DARLING OF MAYFAIR

Evening Star, Issue 20666, 13 December 1930, Page 22

DARLING OF MAYFAIR

ARTIST LEAVES LUXURY FLATLIFE IN THE EAST END. Because in his opinion the faces of so many of the people of London’s West End were either entirely blank or registered nothing more interesting than self-pity, a prominent artist has given up his luxurious flat in Mayfair and now lives and works in. a mean tenement flat in Borough. He is Mr Austin 0. Spare, an exhibition of whoso ultra-modern works was recently being arranged: Seven years ago Mr Spare was the darling of Mayfair. Society hostesses vied with each other for Ins company at their social events. But the glamour of Mayfair meant little to Mr Spare. His Borough flat is one pf many dozens in a huge tenement building. Bitting in Mr Spare’s workroom, writes a c Sunday Chronicle ’ representative, Mr Spare explained why he had forsaken Mayfair. ‘ In the West End,” ho said, “people don’t know what suffering is. They have too - much money. They are superficial. Life is so easy for them that their faces seldom have any expression whatever, for they have had no experiences to make any deep impression, and frequent callers hampered my work; - . “ Down here, however, it- is very different. The people of this part of Borough are so poor and have to work so ham that they have no time to make a fuss of themselves. Every emotion is registered in their, faces except selfpitv. All my models are poor people :of 'the district. I get them in hostels and doss houses. “ Ves, life may not he quite so easy down here as in Mayfair, but this is „where I can do my best work.; I’ve got lots of acquaintances locally, and, although I occasionally look up my old and fashionable friends, ]*m really happier in Borough than I. was in the West