Response By
Nancy Poole
S. Kelso Davidson Robert and Hannah Flint at their Cottage at Springbank Park, 1880s
oil on board Gift of the Estate of John Millerson, 2019Response
The hearth, traditionally a source of warmth, light, and nourishment — so it has been in my life. Pine logs crackled in the great stone fireplace at my grandmother’s summer cottage on the Lake Huron shore, around which three generations gathered in late August evenings in the 1930s; when the sea was high, and the wind blew a gale, my cousins, and I, enjoyed hot chocolate, with a marshmallow floating in each mug, listening to stories of cottage life before World War I.
Nancy Geddes Poole is a retired art dealer, curator, and a former Director of Museum London. Author of The Art of London: 1830 – 1980, she has been a tireless promoter of this city’s artists and art history throughout her lengthy career. Nancy has received honorary degrees and many awards, including the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal in 2013. She remains an active member and volunteer in London.