Nina Welby-Gregory

Emmeline "Nina" Cust (1867–1955) was an English writer, editor, translator, and sculptor. She was associated with The Souls, an upper-class social circle active in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, known for challenging contemporary social conventions and attitudes.

Born at Denton Hall, Cust was the daughter of Victoria, Lady Welby, a philosopher and writer, and Sir William Earle Welby-Gregory, a politician and landowner. Her maternal grandmother was Lady Emmeline Stuart-Wortley, a Victorian poet and travel writer. In 1893, Cust married Henry John Cockayne-Cust, known as Harry, who was also a member of The Souls. She supported her husband's work, including her involvement in correspondence for the Central Committee for National Patriotic Organisations. Despite reports of an unhappy marriage, Cust remained devoted to her husband until his death in 1917. A detailed account of their relationship is available in the publication "Tangled Souls: Love & Scandal among the Victorian Aristocracy" by Jane Dismore, published by The History Press in 2022. During her life in London, Cust was a neighbor of the sculptor Jacob Epstein at Hyde Park Gate.

As a writer and translator, Cust authored a biography of her mother titled "Victoria, Lady Welby, First Thirty Years" and a travel account "Wanderers: Episodes from the Travels of Lady Emmeline Stuart-Wortley and Her Daughter Victoria, 1849–1855." She also published accounts of her grandmother's travels. Her contributions appeared in contemporary periodicals, including the journal of the English Association. Virginia Woolf is known to have reviewed at least one of Cust's works, likely "Gentleman Errant." Furthermore, Cust translated Michel Jules Alfred Bréal's "Semantics: Studies in the Science of Meaning," which marked the first English-language publication of the text.

Her other published works include "Gentlemen Errant" (1909), detailing noblemen's journeys in Europe during the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries; "Not All the Suns" (1944), a collection of poems from 1917 to 1944; "A Tub of Gold Fishes"; and "Dilectissimo" (1932).

In the realm of visual art, Cust may have trained at the Académie Julian in Paris, though details about her art education and the specific mediums she studied remain unclear. She possibly studied sculpture in London. Cust exhibited her sculpture at the Royal Academy in 1906, presenting a bust of her niece, and in 1927, a model of her husband. Her works were displayed in various cities including Manchester, Liverpool, Birmingham, and Paris. Notably, in 1884, she was the subject of a portrait bust by Alfred Gilbert. Alexander Fisher produced an enamel portrait of Cust in 1898. Her sculptures are part of British collections, with notable works held in public repositories.

External references include six artworks by or after Emmeline Cust listed on the Art UK website.