‘Arethusa’ by Mme Yevonde

Lady Bridget Poulett as 'Arethusa'
by Madame Yevonde
Vivex colour print, 1935
14 3/4 in. x 10 3/4 in. (374 mm x 274 mm)
Given by Madame Yevonde (Yevonde Philone Middleton (née Cumbers)), 1971
Madame Yevonde :: Lady Bridget Poulett as ‘Arethusa’. Vivex colour print, 1935 | NPG
Given by Madame Yevonde (Yevonde Philone Middleton (née Cumbers)), 1971
Madame Yevonde :: Lady Bridget Poulett as 'Arethusa'. Vivex colour print, 1935 | NPG
Madame Yevonde :: Lady Bridget Poulett as ‘Arethusa’. Vivex colour print, 1935 | National Portrait Gallery

Arethusa was a wood nymph from Elis, associated with the goddess Artemis. Pursued relentlessly by the river-god Alpheus, Arethusa begged for Artemis’s help in escaping his attentions. The goddess opened up a passage under the sea which enabled Arethusa to emerge as a spring in Syracuse, on the island of Ortygia (Sicily) – hence the seaweed in Yevonde’s sitter’s hair. (quoted from NPG)

Madame Yevonde :: Lady Bridget Poulett as 'Arethusa'. Vivex colour print, 1935 | NPG
Madame Yevonde :: Lady Bridget Poulett as ‘Arethusa’. Vivex colour print, 1935 | National Portrait Gallery

The Gift, 1921-1925

Madame Yevonde :: The Gift (Two figures inside a house. The male figure is wearing a harlequin costume, holding a white baton and reaching his hand towards the woman through a doorway. The woman is wearing a white dress with flowers in her hair and reaching towards the harlequin’s hand.), London, England, Great Britain, 1921-1925. | src Collection of the Sarjeant Gallery Te Whare o Rehua Whanganui