennessy; has tea with Osbert and Karen Lancaster; attends the ballet with various individuals
-28th: visits an exhibition of Albert Marquet's painting at Tooth's Gallery; an exhibition of 'Twenty masterpiecees' at Knoedler's Gallery
-29th: travels to France with Giles [Robertson?] and Bill and Christopher Davies
-30th: visits the Louvre
July
-1st: visits the Petit Palais
-2nd: visits an exhibition of Italian art; the Bernheim-Jeune; Sir Coleridge Kennard's flat near the Eiffel Tower
-3rd-7th: sails to New York, on the Normandie, with his mother (Vita Sackville-West) & father (Harold Nicolson)
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| Image Caption | Journal entries for 21-22 February concerning Duncan Grant's paper to the Florentine Club, 1935 (2pp) |
| Journal entry for 25 May concerning a visit to the Royal Academy and other exhibitions in London, 1935 (2pp) |