Embarrassing workers with nudity
THE picture of a reclining nude above our bed caught the attention of our two-anda-half-year old grandson Dillon. “Is she in the bath?” he said.
Our bedroom has four nudes, one of them a Picasso, although sadly not an original.
I had thought readers might think us odd, but Bronwen Cruickshank, of Hove Edge, has put my mind at rest. Her daughter Lisa and her husband are artists and have paintings and sketches of nudes all over the house in Kent.
Their children 10 and 14, and visitors are not fazed. Daughter Zoe and her partner Jeremy, who is a sculptor and artist, have nude pictures and sculptures on display at their home in Cornwall. Again, their children and visitors, are unperturbed.
“However, I have eight pictures of nude women in my home: Three in the bathroom, four in the shower room and two in the lounge, which have, in the past, elicited various comments from some visitors.
“In the past, I noticed that when any workmen had to do any jobs in these rooms, they seemed a little embarrassed, so I now prepare them by telling them there will be naked women in the room they will be working in.
“The looks of shock on their faces turn into smiles when they see them hanging on the walls and this appears to dissipate any embarrassment on their part.
“Do you think it could possibly have something to do with the North/South divide?”
And yet, a certain type of nude picture provokes a different reaction.
Bronwen adds: “I also have a picture frame in the downstairs cloakroom, showing photographs of my three daughters and five of my grandchildren, all in the nude, taken when they were toddlers, whilst sitting in the bath trying to catch bubbles.
Visitors to this room come out saying, ‘Oh, those photos are sooo cute.’”