The Notebooks of M. de Lange recording conversations with Flora Scales, 1982-1983

Marjorie and Theo de Lange were friends with Patience (Patty) and Pat Tennent for many years. Theo and Pat in particular had much in common having served in the RNZAF in the Pacific in WWII.

It was through Patty that the de Lange family met her aunt, Flora Scales, in 1975 when Scales was visiting Patty at Lake Rotoiti and living at the Rotorua Masonic Village. With the approval of Miss Scales, as we all called her, and the full support of Patty, Scales became the subject of my study towards an MA in Art History (uncompleted) at the University of Auckland, late 1970s. Due to distance, I frequently sent lists of questions or subjects to be delved into, to my mother-in-law Marjorie, who gradually established a pattern of visiting Scales from her home at Lake Rotoiti, with my lists in tow.

My questions and discussion points formed the basis of Marjorie's series of notebooks and letters but the conversations between the two women soon ranged far beyond my suggestions. All was recorded; described in Marjorie’s inimitable style, totally spontaneous, colourful and full of revealing detail and sympathetic observations.

Marjorie came to love the time she spent in company with Miss Scales. She admired her strong views on life and her dedication to art. She often quoted her – “You must hold on and hang on absolutely” was a favourite – as a woman to emulate and honour. And Miss Scales was loveable; her dignity could be formidable but she was completely without guile, tenacious and life loving with the most infectious laugh imaginable.

As a child she had been her father’s favourite, his "marvellous girl". As an older woman she was our "fabled friend", the one who brought mid 20th century European art and the plight of women artists, who often had to juggle family demands and work in the shadow of their male peers, into our lives on a very personal level.

- B de Lange, 2021

[Front Cover]
M. de Lange
Otaramarae
Rotorua

Phone.
O.F 342

Builds it up.

If a sitter has a feature that she wishes to emphasise she sometimes finds it desirable to work around it – and eventually this feature, or characteristic emerges.

Bonnard.

His planes are not clean enough.

His spacing in not clearly defined. His women soft and spongy. Not a sharp enough definition between planes. – these are Miss Scales opinions only.

I have, and I do change my opinions at various periods in my painting life and Mr Willansky said “we do grow tired of a picture.” (a good thing makes room for new pictures - ) this added by Miss Scales.

I asked her if she worked a lot in the places where she lived in Germany or France. She said “no, because I always drew or painted from life and one needs a model – so I attended classes.

I asked her what happened to all these life drawings and paintings.

She said the paintings were stored and lost in Paris during the war, any drawings of that nature (nudes) she destroyed before she returned to N.Z. as they would not have been understood or appreciated by her mother or family or, for that matter anyone she knew here at that time. She knows of no one who might have one. “Darling Mummy, she would not have understood”

Consider this ‘life’ work important and valuable as it all assisted her with landscapes etc

Now she stresses that one should never throw anything away –

Thursday

I wish I could draw the scene.

I arrived and she said she was tired – I thought oh dear – not again an abortive trip.

But we decided to go ahead and of course as soon as she began it was magical.

She is galvanised – sitting with her back to the window, sorting through her box of paints and brushes. beautiful brushes all have their brush heads bound with cotton thread to keep their shape. (round heads) She is having difficulty finding everything because of reading the labels. Theo has taken over (I am being invisible) he is is opening her tubes of paint. I wish I could draw the scene. She looks so elegant sitting as straight as a die – her thin, thin arms and hands must already be tired with holding her pallet and brush.

She is completely absorbed and it is sad really.

She asked me to remove “that awful pink candlewick bedspread that is in the background” –

There is too much light. The sun reflecting off the concrete path outside but she’s had a little pause and is now at it again.

She lasted about 40 minutes altogether by which time she had roughly blocked in Theo’s head – using what she called ‘light red’ a terracotta colour – direct on to her canvas board – lightly diluted with linseed oil. She had on her palette, this light red, ultramarine blue, and yellow ochre and some white but only used the red. 

She was exhausted – said every stroke was so important and she visibly bristles with concentration – She says “I aim to get the character”. This seems to be more important than anything and there is no doubt that she already had done this. 

She said she hoped we could come again the next day.

Friday 

She was looking very bright and ready to start, quite business like but charming to Theo who was told to rest whenever he felt like it. It’s sad that her eyesight is so poor. We helped to squeeze the colours on to the mahogany palette – which is a muddle of old dried up paints and she found it difficult to separate them and before long had them and all of her brushes mixed up. Uses light red, ochre and blue only – the white as yet untouched. The general colour so far is the terracotta colour. Like the red conté pencil – I would like to sit beside her and tell her where the colour she wants is – but although she gratefully allowed me on one or two occasions when I felt she was lost on the palette I didn’t like to intrude too often.

She’s really doing a sort of monochrome? perhaps later on more colour detail will come into it.

She is adoring it and looks ten years younger. 

The canvas board is 20” x 16” so she has no difficulty seeing what she’s doing on it – and Theo is sitting very close so she can see him too.

When she stops she is so tired that I have to lift her from the chair and take off her lovely old calico smock, and half carry her across to her bed and lie her down. Tidy her things up for her and then leave and we blow kisses to each other as I go out of the door.

She’s expecting us again tomorrow.

Saturday 

Started very late and she only painted for about 20 minutes. 

We took Theo’s camera and asked if she’d mind.

Here I made a stupid mistake – I was busy photographing her painting Theo that I forgot to take one of her work up to that stage.

This was tragic for today she has gone beyond the blocking in outline that was so decisive and interesting – she is sort of filling it in, and, to me, it looks as though she’s lost, because the colours are merging and hard for her to define. I could be wrong though. She spent ages just sitting studying Theo intently. 

Sadly, she’s always too tired to talk about it when she’s finished and of course we don’t talk when she’s working.

I would like to ask her if she uses Light Red for any particular reason for her initial shaping of the subject on the canvas.

Went to London to study horses (and dogs).

Calderon’s School of Animal Painting for 2 years. After attending this school she decided she’d done all she could with the study of horses – and was drawn instead to people – and became interested in humans – their skin colours etc.

Went with her father and lived with a v. nice family Turnham Green. Father came to England on business always once a year.

This year – year before the Panama Canal opened. She and her father walked about viewing the almost completed canal. Stopped at Columbus? Then by steamer up to New York – went across America by train (took a week) to San Francisco. Left with her Uncle Horace. Timber man, lived in a beautiful small house there – dear wife who was blind.

This Uncle H. took her on a riding tour in the Yousemete [sic Yosemite] Valley, no riding skirt.

Went to Miss Bowen’s school. Amargh St about 60 girls, boarders 1900 [1903-1904]. Here she went as a schoolgirl – from Wgtn [Wellington]. This Bowen a daughter of a clergyman.

Here a gap in time.

Barbi [de Lange] has been to visit her and photographed her work. We’ve had another sitting  and because we worked in the afternoon, because she now gets up so late in the morning. The light and heat was dreadful and we think she realised that she can’t see well enough and I suggested that perhaps she would like to give up the project. She said that yes in the meantime until she felt fitter this would be advisable, but that she would leave it on the easel and look at it and perhaps do some on it from memory.

I’ve called very briefly twice this week – took Barbi’s letter and read it today. She was very pleased to get it and has no objection to her visiting the Dowse and Turnbull. Says she has no jurisdiction over her work held there now.

Today she was wearing an elegant dress that she said her Russian friend Madam? Made for her in France. Blue grey silk – with full sleeves gathered into a cuff at the wrists. Classic

She talks a lot about how hard her work at painting has been. That she’s read little – compared herself to other artists – like ballet dancers whose whole lives are dedicated towards one goal – trying to improve, endlessly.

After Southern Trip.

White house (3 houses joined together) appear to be over the sea. She said was highly priced by a critic. Yellow beach, beyond a low flat bush. About Hocken painting done in Cornwall. She thinks it was a boarding house [Boarding House, St Ives, Cornwall [1] [BC060]].

Bobbie lives at Bry-sur-Marne – she thinks she probably did the interior in his studio – is there a dog in it? About painting Barbi mentioned that she liked at the Turnbull [Bry-sur-Marne [BC040]]

She has just celebrated her 95^th birthday – a large cake beside her bed – covered with bright yellow icing and coloured chocolate “buttons”

We talked about Picasso whose work she loves. She described s work of his that especially delighted her, black and white of a woman (possibly a man in it too) in which the legs were just foreshortened blocks of wood – but nevertheless gave the impression of legs.

She listened whilst I read Barbi’s letter about her visit to the Turnbull and Peter McLeavey and is quite agreeable for him to supply Barbi with the catalogue a list of buyers names of the exhibition of her work.

She often emphasises the aloneness dedication of being an artist.

She was laying flat on her back on her bed all the time I was there but when lunch time summonsed her she rose to sitting position with a flat back without the support of her arms!

I took her a tin of sardines which she had told me was a favourite delacy [sic delicacy] of hers and the staff will give them to her to have with bread and butter.

She is clearly a favourite with the staff who treat her with great respect and affection.

In spite of her almost formidable dignity she has no false modesty. Always calls “come in” cheerfully when I knock and is quite undismayed and unembarrassed if she happens to be in a state of undress or even on her commode.

When I remarked on her popularity with the staff she said that was a girl she had to do a lot of housework and feels she appreciates what it entails and is always careful not to make demands.

She often refers to the difficulties that a woman artist must have to cope with if she is a mother and housewife.

Today she recalled a Miss Gwen Knight who was of the few other students who worked with her in D Kizenger’s [sic E.D. Kinzinger] classes. Said she was either a N.Z. or Australian – now dead. Spoke as though they met later in Paris and how reading Francis Hodgkins life I see that in this book (McCormacks) [Portrait of Frances Hodgkins by E.H. McCormick, 1981] on page 115 there is a picture of Gwen Knight reproduced – done by F.H. at St Tropez in 1931…when I think Miss Scales was there at that time too. Francis Hodgkins must have been about 17 years older than Miss S.

[Note the following entry is in Barbi de Lange’s handwriting.]

Marjie telling me about F.S.

That Miss S, very grateful that she hasn’t had to look after house and family – could devote her time to her paintings 3hrs am and pm.

Re Toss W.

She very proud that she has never had to teach – found idea that she would be his mentor offensive – she is a painter.

Very loyal about her father, although she wasn’t kept in plenty but denies that he kept her short.

She has told M. [Marjorie] about her life drawings which she destroyed because “darling mummy wouldn’t have understood”

In answer to Barbi’s question contained in her letter April 28^th as to whether Hoffman’s [sic Hofmann] school has separate classes for women – her reply was hard to define she went into a disruption about how, in Germany at the time “Money was tight” the school “impoverished” – classes almost non-existent. But that 2 years later it flourished. (her idea of time however is unreliable).

She was certain that her own teacher K…? [Kinzinger] had mixed classes of men and women. But then went on to say that when she was in England there were classes separately for women at times.

leave Rotorua
9.27 A.M.
Tax 4 dollars

McClellard

Staff. 12.

5:45 pm.

Stylosis
Narrowing of Vertabrae [vertebrae]

No 9. [Untitled [Basilica and Lighthouse, St Tropez] [BC020]]

Miss Knight had an influence on her but she didn’t copy her. She and Miss Knight both did this scene.

St Tropez No 5.
There’s the old tree!
Hill = the distance
Pink with sun and rain and dew – on the right a group of pine trees. “I could do it better now” There are mistakes “Oh dear, yes”
[small landscape drawing] I would have been braver lessened the curve and put aloes in the left foreground

No. 7. [St Tropez [BC022]]
by a shine to St Ann
I used to sit on his property and the farmer got cross

In St Tropez she stayed in a pension – dined in a hotel (outdoor restaurant on a verandah).
Crossed a park with six big elm trees – here she sometimes sat and talked with Francis Hodgkins who

8. [St Maxime [Sainte Maxime] [BC018]]
Regretted not putting a white house on the right.

dwg [drawing] of church (English) [Preston Church [BC102]]
The little church has memorials to various male relatives of her mothers who went to India etc – army people

I asked her if she has a painting she considers good.
She said: A women in a red hat (middle aged actress) large bosom and black shawl – beads, hands clasped on her lap [Seated Woman, Warwick School of Art, London [BC036]]. She did this in London where she had lessons

When very young she attended some classes at Canterbury College of art. Her ‘dear father’ realised that she would be working from live models – male and female nudes. So he arranged for Richard Wallwork a tutor there whom he knew to take her for her first lesson where a male nude was modelling. Her father was present for this…

Warwick Art School in London.
She thinks she went there to work not to have lessons. (not many people there.) stayed at Y.W.C.A.’s – was never lonely – “I’m too nosey”

She constantly emphasises how fortunate she was that she never had to “scrounge.”
Left to go overseas to a large extent because this enabled her to be free to work at her art without being constantly called on to help various members of her family in N.Z.

She often refers to the fact that she was the housemaid. Though her parents always had a cook.

Said she kept in touch with her “dear mother” who wrote to her regularly. Her great delight was that she was able to be with and nurse her mother when she died (in England?)

From what I can gather she went to England from Paris (probably after the war) to try and get food – her sister and Patty came over with the mother and left her to take care of the old lady – this she did until her death – this was an unexpected interruption in her painting career.

RHONA HASZARD

Hans Hofmann in America

Huge studio
Provincetown – Cape Cod
Had an hour in the evenings when students brought their work for him to criticize in his large studio. This was his summer studio – he

This told me by Paddy Dunlop, where she (Paddy) used to go and “sit in” during these sessions.

Her study of art has been an uphill path with the study of the human form, life drawing, portraits, etc. her

Because the human face is made by God.

Important to try and do work from memory.
But everyone has their own way.

Not a Collie, Its Bobbies Alsatian. [Bry-sur-Marne [BC040]]

Red deck chair in a white room in Madam Kalachnikoff’s country cottage [A Friend's Room in a Village near Paris [BC034]]

I made use of him as a step up the ladder. A comment about Kisenger [Kinzinger]

Pick the raspberries – have them and there are more for tomorrow. Simily [simile] to describe

A climb – steps up the ladder. Her fathers crest is a ladder up a wall. “Scales”

Paris

Mont Parnass [Montparnasse] near railway station.

Rue de la Grande Chaumière (a thatched cottage) another lady who lived at Rye (a dear lady) told her about this sculptor – whom she visited and who gave her advice and help – he worked in another part of the big building.

Worked here. Big studio. In the mornings worked here with a model – changed approx. 6 and about 40 artists working.

 Then a teacher would come and criticise – an interpreter would translate. These artists were good and she appreciated their criticism.

She felt she learned a lot from a sculptor at this school Monsieur DANA.

When I asked her what would you draw if you do ever draw again? She said – a portrait – someone I’ve seen…it would be a face.

if the window curtains were vertical they would fall together.

you don’t make railway line narrower – you make it a bit wider if you want to – for if it’s the same it will fall together.

Chief thing with Kinzinger we’d broken with perspective.

Mr Kinzinger. Tell your friends. The jars are just the same size a long way off as they are to you.

Matisse.
Page 35. Straight line – then curves.

The dance
couldn’t sympathise at first abbreviated in every way

Truley [truly] you could say – you should draw with colour

9 open window [Open Window, Collioure, Henri Matisse, 1905] [Untitled [Demonstration drawing based on Open Window, Collioure by Henri Matisse (1905)] [BC142]]

If we were painting these days – cheek of me. We made up our minds to do away with perspective – so.

You see the road ahead and you see two motor cars or a dray and you know that the road is just as wide ahead.

13 The Bathers [Bathers, Henri Matisse, 1907]. A curve.

Kinzinger made me aware that I knew very little.

Watercolour

Don’t like it.

Every spot of oil has to be placed and weighted, treated mentally. Whereas water colour running in the wet state that the artists hands didn’t do.

With oil painting every stroke has to be done deliberately.

Except with one artist she saw in a show in France an artist called Jonkind ? Jourdin. Belgan [Belgian]. [possibly Johan Jongkind or Henri Jourdain] that I admired. Done in watercolour. Lovely clear colour. Louvre?

Oct 5^th
Returned the paintings Patty Tennant loaned Barbi – to Miss Scales. Where Patti will pick them up. She was looking wonderfully bright. But the visit was brief. She wanted badly to see Raffles again so Theo brought him in and she was covered with doggy kisses, which she seemed to enjoy clearly she adores animals.

On the wall of her room was pinned a reproduction of a Delaney? [Robert Delaunay] abstract lithograph sent to her by Bobbie.

Very clear colours in a sort of spiral – very simple and concise – vaguely made me think of “The Snail” [Henri Matisse, 1953].

I asked her why The Snail had impressed her and she said “Because it’s so simple.”

She was admiring a very modern black and white.

I remarked that I was impressed that she seemed to love to look at and admire the very most contemporary paintings and she said ‘You can’t stand still. You have to PUSH ON.’

Artists loose [lose] a bit of something like – opportunities – a friend – or a holiday – to paint. obliged to give up opportunities of many things in order to continue his paintings.

Men with their nets on a draughty beach – steps – their nets spread out – and the dear pussies – a huge concrete landing stage nets to dry. Always draughty, little beach, tall houses: sat with her work on her lap, her bag beside her. The pussies jumping into the bag. A little clothes line – sailors trousers also a vine with bright green leaves.

She said she wasn’t very good at drawing but Mr Kinzinger – did a colour crayon drawing of it and this he gave to her when he said goodbye to her for ever.

Try to get her to explain what it is that she is doing when she paints a picture? How does it get down? To achieve the final result what is the result she is trying to achieve.

Today she remarked that it was her father who decided to take her to London to art school – it would seem that it was he who wanted her to “make something of her life.”

Ask her what her father thought of her work, as she progressed as an artist?

No. Her father

What are you doing? How does it get down.

Looking from a window aged 12 I drew a horse and a man visiting my father said “its too long” and shortened it by folding it like a concertina. I think it’s a good thing I noticed the horse and observed it.

Someone said that we should put a group of objects on a table. Look for 5 minutes. Then take it all away and do it from memory.

Archie Cornelius and Maude.

Artimouri? [Atiamuri] [George and Gertrude’s first family home Bellevue Rd, Lower Hutt, New Zealand]

Overlapping

Father Scales first ship was a Norwegian Barque.

This will get me no where

[Back Cover]
Mrs T. de Lange
Otaramarae
R.D.4.
Rotorua

Telephone.
O.F.342

Phillip Stretton [1865-1919, a British animal and sporting painter]

Gaston Diehl The Moderns
Due 9the Feb. 23 Feb.
No. 1028
142757

Please return to:
Mrs T. de Lange
Otaramarae, R.D.4
Rotorua
or
Telephone Okere Falls. 342

Three Trees? [Trees in Auckland [BC089]]

This was painted recently in N.Z. locally (as far as I can gather) she described the scene. Thinks there was a stone wall embankment with a road on top – near a small settlement with houses and cabbages and things. She so often describes the scene of her pictures – can remember all the details in and around about in spite of having eliminated them.

When young she used to marvel at what wonderful things 2 eyes were – and always thought that if ever she went blind she would do sculpture. She read very little – remarked that had she read she would not have painted.

She loved music.

She thinks a lot about her young women friends and wonders what became of them.

She doesn’t put it into works but its clear that when she was free of daughterly duties i.e. overseas alone and after her mothers death, she worked almost non stop.

Painted all morning on one canvas – and after lunch when the light was different she worked on another.

She remarked that she has had great passions for various artists paintings – only to discover after a while that she’s ‘gone off’ them and found fault with them.

Was greatly reassured when she read that Kandinsky said “But we do get tired of pictures” the first person she’s come across who admitted this.

3 Trees [Trees in Auckland [BC089]]

Because (I think) the head of the Art Gallery [possibly John Perry, Director of the Rotorua Art Gallery 1978-1988] had been to see me [Flora Scales] as he was going away, he said “paint that” view from the door of the little room in which I was staying (Britannia Rd???) [38 Brentwood Ave, Mt Eden, Auckland, New Zealand]

Portrait

Coming round after horses and animals etc. its what I like best (portraits). Lovely human colours. “I try to forget about the subject and think of the painting all the time.”

Lemon Tree [Untitled [Lemon Tree] [BC086]]

I must make the lemon tree more definite. When I finish it “I must not get lazy” “leave it out”

Looking down from a window…line on the right too exaggerated.

The importance is that the onlooker is satisfied – it doesn’t matter. Whether it is a picture of something one is looking down on it or not.

Lady in Green [Untitled [Portrait of a Woman in a Green Dress] [BC095]]

Someone in the Masonic Home [Rotorua, New Zealand] lady with bad feet “I didn’t like doing it and she didn’t like sitting” “feet were hurting.”

3 of her friends came too and sat on the bed. Work stopped soon afterwards!

Tate

Mr Johnson and McClere lecturers there and she attended them a lot. Sat on stools. Cup of tea afterwards downstairs. Small library there.

She was painting in a park with little artificial lake – lots of troublesome people watching (one girl was a pig…) for several days. [Sunday in Regent’s Park, London [BC035]]

Then on the last day I was getting a cup of tea at kiosk afterwards a man came and said “do let me pay because I’ve watched you every afternoon.”

A pleasure boat with a swans head on it look people for trips around the lake.

Abstract

The best thing a painting with a hidden meaning – does not become too common place.

Mine is ordinary because you can see what it’s meant to be.

Kinzinger

Gave me new ideas. For instance: to have direction…doing apples “This was new to me” to see one thing behind another. “You see things from one side of the canvas. Then you go to the other side to see it from another point of view.”

I gathered that she had had to unlearn much that she had learned from previous teachers.

She agreed but did I put this thought into her mind?

[Back cover]
MRS de Lange. Rotorua
Telephone 24342.