Duffy Ayers' diary
Manuscript
1940-1948 (written)
1940-1948 (written)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
Manuscript diary by the writer and artist Duffy Rothenstein (née FitzGerald, later Duffy Ayers).
83 ff (including one detached leaf), 49 lines per page, with a few small drawings, mostly sketches of women’s faces. Thirsk (Yorkshire), Flore (Northamptonshire), Wollaston (Northamptonshire), Painswick (Gloucestershire), Oakridge (the Rothensteins’ family home, Gloucestershire), Kintbury (Berkshire), Oxford, Great Bardfield (Essex), Galmpton (Robert Graves’ wartime home in Devon), London, among others. June 1940 – May 1949, majority 1940-1942, with one retroactive entry describing summer 1939, which they spent in Leonard Stanley (Gloucestershire) with Daphne & George Charlton, Stanley Spencer.
83 ff (including one detached leaf), 49 lines per page, with a few small drawings, mostly sketches of women’s faces. Thirsk (Yorkshire), Flore (Northamptonshire), Wollaston (Northamptonshire), Painswick (Gloucestershire), Oakridge (the Rothensteins’ family home, Gloucestershire), Kintbury (Berkshire), Oxford, Great Bardfield (Essex), Galmpton (Robert Graves’ wartime home in Devon), London, among others. June 1940 – May 1949, majority 1940-1942, with one retroactive entry describing summer 1939, which they spent in Leonard Stanley (Gloucestershire) with Daphne & George Charlton, Stanley Spencer.
Object details
| Categories | |
| Object type | |
| Title | Duffy Ayers' diary |
| Materials and techniques | |
| Brief description | Manuscript, Duffy Ayers' diary, Great Britain, 1940-1948. |
| Physical description | Manuscript diary by the writer and artist Duffy Rothenstein (née FitzGerald, later Duffy Ayers). 83 ff (including one detached leaf), 49 lines per page, with a few small drawings, mostly sketches of women’s faces. Thirsk (Yorkshire), Flore (Northamptonshire), Wollaston (Northamptonshire), Painswick (Gloucestershire), Oakridge (the Rothensteins’ family home, Gloucestershire), Kintbury (Berkshire), Oxford, Great Bardfield (Essex), Galmpton (Robert Graves’ wartime home in Devon), London, among others. June 1940 – May 1949, majority 1940-1942, with one retroactive entry describing summer 1939, which they spent in Leonard Stanley (Gloucestershire) with Daphne & George Charlton, Stanley Spencer. |
| Dimensions |
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| Production type | Unique |
| Credit line | Purchased with the aid of a grant from the Friends of the National Libraries. |
| Object history | Sold at Forum auction in 2018, misattributed to Bertha (Betty) Rothenstein (a sister of Michael); then purchased by Maggs, London; purchased from Maggs, London by the V&A in March 2020. |
| Historical context | Written during the second world war, it details: travels with her husband Michael Rothenstein as he painted watercolours for the project Recording Britain; visits with artistic friends including the Kestelmans (Morris & Dorothy), the Rothenstein family (en masse) at Christmas, Robert Graves and his partner Beryl in Cornwall; Michael and Duffy’s move to Great Bardfield in 1941 (and their neighbours, friends and life there); marital obstacles including a temporary separation, reconciliation, and, later, a briefly considered mènage with Duffy’s twin sister Peggy; life in war-time Britain; the role of women, particularly as partners of ‘great men’ |
| Collection | |
| Library number | MSL/2020/1 |
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| Record created | December 14, 2020 |
| Record URL |
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