In the Public Eye

Evening Post, Volume CXIX, Issue 134, 8 June 1935, Page 29

In the Public Eye

Two members.of the, King's'hoiisehold appear in-the iist, of neWfb'arqns— Sir Frederick Ponsonby and Colonel Clive Wigrarh. •: ' ' The Et. H6rt. Sir Frederick Edward Grey-Ponsonby,,G.C.V.O., Q.C.8.; has been Treasurer to the King since 1920, and Keeper of the Privy Purse since 1914. Born in 1867, a son "of the late General Sir Henry Ponsonby,.vfhb was Queen Victoria's secretary, he .entered the' Army in 1888, and. was. appointed Ai)C. to the Viceroy of India in 1893. He served Queen Victoria as Equerry, Assistant Keeper -of the' Privy Purse, and Private Secretary froni 1894 to 1901: acted :in;similar: capacities to King Edward from 1801 to 1910, and to his present Majesty from 1910 till 1912. He served in the South African War ihd throughout ttie Great War, bemg nentioned in dispatches, and .receivtig the K.C;B: He published, m 1920, A history of "The Grenadier Guards in ie Great War.'.'. . The publication, by Sir Frederick m 1928 of "Letters of the Empress Frederick" greatly annoyed the exKaiser, who was the subject of scathing criticism by his mother. He has had the difficult task of making a pre-war.income meet the Sovereign's post-war expenditure. A relatively poor man, he could earn a very large salary in business, but prefers to serve the King. In appearance he is a combination "of :a Guards officer and an astute business man; and it has been said of his family that "there is always a Ponsonby at the Palace." Mr. N. Marcanthoni. A white-haired, fresh-faced man with a philosophic smile and a workman s apron, who has "sat" to famous artists for fifty years, paused in his work of lifting and carrying at the Royal Academy—where they are selecting works for the summer show—to indulge in reminiscences. He was Mr. Nicola Marcanthoni—or, as hundreds of artists affectionately call him "Old Nick." One of the bestknown of models, he also helps with the preliminary work, before the various shows at Burlington House. It was "Old Nick" who, many years ago, posed as a boy for "Love Locked Out" Edna Lea Merritt's famous picture at the Tate Gallery. "I've changed a bit since then, he said to me, with a twinkle. "A hard life—but I've had a wonderful time. Sargent, Leighton, Dicksee, Millais, Waterhouse, Watts, ITrampton, Thomas, Brock, Thorneycroft—these are just a lew at the artists for whom "Nick has sat. Orperi and John, too, painted him. in' their studfent days. "It was in the family," he said. My father was a model before me. He sat as a young man in Rome for Sir Frederick Leiahton. in 1848."; ,:,Mr.vMarcantnoni thinks that, on me whole/ women painters are "kinder, more ■considerafte, arid pleasanter' to sit forthan men. s; "But, then, peiple vary so," he added. "Some artists will talk most entertainingly all day. Others will not open their mouths. Some of them will give you the most aslonishing confidences. They, open theirhearts to their models. I've been told; things you couldnt is very hard-work, he contends- You "must not let.your mind wander or your eyes change their direction. You must.concentrate the whole time for the best results Mr. Marcanthoni has a pleasant story about an exhibition some few years-ago, "It was an exhibition of what they call diseased^!) masters. I had been helping to hang them, and I was. looking round the rooms when I saw one of the pictures had been put upside down. T " 'That's upside down,' I said. No, it's not, 1 said a member of the Hanging Committee. 'Pardon me, but It is, l said.-'But how do you know?' he asked. 'Because,' I said, 'it happens to be a picture of me. I sat for it—and Im upside down.'" Mr. T. F. DunhillMr. Thomas Frederick Dunhill, the composer, and his son David were involved in a remarkable street accident at West Hampstead recently as they were setting out for a holiday in Paris. Their taxicab was" overturned by a runaway lorry. The lorry had been left standing outside Buckingham Mansions, West End Lane, West Hampstead, when it started to run down the steep hill, and gaining speed passed West End Green at a great pace.- It missed a bus coming from the direction of Golders Green, and then crashed into the taxi, which was also coming from Golders Green. After overturning the cab the lorry went on, entered the courtyard of West Hampstead Fire Station, and ran into the side wall. The taxi-driver was able to scramble out of his seat uninjured, but the cab had to be lifted by firemen and dozens of other helpers before the two passengers could be extricated. They were found to be practically uninjured, and were both taken into the fire station to rest before being driven to hospital. 'After attention there they were able to go home, Mr..Dunhill, sen., being rather severely shaken. Mr. Dunhill is Professor at the Royal College of Music and Examiner to the Associated Board of i the Royal Academy of Music and'the Royal College of Music. He is 58 years old. For nine years he was Pianoforte Professor at Eton, and he was appointed to ,the staff of the Royal College of Music in 1905.: He visited Australia and New Zealand as Examiner to the Associated Board'in 1906 and 1908, and he also founded the Thomas Dunhill Concerts. , ■ His many compositions include the opera "The Enchanted Garden," for which he received the Carnegie award in 1925, and the comic opera "Tantivy Towers," for which Mr, A, P. Herbert wrote the libretto. .•' i

One of the new barons in the Birthday Honours List is Colonel Sir Clive Wigram. Colonel Sir Clive Wigram, X.C.V.0., to give him his full title, took the place of Lord Stamfordham, the King's private secretary for many years. In his twenties Sir Clive won distinction as a soldier, and though he is now sixty years of age he still preserves a youthful look. The King's secretary today is a highly important public servant, and though he receives little advertisement the demands upon him are many. He must own a knowledge of the affairs of State, must be something of a Constitutional lawyer, must understand current politics without partisanship, and must possess the tact and intuition of; a manager of men. .-.■■■ Sir Clive Wigram, who is a son of the late Mr. Herbert Wigram, of the Madras Civil Service, was educated at Winchester and entered the Royal Artillery when scarcely- out of his teens. After two years' service he was chosen by Lord Elgin, Viceroy of India, to accompany him' to India as aide-de-camp, and in the eastern empire Sir Clive exchanged to the Eighteenth Lancers and saw service on the Northwest Frontier in the 1897 campaign. When Lord Curzon went to India, Sir Clive remained as aide-de-camp, but during the South African War he left the country for some time, and he was amongst the relief forces which came, to Kimberley. When King George, then Prince of Wales, visited India in 1905 and asked for an aide to accompany him on the tour, Lord Kitchener nominated Captain Wigram, and he showed so 'much zeal that in 1910 one of the first posts allotted by the King after his accession to the Throne was an assistant secretaryship to his young helper and friend of India. Sir Clive is a keen gardener and takes much interest in the lay-out of the Castle gardens at Windsor. Mr. Andre Chariot. ' In the recent negotiations between the actors and the managers which-re-sulted in the formation of the new London Theatre Council no manager stood out as a generous and conciliatory influence with greater clearness and authority than Mr. Andre Charlot. This extraordinary Anglo-Rus-sian of giant-like physique and engag- ■ ing mien has just produced another of those revues of the kind with which i his name has for many years been . identified. ■ / The lighter stage has no more discerning or better-liked follower than "Andre." He does more than follow, t however. He gives a lead whenever ; and wherever he can. It is in a coli. our sense—also a sense of time and a further appreciation of order and • method where his powers find .their ; largest and finest opportunities. . He ■ is a grand organiser. He is one of the pleasantest and , most persuasive of. men. Beloved by his company, his capacity for gentle ', and genial ridicule, and his genius for the satirical enable him to rule- its members far more effectually than [ would any loudness of voice, rudeness of manner, and that abrupt and per- ', emptory combination of sarcasm, and stockheadedness for which so many stage dictators are noted. '■ "Andre" has had his difficulties in ' life. Who has not? He has always . faced them with courage and a snail- [ ing eye. His worries during every . rehearsal must be considerable, for , the plotting and planning of a revue ' involves far more detail, far_ more , stage machinery,»diplomacy with in- ; tractable material and deviations into , the unexpected than do any three orr dinary stage plays. ■■ Mr. Beverley Nichols once described in his most amusing way Chariot's distress over a pair of rustc coloured curtains. They hung in his office, and he surveyed them with • agonised eyes. They were exactly ■ the wrong shade for the colour of the [ walls, and by some, lamentable error • had been, hung in Chariot's office. 1 There was no mistaking his emotion. 1 In horrified asides he occasionally referred to them and betrayed the uneasiness of a man with a spider walking over his neck. : This is the man to aT.He is acutely - sensitive. In the work of production t he plays on his nerves with the same r assiduity as Kreisler goes to his . violin. The "hellish confusion" which i is possible at a rehearsal of a firstclass West End "show," with its army - of "lime men," stage hands, and cory» I phees must play havoc with his 1 sensitivities and fret his soul to rib- - bons. Yet he is so understanding of » other people's sufferings and wishes I that it is with the greatest diffidence i and moderation he voices his own. He i loves to study and develop a personality in his young women artists. He f watches them closely and constantly, f He is always at their elbow with a ■j suggestion, a criticism, a helpful comment, an encouraging and approving a remark. He elects always to signify 3 his approval in public and.the con- . trariwise in private. He is so discreet , and tactful. '" To keep up an unfailing level- of I coruscation in the soufflees of the ' stage must be an intense strain upon • his brain and his temper. He relies upon his deep and wide well of "inf spiration." It seldom fails him. There "' is a liveliness, a rapidity, a slickness as a rule about his arrangements, 1 which compare with the best efforts B of French and American specialists in h this form of art. He has great taste, c great.feeling, and a real knack of design. On the literary side he believes c in securing a distinctive and special '-- note associated with wit, observation, f and humour. In short, he is one of a the most prized assets of the entere tainment world.