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"Emmeline (Nina) Cust (1867 I955), translator, poet, and sculptor, was the daughter of Sir William Welby-Gregory fourth Baronet, of Denton Manor, Grantham. In 1893 she married Henry Cust (1861-1917), Unionist M.P. for the Stamford division of Lincolnshire (1890-5) and Bermondsey (1900-6) as well as editor of the Pall Mall Gazette in the 1890s. Through her marriage, she became a member of the 'Souls,' the exclusive circle of young men and women, all prominent in public and social life, who formed the artistic avant-garde in English society in the 1880S and 90s. The Souls' combination of high style and intense seriousness led them to adopt Edward Burne-Jones (1833-98) as their chosen artist, and many families who were considered members of the group -- the Balfours, Gaskells, Horners, and Lyttletons -- were his patrons and friends." [Dorment, Victorian High Renaissance, pp. 171-72.]

According to Dorment, Burne-Jones had long influenced Gilbert's approach to the human figure, but this bust shows the sculptor first using the painter's portrait style with its " tilted head, downcast eyes, and pensive mood," all of which appear in Burne-Jones's 1893 portrait of Lady Windsor.

References

British Sculpture 1850-1914. A loan exhibition of sculpture and medals sponsored by The Victorian Society. London: Fine Art Society, 1968. no. 80.

Dorment, Richard. Victorian High Renaissance. Minneapolis: The Minneapolis Institute of Arts, 1978. No. 89.

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Last modified 1999