The Life and Family of Mildred Hussey
Born in 1863, Mildred Harriet Hussey grew up within the storied surroundings of Scotney Castle. She was the daughter of Edward Hussey and the Honourable Henrietta Sarah Windsor-Clive, a lineage that placed her at the heart of a distinguished family. Her life was deeply intertwined with the history of her kin, as she was the sister to Major William Clive Hussey and Brigadier-General Arthur Herbert Hussey. These connections to the military and the landed gentry shaped the social landscape in which she moved and practiced her art.
Mildred Hussey was a woman of significant social standing, known to many as Lady Anstruther through her marriage to Sir Ralph William Anstruther, 6th Baronet. This union further cemented her place among the influential families of her time. While her family history is marked by service and titles, her own identity was defined by her skill as a painter. She navigated the complexities of her era with a quiet purpose, moving through a world of grand estates and formal responsibilities.
Her life spanned many decades, reaching its end in 1952. Throughout these years, the artist remained connected to her roots, even as her personal life evolved through marriage and social shifts. The legacy of her family, from her parents to her siblings, provided the backdrop for a life spent observing the world through the lens of a painter's eye.
Key Works and Portraiture
The artist’s hand found its most intimate expression when she turned her brush toward her own kin. In a tender act of familial devotion, she rendered an oil on canvas portrait of her mother, The Hon. Sarah Henrietta Windsor-Clive. This work captures the sitter in a moment of quiet dignity, seated within the embrace of a heavily carved chair. The portrait is a half-length study that seeks to preserve the likeness of a woman born of high lineage, being the daughter of the Hon. Robert Clive and Baroness Windsor.
There is a certain grace in the way the artist handled the textures of her mother's attire. The sitter is depicted wearing a brown dress, accented by the delicate details of a lace cap and a lace stomacher. Through these specific garments, the painting conveys a sense of the sitter's station and character. It remains a significant piece of her output, representing a direct connection between the painter and the subject through blood and shared history.
Where to See the Works Today
The legacy of Mildred Hussey remains closely tied to the history of Scotney Castle in Kent. Her portrait of The Hon. Sarah Henrietta Windsor-Clive was once a part of this collection, held within the family's estate. This oil on canvas, measuring 737 x 610 mm (29 x 24 in), was brought to the castle through a bequest from Christopher Edward Clive Hussey in 1970. It was a piece that resided within the intimate surroundings of the family's ancestral home, capturing a likeness of the sitter's own mother.
However, the presence of this work in the public eye was interrupted by a sudden loss. In 1989, the painting was stolen from the collection. This event changed the way the work could be viewed and preserved. While the portrait was once a physical part of the Scotney Castle holdings, its disappearance has left a void in the immediate visual history of the estate's art. The story of the painting is now one of both familial devotion and the unfortunate reality of loss.
