Biographies

Diana White (1868-1950) She exhibited her work frequently at the Goupil gallery between 1908 and 1922, but we do not know much about her. Still, here is a clue: The Descent of Ishtar. By Diana White. Eragny Press. London. 1903. 12mo. pp. 30, (ii). Frontispiece designed by Diana White, the sage green double borders and red initial letters by Lucien Pissarro and engraved on the wood by Esther Pissarro. Paper covered spine with grey and sage floral paper covered boards, small stain on front cover, library stamp on front paste down. From the edition limited to 226 copies. This book now sells for a bit over $1,000. That tells us something. And White’s connection with the Pissarro family tells us more. Lucien Pissarro was a friend of Walter Sickert and played an active role in the London art scene around the turn of the nineteenth century and the first decades of the twentieth century. He was the son of Camille Pissarro and a skilled painter himself. Esther may be Lucien’s wife. Diana White seems to have known French well enough to translate a travel book called from that language in 1896, so, she may have had some art training in France. This translation is mysteriously missing from the Brown University library. Tombouctoo la mysterieuse