Pamela Colman Smith

Bhavana

Abrac said:
I've never heard that either but I wouldn't rule it out. Running a retreat for priests doesn't, of itself, rule out the possibility of alcohol. Priest themselves are often secret alcoholics or drug addicts. For me the jury's still out pending more evidence.

"often" ?? Yikes.

Bhavana

caridwen said:
This is why I started this thread. Why didn't anyone help her, if not in life, then in death?

Both parents were dead and she didn't have any siblings. She was entrusted to three people on the death of her mother (Ellen Terry, Henry Irving, and Bram Stoker) as her father was too feckless to be handed responsibility.

This is what I am trying to find out. There seems to be little if any actual documentation of why she isolated herself. My first question was regarding her association with the Golden Dawn. Since they are supposed to be a fraternal organisation, couldn't they have at least coughed up for a decent burial? It seems as though however, PCS cut herself from all society even before she moved to Cornwall. She may actually have been suffering from depression or some other kind of illness, who knows?? That's my point.

All I have found is prejudicial conjecture. No hard facts. A E Waite was a Catholic, there were Catholics in the Golden Dawn as well as people from other religions so that would not cause any kind of expulsion or exclusion. I'm wondering if she was looking for some kind of faith for comfort. Religion can be very comforting to someone who feels like an outsider or different and she may have become a member of the Golden Dawn for exactly those reasons. The in fighting may have caused her distress and she turned to Catholicism. This again is only guesswork.

I have not found any letters or diary entries to answer any of these questions and others seem to have gone on guesswork.

So my question was how on earth did she end up the way she did? Why didn't anyone help her? If not during her lifetime then at least make sure she had a decent burial and maybe look after her legacy.

Her later years don't sound so bad to me. As an artist, I can understand all too well the need to isolate. For me, it is not just a huge part of my creative process, but a social thing as well. I love to be alone, need to be alone. I enjoy my own company. I find the presence of other people, and the demands they make on me, very stressful. This doesn't mean I am a total hermit, never associating with other humans - I do have other people in my life - but the ones who stick around are the ones who understand my need for space, my need to "recharge my batteries" in solitude. And I do have my animals. They are the best company. I know I am not the only person like this, and it's likely common for artistic types. There are periods of loneliness, but being lonely isn't always about a need for throngs of people around you...

I can't think of anything more pleasant than leaving everything behind to go and live in a small village by the sea, especially in a beautiful place like Cornwall. Sounds like heaven to me. And our friend Pamela produced her art up till the end, no? Granted, she did not have what it took to be successful financially - talent is not always enough - and this may have been a disappointment for her, but it doesn't mean she wasn't happy. After all, art is not just about making money. She had her faith, her companion, lived in one of the most beautiful places in the world....I think she may have been very content - AND, as things turn out, she did make a huge impact on the world with her art!!

Teheuti

Bhavana said:
She had her faith, her companion, lived in one of the most beautiful places in the world....I think she may have been very content.

Thank you, Bhavana. Beautifully said. While we may never know for sure, and there may have been some anxiety over money, this seems as likely as the other possibilities—since she didn't go to live with relatives in the U.S., but chose to remain in Cornwall.

Bhavana

Teheuti said:
Thank you, Bhavana. Beautifully said. While we may never know for sure, and there may have been some anxiety over money, this seems as likely as the other possibilities—since she didn't go to live with relatives in the U.S., but chose to remain in Cornwall.

True, and she led a rich and varied life - did a lot of interesting things, had many experiences. I think that these are the things that we think about as our time nears the end, not so much how much we earned. Maybe like most people, she had regrets, but it seems to me that in a time when most women were living rather uninteresting lives, her life by comparison seemed thrilling, free, independent, and governed by her own choices.

I wish she could have known the impact her art would have on the world, it would have been nice for her to have had that in the end.

Cerulean

I like the twenty pages of biographical summarized in Frank Jensen's book

From 1878-1899 her travels and her endeavers were supported by her father until his death when she was 21....on page 40 Tthe first paragraph reads..

....Pamela and her father were close...he encouraged intensively her artistic abilities and theatre endeavours by also introducing her to people who could advance her interests and be useful to her...in the summer of 1899 Pamela was 21 years old. She visited England, along with her father, during an extended period, returning to New York in October. Sadly during the same year, on December 11th, her
father died umexpectedly...

...her preference for England, then being with Ellen Terry in 1900...last recorded visit to New York after WWII to visit Alphaeus Cole in New York.

I would say this book The Story of the Waite Smith Tarot by K. Frank Jensen is very good for many questions. A group picture with an upraised mischevious smile of PCS smiling to Edith Craig, Ellen Terry's
daughter gives a cheerful light.

Best

Cerulean

.

Bhavana said:
Her later years don't sound so bad to me. As an artist, I can understand all too well the need to isolate. For me, it is not just a huge part of my creative process, but a social thing as well. I love to be alone, need to be alone. I enjoy my own company. I find the presence of other people, and the demands they make on me, very stressful. This doesn't mean I am a total hermit, never associating with other humans - I do have other people in my life - but the ones who stick around are the ones who understand my need for space, my need to "recharge my batteries" in solitude. And I do have my animals. They are the best company. I know I am not the only person like this, and it's likely common for artistic types. There are periods of loneliness, but being lonely isn't always about a need for throngs of people around you...

I can't think of anything more pleasant than leaving everything behind to go and live in a small village by the sea, especially in a beautiful place like Cornwall. Sounds like heaven to me. And our friend Pamela produced her art up till the end, no? Granted, she did not have what it took to be successful financially - talent is not always enough - and this may have been a disappointment for her, but it doesn't mean she wasn't happy. After all, art is not just about making money. She had her faith, her companion, lived in one of the most beautiful places in the world....I think she may have been very content - AND, as things turn out, she did make a huge impact on the world with her art!!

Teheuti

Yes, I highly recommend getting K. Frank Jensen's _The Story of the Waite-Smith Tarot_. While there are not a lot of details of Pixie's life, the book is filled with fabulous material about Waite, Smith and the deck - plus rare images that you won't find elsewhere of Pixie and of other decks - like B&W Trinick cards and Westcott's Major Arcana.

http://www.tarotstudies.org/WaiteSmithBook.html

gregory

Another vote for it. It's GREAT

roppo

Yes, Frank Jensen's The Story of Waite-Smith Tarot is a must.

Perhaps we should compile a list of books recommended for RWS study. Interpretation books are for another time, as this is a "History & Iconography Forum". Well then my list:

basics
The Pictorial Key to the Tarot by A.E. Waite
The Key to the Tarot by A.E. Waite

On A.E. Waite
Shadows of Life and Thought by A.E. Waite.
A.E.Waite, Magician of Many Parts by R.A. Gilbert.

On Pamela Colman Smith
To All Believers : the art of Pamela Colman Smith by Melinda Boyd Parsons.
The Encyclopedia of Tarot Volume III by Stuart R. Kaplan.
The Artwork & Times of Pamela Colman Smith by Stuart R. Kaplan.

On RWS Tarot
The Story of the Waite-Smith Tarot by K. Frank Jensen.
"Waite-Smith: The Fisrt Edition" by Pietro Alligo in 1987-2007 Lo Scarabeo

On the general information about GD etc.
Women of the Golden Dawn by Mary K. Greer.
A History of the Occult Tarot by Ronald Decker and Michael Dummett.

gregory

Good grief - I have several of those... Maybe I should READ them.... :

On second checking - I HAVE read several of the ones I have. Whew !

Teheuti

roppo said:
Yes, Frank Jensen's The Story of Waite-Smith Tarot is a must.

Perhaps we should compile a list of books recommended for RWS study. Interpretation books are for another time, as this is a "History & Iconography Forum". Well then my list:

basics
The Pictorial Key to the Tarot by A.E. Waite
The Key to the Tarot by A.E. Waite

On A.E. Waite
Shadows of Life and Thought by A.E. Waite.
A.E.Waite, Magician of Many Partsby R.A. Gilbert.

On Pamela Colman Smith
To All Believers : the art of Pamela Colman Smith by Melinda Boyld Parsons.
The Encyclopedia of Tarot Volume III by Stuart R. Kaplan.
The Artwork & Times of Pamela Colman Smith by Stuart R. Kaplan.

On RWS Tarot
The Story of the Waite-Smith Tarot by K. Frank Jensen.
"Waite-Smith: The Fisrt Edition" by Pietro Alligo in 1987-2007 Lo Scarabeo

On the general information about GD etc.
Women of the Golden Dawn by Mary K. Greer.
A History of the Occult Tarot by Ronald Decker and Michael Dummett.

Plus, add all the on-line resources that I listed on my blog article, mentioned here: http://www.tarotforum.net/showpost.php?p=2843695&postcount=51

Pamela Colman Smith

Bhavana

Bhavana

Teheuti

Bhavana

Cerulean

Teheuti

gregory

roppo

gregory

Teheuti