If you’ve ever delved into the heady, bohemian world surrounding
the Bloomsbury Group, you’ll know that tangled relationships and
emotional entanglements were almost a requirement for entry. It's said
that the Bloomsbury Group lived in squares and loved in triangles, and
no truer is this than the case between the painter Dora Carrington, the
writer and critic Lytton Strachey, and the artist Mark Gertler, a trio
whose complex triangle, by turns affectionate and agonising, still
fascinates today.
Dora Carrington and Lytton Strachey
Let’s start with Dora Carrington, known to all simply as Carrington. She
was a talented artist, fiercely independent yet deeply vulnerable, and
perhaps best remembered not just for her atmospheric paintings but for
her intense, unorthodox relationships. In 1916, Carrington met Lytton
Strachey, the famous, bearded author of “Eminent Victorians” and,
incidentally, a committed pacifist and openly homosexual at a time when
that was both rare and dangerous. The story goes that Strachey, at their
first meeting, mistook Carrington, her hair cut in a pageboy bob and
her dress boyish, for a young man. She, in turn, was initially
unimpressed but quickly became captivated by his wit and intellect.
Their relationship defied easy categorisation. Carrington fell deeply in
love with Strachey, and while he could never reciprocate her romantic
feelings in the traditional sense, he adored her in his own way. They
became inseparable companions, living together, working side by side,
and supporting each other through the turbulence of life. For
Carrington, Strachey offered both intellectual stimulation and emotional
security. Their home at Tidmarsh Mill and later Ham Spray House became a
gathering place for artists, writers, and free-thinkers.
Enter Mark Gertler
But, as with all good stories, there’s a twist. Enter Mark Gertler, a
brilliant, passionate painter of Jewish immigrant background, whose
charisma and ambition swept through the Slade School of Fine Art and
caught Carrington’s attention. Gertler fell madly in love with her,
writing her impassioned letters and begging her to marry him.
Carrington, however, was torn. She admired Gertler’s artistic zeal and
felt a certain attraction, but her heart remained stubbornly bound to
Strachey.
This set the stage for a torturous emotional triangle. Gertler’s love for Carrington was all-consuming and, at times, suffocating. He struggled to understand Carrington’s devotion to Strachey, a man who, in Gertler’s view, could never offer her the love she deserved. Carrington, meanwhile, was caught between loyalty to Strachey and guilt over Gertler’s pain. She tried to accommodate both men, resulting in a web of jealousy, frustration, and sometimes, dark humour. There’s an infamous episode where Gertler, driven by jealousy, threatened Strachey with a bread knife—Strachey, ever the wit, responded by offering Gertler a carving knife, presumably to speed things along!
Early Twentieth-century Bohemian Life
What’s remarkable about this triangle is how it highlights both the freedom and the pain of early twentieth-century bohemian life. Carrington wanted to live authentically, refusing to be constrained by society’s expectations about love, gender, or sexuality. Yet, the reality was often far messier. Carrington did eventually sleep with Gertler, but it didn’t resolve the emotional turmoil. Her unwavering loyalty to Strachey endured, even after she married another man, Ralph Partridge, in what was largely a marriage of convenience to allow Strachey continued access to their circle.
The affection between Carrington and Strachey remained the axis around which her world turned. When Strachey died of stomach cancer in 1932, Carrington was devastated, her sense of purpose and belonging shattered. Unable to imagine life without him, she took her own life just weeks later, shooting herself with a gun borrowed from a friend, a tragic end to an extraordinary story.
Increasing Financial Difficulties
As for Gertler, he gassed himself in his studio in Highgate in 1939, having attempted suicide on at least one occasion in 1936. He was suffering from increasing financial difficulties, his wife had recently left him, he had held a critically derided exhibition at the Lefevre Gallery, he was still depressed over the death of his mother and Carrington's own suicide (both in 1932), and he was filled with fear over the imminent world war. He was buried at Willesden Jewish Cemetery.
The Carrington-Strachey-Gertler triangle is much more than a tale of unrequited love. It’s about the search for belonging, the courage to live outside the norm, and the price that sometimes comes with loving unconventionally. Their letters and paintings remain, offering glimpses into a world where art, passion, and pain were inextricably linked, a world that still captivates those who stumble upon it today.
The Movie 'Carrington'
If you're interested in this story, the movie 'Carrington' (1995), starring Emma Thompson, Jonathan Pryce and Rufus Sewell, is well worth a watch.
