The lives of artists are a constant source of fascination and the life of Staffordshire born artist of John Currie must rank amongst the highest. Born in 1884 in Newcastle-under-Lyme, Currie’s early promise as a painter was cut short by a life marked by the tragedy of loving too hard and too strong. ...Despite being married, Currie had met and fallen in love with the 17 year old Dorothy ‘Dolly’ Henry. Dolly was a clothing model in a department store and, although it is not noted how they met, once they did, the tempestuous nature of their relationship quickly escalated. When Currie’s wife discovered the affair, Currie left her and moved in with his siren. ...The pair moved in together in August 1911, but the relationship was rocky to say the least. Dolly would frequently goad Currie to the brink and then retreat in order to win him back, resulting in violent rows. ....In early 1914, the relationship was once again at an end. Friends such as Edward Marsh were starting to to be concerned. Currie had threatened violence in the past and his threats of suicide were rising. Mark Gertler was also becoming concerned and began to talk about ending his friendship with Currie, telling Dora Carrington, “The atmosphere he lives in stifles me”. ....This portrait of Dolly is in stark contrast to the one he painted a year earlier.... Entitled, ‘The Witch’, Dolly is far more open in her gaze; her lips have a slight sneer playing on them and she holds her hair loosely in her hand as if it is about to fall, teasing the man she is intently viewing. The pair were reconciled once again in March, 1914 and Currie decided that living in Brittany might be the answer. All was well at first, but Dolly, always a city girl, became bored and returned once more to England. Currie moved on to Paris and then Cannes, continuing to paint. But, as was becoming the norm, Dolly again changed her mind, writing to Currie that she did love him and he returned to join her in Cornwall. Currie had a pure moment of joy and clarity, writing to Marsh, “I’ve had a long spell of chaos. I think it is Nietzsche, isn’t it, who says something about one must love chaos to give birth to a dancing star.” This idyll was not to last and chaos soon returned. After yet another quarrel in which Currie threatened to throw her off a cliff, Dolly escaped to London. Inevitably, the parting could not be a simple one and the tragedy that was about to unfold was almost inevitable. Fuelled by rumors that Dolly had posed for pornographic photographs and was spreading rumors about him, Currie was losing his reason. He wrote to a friend, saying, “A very fury of remorse and love and sorrow is raging in me… I am looking for a place I can bury my heart and forget.” But, Currie could not forget. On October 8, 1914, Currie made his way to Dolly’s rooms in Chelsea. A series of shots rang out. On investigation, Dolly was found lying dead and Currie was barely alive. Asked why he had done it, he said, “I loved the girl.” Taken to hospital, Currie lingered for some hours, seemingly unaware of what he had done. Mark Gertler rushed to his hospital bed, quickly followed by Edward Marsh to be with their friend. His dying words were quite simply: “It was all so ugly.” [http://www.dailyartmagazine.com/tragedy-john-currie-artist-dolly-henry/]