A Collection of Drawings and designs by Stephen Tennant

Stephen Tennant.

London. Gallery One. 29th November 1956. Illustrated stapled wrappers. 16 pages. 250 x 185mm (9¾ x 7¼"). 0.1kg. . English. Near fine; very slight shelf wear. There are 3 ink corrections to the poem 'Venice; early morning'.

'Question: How many celebrities can be crowded into a given area?
Answer: No more (I should think) than artist Stephen Tennant, brother of Lord Glenconner, packed into a tiny Soho gallery for a private view of an exhibition of his drawings and designs.' (The News of the World, November 1956).

The catalogue for an exhibition of Stephen Tennant's drawings held at Victor Musgrave's new gallery Gallery One on D'Arblay Street, Soho. During the mid-1950s Tennant had a series of small exhibitions in London and New York. The shows themselves received mixed reviews and although financially successful most of the sales were made to Tennant's own society friends. For the opening party of the Gallery One show it was estimated 150 people attended. Lady Juliet Duff opened the exhibition, Stephen Spender gave a few introductory words and the Evening Standard reported that Tennant himself was squeezed out of the gallery - "I'm sorry I didn't hear the speeches". The catalogue contains a list of 27 works by Tennant. It also includes three poems by the artist - 'The legacy of quiet', 'Venice: early morning' and 'The promise'.

[Hoare, Philip. Serious Pleasures. p.328-331]