Autograph letter signed by Pre-Raphaelite artist, John Collier dated 1923

COLLIER, John (1850-1934). Late Pre Raphaelite artist's autograph letter signed to Mr Besant.
69 Eton Avenue, N.W.3, 28 May 1923.
 
One page written on both sides, on printed address stationery; written in black ink, signed. Single horizontal fold, small pin hole to upper margin, otherwise very good.
 
A personal letter expressing support for the recipient’s claim on the Society, while disclaiming involvement in its management. Of particular interest is Collier’s remark: “I gather that you are the baby that I painted for your father rather early in my career,” a reference to an early work in his career.
 
John Collier (1850–1934) was one of the leading British portrait painters of the later nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, closely associated with the second generation of the Pre-Raphaelite circle. The son-in-law of Thomas Henry Huxley and connected socially and intellectually with figures such as Millais and Darwin, Collier exhibited extensively at the Royal Academy and became known for his highly finished society portraits and literary-historical subjects.