Pietro Annigoni: London

Self-Portrait, 1946, by Pietro Annigoni

"I was almost forty before I first visited London. In the winter of 1948, Dimitri, who was living in England, returned to Florence more than ever convinced that London was the place for me and proceeded to talk me into joining him there. I set out by train, taking with me a portfolio of drawings, many photographs of paintings, several art publications containing reviews of my work, and three painting which, on Dimitri's advice, I was to submit to the Royal Academy. On was my self-portrait of 1946, another a landscape, the third a Biblical picture, 'Jeremiah Weeping on a Tomb."  

The following day was Sending-In Day at the Royal Academy, so that would be our first call. Next we would visit the major public art galleries and museums and then, after a few days of such delicious pleasures, I would get down to work. Dimitri had little difficulty in persuading me that I must produce a series of impressions of London scenes, in ink and colour washes, which, he said, would appeal immediately to the great British public and, it followed, to the art dealers who would soon be vying with each other to show my work in their galleries. Then would follow the one-man show that must inevitably assure future success in England.

We mounted the drawings, put them in a portfolio and, next morning, went by Underground to Bond Street. Dimitri, who knew the people at Agnew's felt sure we would get a good reception there. Then we went to other galleries, we tried them all, and at five o'clock, beaten and exhausted, we took stock - dismally aware that we had none. Dimitri was near to tears and I was convinced my journey had been in vain.

At home again in Italy with my family and friends and working in my studio, the disappointments of the London adventure soon assumed a proper perspective and disappeared completely when I learned that the Academy had accepted all three of my works. Then, one day at the beginning of May, I received a cable from London which read: 'Your Self-Portrait Triumphant at Royal Academy. Stop. Regards Dumont'. A few days later every post began to bring me envelopes stuffed with cuttings from the British newspapers. Altogether there were scores, even hundreds, of them. Nearly all illustrated my self-portrait and criticised it favourably. There were also many letters from people who wanted to buy my three pictures, but I had borrowed them from my collectors for the show and were not for sale."

To be continued) 

(Excerpted from "Pietro Annigoni: An Artist's Life" by Pietro Annigoni, 1977.)