Mrs Gilbert Russell, Sitting in Bed

Boris Anrep (1883-1969) was a Russian-born artist who settled in Britain, where he became associated with the Bloomsbury Group. This informal portrait of Anrep’s friend Maud Russell, showing her sitting up in bed and reading letters, was presumably painted in early 1930s. Russell was a socialite and art patron, who entertained many modern British artists, designers and critics at her home at Mottisfont Abbey in the mid-20th century.