On 14 September 2014, I was pleasantly surprised to hear from Lucy Peterson. She told me of her interest in London art and sculpture, and that she felt the story of the Avico sisters was intriguing and would like to learn more. We agreed to meet the next time she was in London.
This was the beginning of what has become a friendship and a journey of discovery into the world of art and artists’ models in the 1900s. Over the course of the next couple of years we worked together to learn about the lives of my family at that time, and especially the sisters Leopoldine, Marietta and my mother Gilda.
From as long as I can remember my mother’s life as an artists’ model was part of my life. I would go with her for sittings and I remember the smell of the paint, the canvases and the huge windows letting in the light to the top floor studios. The artists were always very kind to me, even when I was impatient to go home. One day an artist asked to paint me, and somewhere there is a painting of a little fairy standing on a toadstool catching bubbles!
Thanks to Lucy and her extensive research, I have discovered more of the world in which my mother and her sisters lived. She also introduced me to the sculptures they had posed for; some I had not known existed. As a result of our collaboration, I have learned more about their childhood and how they came to be sought after by the London art world of the early 1900s. Lucy has brought colour to their story and her research has reintroduced me to these strong and beautiful English women of Italian heritage.