Manners, Violet – Was both artist and model

Violet Manners (1856-1937)

Marion Margaret Violet Lindsay was born in 1856. She was a was a British artist and noblewoman.

A granddaughter of the 24th Earl of Crawford she was the only daughter of the Hon Charles Hugh Lindsay and his wife Emilia Anne Browne.

Violet was privately educated as a young girl, and her family encouraged her interest in art. While she had no formal training as an artist, she did spend a significant period of time on a visit to Italy.

In 1877, she exhibited some of her drawings and sculptures at the Grosvenor Gallery, which was opened by her cousin Coutts Lindsay. She considered herself to be a professional, but her rank and gender limited her; many considered her to be merely a dilettante.

Her most successful works centred on depicting members of her social circle. During her lifetime, Violet’s works were on display at the main British art galleries such as the Royal Academy of Arts and the New Gallery, and also abroad in the US and France.

Violet was a noted beauty, as was her daughter Lady Diana. The Duchess was painted on numerous occasions by James Jebusa Shannon and George Frederic Watts. K.D. Reynolds writes that her beauty “was of the type most admired by the Souls. Her auburn hair, pale complexion, hooded eyes, and very slim figure were invariably set off by her Aesthetic-style clothes of faded colours and soft drapings.”

She married Henry Manners (Marquis of Granby) in 1882. She was styled the Marchioness of Granby from 1888 to 1906, when her husband succeeded as Duke of Rutland. She had five children, including the 9th Duke of Rutland and the socialite Lady Diana Cooper, mother to John Julius Norwich.

Although she had no formal training as an artist, the Duchess painted portraits of her social circle.

Many of her works were displayed at various major art exhibits in the UK, including the Grosvenor Gallery, the Royal Academy of Arts, and the New Gallery.

Violet was also a prominent member of The Souls, an aristocratic social circle that favoured intellectual pursuits and avant-garde artistic tastes. Known for her beauty, she was the subject of many paintings.
Watts Gallery Trust acquired a beautiful Watts portrait of her in Dec 2016 (Art Fund, the ACE/V&A Purchase Grant Fund, and donors). Inspired by the acquisition, John Julius Norwich donated more than 40 of Violet’s own drawings, including a self-portrait and a portrait of Harry Cust.

She became engaged in sculpting after the death of her elder son Robert in 1894.

During The First World War, the Duchess converted her London home at 16 Arlington Street into a hospital. Her daughter Diana, a prominent socialite, served as a nurse at the house.
She kept a studio at the Rutland estate of Bute House.

After her husband’s death, Violet moved to Belgrave Square, London and built a new studio to work on her art.

She continued exhibiting her works up to her death; her last exhibit was in November 1937, and she died the following month after an operation.