Arthur Jeffress

Early life

Arthur was born in Brentford, Middlesex on 21 November 1905. He was the second son of Stella and Albert Jeffress of Charlotte, Virginia, US. His older brother, Joseph Randolph Jeffress, was born in 1900.

His father, Albert Jeffress, was in the tobacco business and in 1902 helped to form the British American Tobacco (BAT) company - a joint venture between the UK’s Imperial Tobacco and The American Tobacco Company. Albert became a director of the company at its formation and later become Deputy Chairman. BAT was headquartered in London and Albert moved his family to England so that he could help run the new company.

The Jeffress family lived at Kenton Grange, a 27-acre estate in Kenton, Middlesex. Arthur was educated at Harrow and later attended Cambridge.

In 1925, Albert unexpectedly died while returning from a business trip to China. He left the majority of his estate to his wife, two sons and his sister, Anita Jeffress Hill of Berkeley, California. The family continued to live at Kenton Grange, which remained the family home until well after WW2.

The brothers continued to thrive in pre-war Britain. They were especially interested in the glamorous cars of the day. Randolph became an amateur racer - having a Bugatti and a 1929 Supercharged Alfa Romeo. Arthur appeared to be more interested in the aesthetics of automotive design vs the raw horse power of racing engines. His first car was a Kissel and at the age of 28 he acquired his first Rolls-Royce, a two-seater 20/25 convertible (GGA29) bodied by the Carlton Carriage Company. It's design has an American flair similar to a Packard coupe of the period. He liked it so much he acquired another 20/25 convertible a few years later, GAE80, bodied by Thrupp & Maberly which has a more traditional English design. Both are archetypal deco designs.

The Bright Young People/ Things period

The period between Arthur’s Cambridge days and WWII was a very formative and exciting time for him. Three highly influential (and overlapping) aspects of Arthur’s experience during this period are:

Exposure to important art/ artists/ patrons and beginning a collection - Arthur was passionate about the arts. By the late 1920s he was already a social member London’s artistic circles. He was acquainted with the Sitwells and even participated in Osbert’s and Sacheverell’s play “First Class Passengers only” at the Arts Theatre in 1927. During this time Osbert and Sachie created an artistic salon at their Carlyle Square, London home. They regularly hosted Britain’s leading writers, artists, critics and patrons. André Ostier was one of Arthur’s best friends and during this time, and was running in a gallery in Paris. André was another access point to art and the art world as was Henry Clifford – a friend from childhood who would become the head curator of the Philadelphia Museum of Art. By the mid-1930s, mentored by his artistic friends, Arthur started collecting. During this period he purchased de Chirico’s The Painters Family, a Picasso and a number of other works.

Being one of London’s Bright Young People – The Bright Young People (BYP) were a group of young bohemian artists, aristocrats, and socialites in the 1920/30s. They were dedicated to modernism, the arts and partying. The group was famous for throwing outrageous parties – known as Monster Balls. Arthur was part of this social circle and hosted one of the last great Monster Balls – the Red and White Party.

Maturing of his own gay identity. Arthur was gay. During much of the 1930s his boyfriend was John Deakin (who would become an important photographer of Soho in the 1950s and also influenced Arthur’s art collecting.) The 1920/30s was a transformative period for gender identity. As one of the queer Bright Young Things he was exposed to many gay role models - from the more staid Osbert Sitwell to the more outlandish Evan Morgan. His personal identity settled into Osbert’s more conservative end of the spectrum. But he clearly enjoyed the campiness and flamboyance of the queer BYPs and he kept a small bit of this pre-war flair as part of his persona throughout his life.

On 21 November 1931 Arthur hosted the last and one of the most extravagant BYP Monster Balls – The Red and White party. The party was held at the West Wing of Holford House in Regent’s Park. It was the home of Maud Allan, the famous dancer and femme fatale and was one of the grandest addresses in London. Many aspects of Arthur’s pre-war self can be seen in the Red & White Party. By this point Arthur was well connected to London’s young elite social set. 250 invites went out– although nearly 400 people attended. The decor of the party was an over-the-top design success. Guests were requested to dress in only Red and White costumes – and they came in beautiful outfits including red and white sailor suits, white nun habits, all white evening dress, white sashes, red wigs and long white gloves. The rooms were all extravagantly decorated in red velvet and white silk. Even the food and drinks were red (red caviar, lobsters, salmon and white (champagne, wine, and gin.) Arthur’s colorful personality had emerged. He greeted guests wearing a sailor suit made of white angel-skin with red trimmings, a ruby necklace, two diamond clips and a spray of white star orchids. A man dressed as Queen Elizabeth sat in the hall playing Abide with me on the organ. People danced until dawn. It was a grand success but as the party ended so did the period of the Bright Young Things. The depression had arrived and war was on the horizon. Throughout the rest of Arthur’s life he would make good use of connections, sense of design and personal flair developed during his Bright Young Thing days.

WWII

As War over took Europe, Arthur looked for how best to contribute. He decided the right role was as a non-combatant ambulance driver. Growing up, he and his brother shared a passion for motor cars and he could drive well and knew how to maintain a motor car. He stored his art work, sold his car to his friend Prof. Lambert Rogers, and closed up his home at Marwell House (offering use of the house to the military.) In late 1940 he signed up with the British American Ambulance Corp (BAAC) as an Ambulance driver and reported for duty on 27 January 1941 at the BAAC’s New York office. He was assigned to a unit of 24 men. At 34, Arthur was the fourth oldest in the group, the youngest was 19. His unit was assigned to the Middle East and North African Campaigns. They were given 1 month of training and then were scheduled to ship out on 19 March 1941 onboard the S.S. Zam Zam sailing from New York for Mombasa, Kenya. From there the unit was to travel overland to Lake Chad where they would support General Charles De Gulle’s Free French Forces.

The US was not at war at this time. The other men in the unit were like Arthur, American citizens who volunteered to serve because they deeply believed in the need to help Europe.

The voyage to Africa included 171 other passengers including a large group of US missionaries and their families including 33 which were children under the age of 14, a group of French Canadian Catholic Brothers and a group of tobacco businessmen. Although the US was not at war at this time, the Nazis regularly attacked supply ships heading to Britain. As an Egyptian ship, the SS Zam Zam was neutral in the war, in addition the captain had selected a “safe” route to avoid the most dangerous supply routes. The plan was to sail down to South America and then cross the Atlantic to Africa.

The SS Zam Zam was built in 1909 in Belfast, Ireland, and originally named the Leicestershire. An Egyptian company purchased it in 1933 and renamed it the Zam Zam. By 1941 the Zam Zam was best described as “a ship that would give anyone the cold shivers.”

Everything was going well until early morning on 17 April. They were two thirds of the way across the Atlantic when the German Raider Altantis spotted the Zam Zam and opened fire. The first shell hit at 5:55 am and the Zam Zam was quickly critically disabled and began to sink. Many of the life boats were destroyed in the attack and in the chaos of abandoning ship many other life boats left only partially full. The BAAC men helped to get people out and onto the remaining boats. As a result, when the last life boat was lowered, most of the BAAC men remained stranded on the sinking ship, including Arthur.

The German captain of the Altantis, Bernhard Rogge, upon seeing the number of women and children in the life boats, realized that the Zam Zam was not a supply ship for the Allies and sent out boats to rescue the survivors. The German sailors not only rounded up the life boats but also boarded the Zam Zam and rescued all remaining passengers and crew. In the end, every passenger and crew member from the Zam Zam was saved and only a few had been injured in the attack.

Safe on board the German Raider, the passengers of the Zam Zam watched as it sank. Thus, began a period captivity and uncertainty.

A few days later the Atlantis rendezvoused with another German ship, the Dresden. The Zam Zam passengers and crew were transferred to the Dresden which soon became referred to as the “prison ship.” The conditions on Dresden were difficult. The men were all confident to a cramped space below deck-108 men confined to a 50x50 ft space below deck. The food was scarce and poor. Many fell sick. They were being held on the ship while Berlin decided how to deal with the diplomatic situation.

On 20 May the Dresden sailed into the port of St. Jean-de-Luz in occupied France. The Zam Zam passengers were separated into two groups. Those that were citizens of countries at War with Germany and those who were not. The citizens of nations at War with Germany would remain on the prison ship and would be transported to POW camps where they would remain until the end of the War. The others were taken off the Dresden and bused to Biarritz where they were put under house arrest in a small hotel commandeered by the Nazis. The German government contacted the US embassy and the Red Cross and briefed them on the situation.

After a few weeks the passengers were again divided into two groups – the BAAC men in one group and everyone else in the other. The second group would to be handed over to their embassies and arrangements made for them to return to their home countries. The BAAC men would remain under house arrest. Berlin was not sure what to do with the BAAC since although they were Americans, they were in military uniforms and were employed by the British American Ambulance Corp.

The BAAC men remained under house arrest. They were fed and were able to keep in contact with the US embassy. Yet no one knew what their ultimate fate would be. It was clear that the US was gradually moving toward entering the War. The group assumed that if they remained captive at the point that the US entered the War they would be treated like the others and moved to a POW camp. This weighed heavy on them – but they could do nothing but sit and wait.

The waiting grew too much for two of them. On 28 June James Stewart and Tom Greenough escaped. They made their through the occupied territory to Portugal and there connected with the Conulate and successful made it back to the US sailing on the SS Excalibur.

The others remained under house arrest. Unknown to them the US and Germany governments were working on an exchange – it was clear to both countries that they were drifting to war and this was to the last chance for an exchange of pre-war captives. In late July the remaining BAAS members were informed of the exchange and were transported to Lisbon where they boarded the USS West Point to be transported back to the US. The arrived by back in NY in early August 1941. All but two of the BAAS arrived safely – two remained due to health issues.

There was much celebration upon their safe return. But it was clear to Arthur that the Allies needed support more than ever. Arthur stayed in New York to recharge – but he did not stay long. He had seen the Nazis vision for Europe first hand as was determined to help defeat the Nazis. The BAAC had put their activities on hold. So Arthur signed up with the American Field Service (AFS) as an ambulance driver. Soon he was being shipped out again, the target was the same to support the North Africa campaign. This time he safely made it to his unit in Africa.

Arthur joined the Allies’ North Africa campaign and rose in rank from Second Lieutenant to Captain. He and his team moved through Egypt into Libya and then into his beloved Italy, where he was at the forefront of the Allied advance. Though a non-combatant, his was a vital and active role.

Gallery owner, collector and patron

After the war, Arthur returned to Britain with new energy to continue exploring his passion for art.

Hanover Gallery – In 1947 Erica Brausen and Arthur opened the Hanover Gallery at 32A St George Street just of Hanover Square, London. Erica had been working at other galleries including the Redfern Gallery, had a keen artistic eye and knew the gallery business. She and Arthur shared a passion for art, were both homosexual and were each eager to establish their own gallery. Erica ran the business, Arthur provided the financial support and his social connections to potential customers, and they both collaborated on its artistic focus. Francis Bacon was one of their earliest artists and they gave him his first solo exhibition in 1949. Other artists included Graham Sutherland, Lucien Freud and many others. In 1953 Erica and Arthur decided to part ways. The financier Michael Behrens was visiting the gallery one evening when Brausen mentioned in passing that she would be closing up the next day, so Behrens bought it from Jeffress. Arthur opened his own gallery. Erica continued to run the Hanover Gallery to great acclaim, with close links to Bacon; it remained open until 1973. The Hanover Gallery over its life is remembered as being “one of the most diverse and interesting galleries in Europe.”

Arthur Jeffress (Pictures) – In 1954 Arthur Jeffress (Pictures) opened at 28 Davies Street, London. Arthur convinced Robert Melville to join him from the Hanover Gallery to run his new gallery. Unlike the Hanover Gallery, Arthur Jeffress (Pictures) did not represent individual artists. Arthur would buy paintings he and Robert liked from artists, other galleries and auctions, then curate them into shows and sell them. This approach allowed the gallery to show a broad range of works – the unifying artistic theme was Arthur’s and Robert’s taste. Peyton Skipwith, described the Gallery as “specifically appeal(ing) to the more esoteric connoisseur… exquisite for the exquisites.” Arthur was masterful at marketing his gallery. Like his friend Bunny Roger, he leveraged his extensive social network and his personal flair to brand / promote his business. Arthur and his gallery were one of the most colorful figures/institutions in the London Art scene during this period.

Personal art collection - By the late 1950s Arthur had an art collection of hundreds of works – although he did not think of himself as a collector. His approach to collecting was unlike most collectors (such as his friend and fellow collector, Peggy Guggenheim,) Arthur’s collection was constantly changing. At various times it included works by works by Chagall, Delacroix, Delft, Delvaux, Lucian Freud, Modigliani, Matisse, Picasso, Pollock, Rouault, Rousseau, Simbari, Soutine, Sutherland, Weenix, and many others.

Death

Arthur took his own life on 21 September 1961 while staying in at the Hotel France et Choiseul in Paris.

The reasons why are not known.

Some have speculated that it was due to an incident in Venice. Arthur had a home in Venice, where he stayed for a few months each year. There he owned a gondola and employed a couple of handsome, young gondoliers to ferry him around. One night at a grand Venetian dinner party, the Duchess of Windsor asked if Arthur would take her back in his gondola. This was a great honor for Arthur, but unfortunately his gondoliers had gone off “carousing.” Arthur was furious and shortly after fired the gondoliers - who in turn, it is alleged, went to the police and denounced Arthur as a homosexual. At the time the homophobic Venetian authorities were trying to purge the city of foreign homosexuals. Arthur left for Paris. Many speculate that, heartbroken at being outed as a homosexual and exiled from Venice, Arthur took his life.

This theory – that this one event would cause Arthur to take his life - is a bit simplistic. Indeed, in a 3 November 1961 letter between his friends, Truman Capote and Cecil Beaton, Truman expresses bewilderment as to the cause of their friend’s death and does not even raise the Venice incident as a potential reason.

His friend Robert Melville knew Arthur well and simply stated that “Arthur…came finally to the point of wondering whether the world wanted him or not.”

Arthur was generous in life and in death. He left his art and money to communities he cared about: