19 July

ARCHIVE

Clare Sheridan (1885-1970)

Letter, 1948

h 22.8, w 17.8 cm

There is a very attractive bust of her by Epstein which looks
extremely glamorous. She was an aristo as she called herself and
bourgeois was definitely not something she thought she was. The
Russians did and although they let her make busts of some of the
highest party officials she remained suspect. But then it was 1920
and there was still a war on. Her trip to Russia had certainly made
her suspect to her own class and no commissions were forth coming
anymore from the rich who were the ones who could afford a bust,
which was after all a luxury. A bust of one labour leader (Lansbury)
could not keep her and her two children alive. To counter act the
effects of the communist `connection' she decided to go to America,
she could do talks and still cash in on her Russian experience.
However the sessions she had with Lansbury made that she could not
get a visa to go, she had a `dossier'. Having relatives high on the
social ladder certainly made it easier to remove the suspicion
towards her and she managed to convince them to let her go. The
lecture tours were difficult and not always a success. She cut the
contract short and devoted herself to sculpture again or to writing
when that proved more beneficial. Money always remained a problem.
Having to provide for two children made her take the risks in her
life she took and believe me she took a great many. She seems very
restless never staying in one place for very long. Today's letter
reveals a still restless woman but also an older woman.