Emmeline Cust
English writer, editor, translator and sculptor
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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]
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5 August 1867
- Sir William Earle Welby-Gregory (father)
- Victoria Stuart-Wortley (mother)
Emmeline Cust | |
|---|---|
Cust in the 1890s; photo by Cyril Flower | |
| Born | Emmeline Mary Elizabeth Welby 5 August 1867 Denton, Lincolnshire |
| Died | 29 September 1955 (aged 88) |
| Spouse | |
| Parents |
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_Cust_(née_Welby-Gregory)_mw118249.jpg)
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, 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 |