Recently I walked past the London house where Mondrian once lodged, and thought about the postcard I’d seen at the Courtauld Gallery some years before at an exhibition of his work. I was intrigued not just by the artist’s work but by this postcard sent to his brother. Mondrian identifying with and signing himself as ‘Sleepy’ seemed so unlikely somehow. Apparently he was a big fan of Disney’s Snow White which came out in 1938.
I thought I’d take a photograph of the house, and saw a man working at his laptop in the window. He saw me and opened the window. I could see paintings on the wall behind him, by his mother apparently. We chatted very briefly, and when I asked if I could take this photo he agreed.
There’s a fascinating article by editor Simon Grant on the Tate website about Mondrian’s time staying here.
