Blanche, Jacques-Emile

1861

1942

Born in Paris in 1861, Blanche considered himself an Englishman by adoption. He had his tweed suits made in Savile Row, bought his hats from Lock’s and his shoes from Lobb. Harold Nicholson, in Blanche’s obituary for “The Times” in 1942, wrote ‘he had known Victorian London and possessed a knowledge of our country life; he had observed the transition from nineteenth century to twentieth century England and been intimate with such diverse figures as Wilde, Beardsley, Henry James, George Moore and Sickert, and since he was equally intimate with three generations of French artist and writers, he formed a valuable hyphen between the two cultures.’ Blanche’s portraits include those of numerous distinguished contemporaries in the world of literature, art and the theatre, including George Moore, Aubrey Beardsley, Walter Sickert, Charles Ricketts, Charles Shannon, Marcel Proust, Colette and the Garrick Club’s image of Marie Tempest.