Cotman biographies

Archive: SDK Sydney Decimus Kitson Archive
Date: [1926-1942]
Reference Number: SDK/1/2/3

---

• Extent

  3 volumes

• Description

  Biographies of Cotman by Kitson.

  The last years of Sydney Kitson's life were primarily devoted to completing his biography of Cotman, 'The Life of John Sell Cotman' which was published by Faber and Faber in 1937. When Ethel Phelps wrote to congratulate him on the published book, Sydney felt he should have included reference to her brother (Robert Hawthorne Kitson). For as Sydney's daughters recalled, they enjoyed Robert's visits because 'they [Robert and Sydney] would sit together for hours talking about Cotman'. His reply indicates how seriously he regarded it as a work of scholarship in which personal and family references had no place, 'I owe my interest in Cotman in the first place entirely to Bob, tho' it would have been difficult to acknowledge such indebtedness in my book. I never thought of it until after the book was published, otherwise I should have dedicated it to him' (24 April 1937). In his last letter to 'Roberto', of 25 May 1937, he apologised for this omission but offered as an excuse: 'l don't quite see how I could have done this, as it would not have interested the public'.

  Kitson published an earlier biography of John Sell Cotman as a precursor to his The Life of John Sell Cotman of 1937.

  Sydney collected press cuttings of reviews of 'The Life of John Sell Cotman'. These are contained within a large scrapbook with a map of Norfolk on the cover (1937), see SDK/1/2/3/3.

  During these later years, Sydney also wrote an essay on John sell Cotman for the catalogue of Russell Colman's collection. This volume was not published until 1942.