Beardsley on Scarfe
SIR.—It is a young man's privilege to refuse to ack- nowledge debts. Mr Gerald Scarfe has extended his privilege to an abuse of his spiritual progenitor. While placing me in the fiery pit he usurps my satanic mask and grins from its febrile lines and exquisite contortions under the impression that no one recog- nises him as my heir.
Mr Scarfe condemns me for creating an individual style which became a limitation and 'a 'bore' (sic). He could be speaking of himself. He of all artists should sympathise with this predicament, which is surely that of every creative artist to a greater or lesser degree. Does he think that by execrating me he will distiact attention from himself, or at least soften condemnation of his own highly idiosyncratic sty le? It remains for us immortals to see whether he will be able to transcend it. He has not exhibited any works outside it on the walls of the Horseshoe Wharf Club—where, incidentally, smaller crowds are gathering than at my, posthumous, exhibition.
Mr Scarfe condemns me for my pre-occupation with death. I fear he is jealous that I am defunct and therefore more attractive to a society which accords its highest honours only to the Dead. The foetal shapes, the skull figures and the 'sexy ladies' (which do not convey to him the emotion he imagines I intended) are present in his work also. That he has eschewed fauns, saturns and cupids is owing solely to his unacademic milieu. He must remember that my best talents were employed in the service of the classical authors Aristophanes, and Juvenal. I look forward to seeing how Mr Scarfe's best talents will be employed, and to welcoming him at last into my infernal embrace. NINA STEANE p.p. AUBREY BEARDSLEY
31 Headlands, Kettering, Northamptonshire
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