Ethel Kibblewhite

Ethel (Dolly) Kibblewhite (1873 –1947 ) was the host of an important artistic and literary salon in London in the 1910s. The salon was held at her home at 67 Frith Street and presided over by the poet and critic T.E. Hulme.

Early life Born to Ethel Curtis, Kibblewhite was the oldest daughter of Thomas Figgis Curtis, a stained glass maker, and his wife Mary. Her sister, Dora Curtis, was also an artist. The two sisters studied drawing under Fred Brown, latterly at the Slade School of Art.

Frith Street After the separation, Ethel Kibblewhite worked at the Royal School of Needlework. She lived at her father's house at 67 Frith Street, a Queen Anne house on the corner of Soho Square in London that had once been the Venetian embassy. Her father ran his business, Ward & Hughes, Ecclesiastical Stained Glass Manufacturers, from one floor of the house, the rest was family accommodation. Arnold Dolmetsch was a visitor to the house. Kibblewhite was at Charing Cross Station when his friends said goodbye to Gaudier-Brzeska before he left for France where he was killed in action.

The salon was the scene of the fight between Wyndham Lewis and T.E. Hulme in 1914 after Lewis became convinced that Hulme was a rival for the affections of Kate Lechmere (he was) and control of the Rebel Art Centre (he wasn't). After a quarrel between Lewis and Lechmere, Lewis pronounced his intention to kill Hulme and Lechmere was forced to follow Lewis through the streets of London begging him "Please don't kill him, please don't". A fight ensued and Lewis managed to get Hulme by the throat but Hulme, who was the more powerful man, got the better of Lewis and after the struggle went outside, hung him upside down on the railings of nearby Soho Square.

Art forgeries In 1930, Kibblewhite was a witness in a case brought by Jacob Epstein against a London gallery which he alleged had been selling works which they attributed to him but which he had not made.

Later life Kibblewhite never married again and spent her later life quietly in West Sussex. She died in 1947.