velvethatlady: velvethatlady:The splendid Lady Colin Campbell,…
The splendid Lady Colin Campbell, nee Gertrude Blood of County Clare, painted by Giovanni Boldini.
She sued her husband, a younger son of the Duke of Argyll, for divorce on the grounds of his cruelty whereupon he counter-sued her for adultery with 4 men: a doctor, a general, a duke and the head of the Metropolitan Fire Brigade, no less! The 1886 trial had the country enthralled. Details of precisely what Lord Colin’s butler claimed to have seen through Lady Colin’s drawing room keyhole couldn’t be reported in full, which likely only served to inflame the gossip and speculation.
Lady Colin was cleared of adultery but her own divorce petition was also refused and with her reputation in tatters, she was ostracised by high society. Fortunately that didn’t get her down for long and separated from her husband, she became a journalist, her wit, talent and beauty making her more than welcome in literary and artistic circles. George Bernard Shaw in particular was a huge fan, describing her as a goddess. Oscar Wilde was less keen after she referred to him as a great white slug. She was also a keen athlete and especially celebrated for her skills as a fencer.
The Boldini portrait was painted in 1897 when Lady Colin was 40, a couple of years after the death of Lord Colin from the “loathsome condition” with which he had infected her. Sadly she suffered from rheumatoid arthritis for some years towards the end of her life which the loathsome condition may have helped to bring on.
Thank you #Ancastoica for reblogging, funny as I was thinking about the fabulous Gertrude the other day and toying with the idea of reblogging this post, which I wrote soon after resurrecting my blog here. There’s a biography of her by Anne Jordan, Love Well The Hour http://ift.tt/1AEJfOi which is definitely another for my Must Read list!
Reposted from http://ift.tt/1AaIta2.
Tags: boldini.
