Lady Bridget Poulett as 'Arethusa'

by Madame Yevonde
Vivex colour print, 1935
16 1/2 in. x 10 7/8 in. (420 mm x 275 mm)
Given by Madame Yevonde (Yevonde Philone Middleton (née Cumbers)), 1971
Photographs Collection
NPG x26034

Sitterback to top

Lady Bridget Poulett (1912-1975), Socialite; daughter of 7th Earl Poulett. Sitter in 10 portraits.

Artistback to top

Madame Yevonde (Yevonde Philone Middleton (née Cumbers)) (1893-1975), Photographer. Artist associated with 333 portraits, Sitter in 8 portraits.

This portraitback to top

Arethusa was a wood nymph from Elis, associated with the goddess Artemis. Pursued relentlessly by the river-god Alpheus, Aresthusa begged for Artemis's help in escaping his attentions. The goddess opened up a passage under the sea which enabled Arethusa to emerge as a spring in Syracuse, on the island of Ortygia (Sicily) - hence the seaweed in Yevonde's sitter's hair.

Linked publicationsback to top

Gibson, Robert; Roberts, Pam, Madame Yevonde: Colour, Fantasy & Myth, 1990 (accompanying the exhibition at the National Portrait Gallery from 20 July - 1 October 1990), p. 66

Linked displays and exhibitionsback to top

Goddesses and Others (17 January 2005 - 20 May 2005)

Subject/Themeback to top

Vivex

Events of 1935back to top

Current affairs

Stanley Baldwin starts his third term as Prime Minister after Ramsay Macdonald resigns due to ill health. Coincidentally, Baldwin's first term in office also came about when the Prime Minister of the time, Bonar Law, stepped down due to illness in 1923.

Art and science

Robert Watson-Watt demonstrates Radar, showing how an aircraft can be tracked by detecting radio waves reflected off it. During the war, Watson-Watt established a network of machines and operators that helped detect the approach of enemy aircraft in the Battle of Britain.
Penguin publishes its first paperback books, making reading more portable and affordable to a wider audience.

International

Italy invades Abyssinia. The invasion of the country now known as Ethiopia was part of Mussolini's plan to create an Italian Empire. It was also an attempt to avenge Abyssinia's victory over the Italian army at Adowa in 1896.
Germany introduces conscription, breaking the disarmament clause of the Treaty of Versailles.

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