Friday, December 20, 2013

CHRISTMAS, 1928

During the winter of 1912-1913, my maternal grandfather, William W. Howell (1875-1957), a physician from Boston, went to Vienna and Berlin to study the diseases of children. Upon his return, he accepted a position at the Harvard Medical School (his alma mater), where he taught pediatrics from 1913-1921; he also had a private practice with offices on Dartmouth Street.


O. Maxwell Ayrton (1874-1960) was a Scottish architect who lived and worked in London.  He passed the Royal Institute of British Architects qualifying examination and was admitted as an Associate on November 30, 1903. His projects included Wembley Stadium, National Institute for Medical Research at Mill Hill, Twickenham Bridge in London and Findhore, Loch Alvie and Spey bridges in Ivernesshire, Scotland.

Ayrton and his wife and children came to the USA in 1925, and, as my grandfather told it, one of Ayrton’s children became quite ill while the family was in Boston. My grandfather, who had privileges at several Boston hospitals, was the pediatrician in charge of Ayrton’s case; he was instrumental in saving young Ayrton’s life.

And so began an unlikely friendship: the Boston physician and the London-based architect remained in touch until my grandfather’s death in the 1950s...by letter, mostly, although each visited the other at least once more during their lives when overseas.


I have an original ink drawing sent to my grandparents from the Maxwell Ayrton family for a Christmas present in 1928; the image is 30” long, 6” high, under glass in a rich oak frame:
“A Prospect of Plymouth Sound and its Environments from the Hoe,” signed by Maxwell Ayrton.

It's a panoramic view of water, town rooflines, landscape. The detail is amazing... there’s a woman lounging on the stone wall, a boy with a fishing line, an organ-grinder (complete with little monkey); an elegantly-dressed couple with a telescope, two other gentlemen chatting, an onion vendor, two slightly overweight workingmen, a fish monger with his cart (I love the face on this guy!), a woman with two children, one of whom is rolling a hoop (my grandfather told me that this is Mrs. Ayrton with her two children)...



It hangs beneath the double window in my dining room; it’s tucked between the windowsill and the floor in a lovely, neutral patch of wall. I’ve seen dinner guests kneel on the rug to get a better look; they’re always delighted by the drawing...and the story!

Christmas and New Year greetings to you all; I’ll be back in 2014!



28 comments:

  1. What a lovely story. Sometimes you meet people in the most interesting ways. I met a marvelous person years ago when I was looking for information for a story I was writing and we've been in touch ever since. She actually is the one who introduced me to Sepia Saturday! We've yet to meet personally, face-to-face, but one day I'm hoping either I'll go over there, or she'll come here. I'm glad your grandfather & his friend, the architect, were able to see each other at least twice more. Friendships, how ever they develop, are precious! Merry Christmas, & thanks for sharing such a nice story.

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    1. Thanks, Gail -- and you're right -- interesting ways of meeting people...some by pure chance, which is how my grandfather met his friend!

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  2. A beautiful and interesting story; the ink drawing lets you imagine many stories. I love them, I have a small, special one, a Pianist in a bar, the setting is so real, the faces, so it's all just in inky lines, I saw it in an antique shop in Zurich and had to have it. so it goes...Merry Christmas

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    1. I'm very fond of ink drawings, too. This one is special. And it's such a strange shape (long and narrow). I know what you mean when you say you "had to have it." I find things like that, too.

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  3. Christmas stories take on many forms, and it's interesting to see the variety that Saturday Sepians come up with. Have a wonderful Christmas.

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    1. And to you, Brett! Yes, Sepians are a wonderful bunch, aren't they -- fond of variety and surprise!

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  4. That's a fascinating story and drawing. The calligraphy is very beautiful.

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    1. Yes, that calligraphy! I have a friend who's a pretty good calligraphist, but Ayrton was really something!

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  5. A wonderful Christmas story. I was curious about Mr. Ayrton so I looked him up on Wikipedia. It notes that his son, Tony was an artist. His full name was Antony Maxwell Ayrton, (1909 - 1943) and he was responsible for a massive deception in camouflage just prior to the North African battle for El Alamein in WW2. It was called Operation Bertram. Could he be your artist and maybe the child your grandfather treated?

    My best wishes to you for a joyful holiday.

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    1. Tony's father was the architect, Mike! I'm not sure if it was Tony or Virginia (I THINK her name was Virginia, but I can't remember the story well enough) -- she was Tony's sister. As I recall, he died shortly after the war...

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    2. Yes, Tony Ayrton had a major involvement in 'The Phantom Army of Alamein'. Sadly, he died of meningitis a year after this. Tony represented Britain in the art section of the 1928 Olympics. Maxwell, who designed the famous twin towers of Wembley Stadium (sadly now demolished) was not Scottish, but sas born in town of Chester, England. I've done a lot of research into the Ayrton family. One of Max's brothers (Randle) was a distinguished Shakespearean Actor, who also acted in early Hitchcock films, and another was an artist. There were also artists on his mother's side of the family. Tony's sister, Tessa, became a very well known artist - I think she's still alive.

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  6. That is wonderful artistic work....and oh the hand writing calligraphy still rings out through these years....very interesting post

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    1. A lot of people admire calligraphy -- I'm one of them, but never got involved enough to do the practice. It is beautiful...

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  7. Yes,the detail within A Prospect of Plymouth Sound and its Environments from the Hoe is impressive .What a fine gift.Treasure It well.
    Have A Really Good Christmas .Best Wishes.T.

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  8. Thank you, Tony -- I'll be sure to pass it on, too!

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  9. What a wonderful present and you're so lucky to have it passed down to you. I love the drawing and, of course, the calligraphy! There's so much personality in that drawing!
    Have a wonderful Christmas.
    Barbara

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    1. And to you, too, Barbara! There must be some Sepians out there who are skilled...any calligraphers?

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  10. What a magnificent drawing and a story to go with it.
    Have a great Christmas.

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  11. It is magnificent, Bob; thank you. Good Christmas to you and yours.

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    1. Thank you, Anne -- and happy holidays to you and yours from me on this cold, snowy top half of the world!

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  13. We'll worth the creaky knees to get a closer look! Have a happy Christmas.

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    1. I'm grinning at that comment! And some of those knees were pretty darn creaky, too!

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  14. I'd be creaking right along with Little Nell to get a better look. Clever placement of the art -- must give you great pleasure to see which guests are willing to endure creaky knees. Happy New Year!

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  15. My grandmother always tucked framed art/photographs into places you wouldn't expect to find them: under windows, low on the wall beside dressers and tables, etc. My mother did it; I do, too. It's interesting! Happy New Year to you, too, Wendy!

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  16. Maybe by now, you might have guessed I work in an hospital and, working with children, well , no, not for me. Their understanding of life and death is beyond me... Dealing with the adult's grasp of life is enough for me!!!

    I'm glad to hear one pediatrician was able to make a difference in a child's life!!

    What a stunning drawing!!!
    :)~
    HUGZ

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    1. My mother told m that he became a pediatrician because he was often sick when he was a child -- so wanted to help children. My grandmother was a nurse...so they both were involved. Happy New Year to you, TB!

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    2. Happy new year to you too!!
      Silly me,
      forgot to say that...
      ;)~
      HUGZ

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