A Houston Artist Abroad - Pt 2: Caen
Emma Richardson Cherry in Brittany, the Loire Valley and Paris, 1925.
This is the next leg of our virtual Centennial recreation of the journey made by Emma Richardson Cherry (1859-1954), the Dean of Houston Artists, and her traveling companion, Clemens Tanquary Robinson (1897-1963), to Brittany, Normandy, the Loire Valley and Paris in the summer of 1925. For other stops on the journey, see my Substack section titled Emma in Brittany and Beyond, 1925-1926.
Monday, June 29, 1925 – Caen, France – “We took a boat which carried folks, horses, cows and sacks of coal from Havre to Caen. We were second class passengers, so we sat on the lower deck which was occupied almost entirely by two fierce Normandy steeds with rolling eyes, two very bulgy cows and some sacks in about this proportion (see drawing above), and the seats were 3 legged wooden stools. Amazing?!” Clemmie Tan’s Letter #2 to her husband, Geroid Tanquary Robinson, June 30, 1925.
Tuesday, June 30, 1925 – Caen, France – “There is such a wealth of beautiful things on every hand that we are in a constant state of awe and reverence and excitement. We are staying in a hotel over a restaurant which goes by the name ‘Restaurant des Gourmets.’ We have a room and alcove which looks out on a tree-top and some old houses – a room which smells of sun-dried linen and fresh breezes blow in thru long windows reaching to the floor. We have found a great number of things we would like to paint.” Clemmie Tan Letter #2 June 30, 1925.
Note: Sadly, the Caen that Mrs. Cherry and Clemmie Tan found so captivating was heavily bombed by the Allies during the D-Day invasion, in June and July, 1944, so many of the beautiful sites they saw were destroyed. Shown here are some before & after views of the bombed city.
Wednesday, July 1, 1925 – CAEN, FRANCE – “We have planned to do a window at St Pierre [today] and some gargoyles if we can.” Clemmie Tan Letter #2 June 30, 1925.
Note: As it turned out, the window Mrs. Cherry did was at the Abbey of Saint-Étienne, not St. Pierre as first intended, and she did it thoroughly, including color coding so that she would remember the sections exactly!
THRUSDAY, JULY 2, 1925 – GOODBYE CAEN, FRANCE – “Caen is just disappearing in the mist and we can still see the town in silhouette with its fringe of spires and clock towers across the fields. This part of France is like England luxuriously green, and we are passing groups of cottages with their funny hock-headed roofs. They are so friendly and cute!” Clemmie Tan letter #2 July 2, 1925. Note: Words by Clemmie Tan, drawings by Emma Richardson Cherry.
To be continued …
I want to tour Brittany & the Loire Valley as she did, over a period of many months!