Portrait of H.S. "Jim" Ede

Between 1912 and 1914, H.S. "Jim" Ede studied painting at Newlyn Art School. After serving in the First World War, he attended the Slade School of Art, London. In 1921 Ede began work as Assistant Curator at the Tate Gallery, London. It was whilst at the Tate that Ede acquired the greater part of the estate of Henri Gaudier-Brzeska, through his friendship with the late sculptor's partner, Sophie Brzeska, and formed friendships with artists such as Ben and Winifred Nicholson, David Jones, Henry Moore and Christopher Wood.

In 1935-36 Ede resigned from the Tate and moved to the outskirts of Tangier, Morocco. Jim and his wife lived in Morocco until 1952 when they moved to the Loire Valley, France. The Edes moved to Cambridge in 1956 and renovated four tumbledown cottages to create Kettle's Yard. Ede described himself as a 'friend of artists' and much of the Kettle's Yard collection was acquired through his friendships with the artists he so admired. Keen to share his internationally renowned private collection, Ede eventually presented it as a gift to Cambridge University in 1966.

When the present owner purchased the present work from Wolfe in the 1970s, the artist maintained that Ede was working on his famous book, The Savage Messiah at the time the work was painted.