Marian Fanny Christian

  • Part One

Fanny with Pearls Anthony Christian

Art is full of unpredictable miracles; but although it happens in the music world from time to time, it is rare in the visual arts that someone doesn’t enter the arena until halfway through their lives. But that is what happened in the case of Marian Fannon-Christian, known as the artist Fanny. While she did all the things she did with unusual conscientiousness and was highly regarded in her various work-places by colleagues, no one could have predicted that she would - or ever could - become one of the finest female draughtsmen of all time, but that is precisely what she has done. And one of the proudest achievements of my life is that I spotted her extraordinary gift and managed to persuade her, over some years, to take it seriously herself and develop it to its full potential. She has done that far beyond my wildest expectations.

As she has accused me of countless times, I am sure others too will say that the reason for my enthusiasm and admiration for her work is caused by my love for her; after all she is my wife. But they, as she, would be wrong, very wrong. I simply do not have the characteristics that would allow me to confuse my emotional life - which is certainly at least one hundred percent committed to this extraordinary woman - with Art, not on any level at all. Generally speaking I do not, nor ever have, liked anything in the way of visual art that is not figurative. I just don’t have the kind of sight or vision that can appreciate things that do not correspond with a visual reality that governs the way I look at and see things...and then draw or paint them. The only exception I have ever come across are the drawings of Fanny.

Marian’s maiden name is Fannon, she is Irish. When we met, and I discovered that that was her name, I started calling her Fanny as a nick name. She found that she liked it so much, and “identified” with it in some deep and mysterious way, that once she had launched into the discovery of the Art that lay dormant in her, and started seeing things that even she had to admit merited a signature, the name Fanny came as automatically as had the drawings themselves. Happily, she has had success with Prints of her work from around the world, resulting from it being shown on our website, enough at least to have convinced her once and for all time that yes, she is a “serious” Artist...and taken very seriously by all the many people who are true fans of her work. (No pun intended.) It all started with her doodles.

Doodle Lion Fanny

What is a doodle? How does it differentiate from a drawing? Well, I would say that a doodle is the result of the subconscious, whilst a drawing is very much the result of the conscious...the high consciousness even. Fanny used to doodle all the time. Whenever she was on a long ’phone conversation, that would be the times when she would just doodle away, and she has diaries whose pages are an absolute treat of these images that she had never given a second thought to, let alone taken them as implications of a very considerable profoundly hidden dormant gift for one of the most valued aspects of Art itself, namely Drawing. When I happened to see one of her appointment diaries filled with these “scribbles,” I was truly astonished by the amazing feeling that coursed through me like a “rush,” that I have often heard described. It was like a revelation, and one that caused me great excitement. I exclaimed, “Fanny, you can really draw!”

She just laughed at me, and said that I only said that because I had certain designs on her, and expected favours in that department for flattery. I could not believe that she would not take me seriously, but in those days of course she didn’t know me as she does now. Now, even she would have to admit there is no chance that I would ever admire a piece of work based on my emotional connection with anyone. She simply knows I wouldn’t - mainly because I couldn’t.

Anyway, partly because I wanted them anyway, partly in order to convince her of her gift, I then commissioned Fanny to draw me a series of six erotic drawings. I was at that time commissioning the same from any artist I met whose work I admired but who were struggling to make a living. I was doing very well at that time and considered that this was my way of helping younger artists with less chances than I felt I had, but at the same time accumulating a collection of works whose cohesive quality was the subject matter, I requested that the subject should be erotic. My ambition was simply to amass a fine collection of Erotic Art, the genre in which I had a passionate belief since me early twenties when I first discovered it.

And so Fanny made me these drawings. She found in doing them that she didn’t have a natural bent towards realism, and as can be seen there is a surrealistic quality about them already. However, I was sufficiently impressed with them to believe even more than I had originally that she had a truly fine and unique gift, and so I continued trying to encourage her at every turn. One of the things I did was to cut some of the doodles out of her books and frame them. When she saw them out of context, and presented as serious - framed - works of Art she was impressed, and even a little embarrassed, being as modest as she is. The idea that anyone, especially me whose more evident gifts she greatly admired, would take this much trouble over what she had only done as others might have played noughts and crosses to wile away some idle minutes chatting on the ’phone with someone, actually embarrassed her a little, rather as if someone had suddenly walked into her life and said she was so beautiful, put her in a beauty contest and she had won. It was very much like that.

Early Erotic Fanny

It was some time before Fanny drew anything again, it was in the middle of July, 1999. She just came to me one day - we were living together in India by then - and said she “felt like drawing.” I told her to “go for it,” and the result astonished me. Once again, I was confronted by what was screaming evidence of a truly great dormant gift. She had sketched a girl’s head, entirely from her imagination. But the sketch to me could have been by a great French Master of the early nineteenth century - seriously. Just look at it; words go only so far, but seeing is believing I always feel.

French Head Fanny

Ferry Head 2 Fanny

Happily, that was the beginning of her Drawing life, the dam was burst by that first little drawing and after that she drew every day, and every day amazed me more than the day before. I had actually given up drawing some fifteen years before this, but having spent at least twenty years before that not only drawing but doing it for a living and achieving a worldwide reputation for it, it was so strange to suddenly be surrounded by someone drawing every day. And not only drawing but doing so brilliantly, and with passion. She was driven, in the most marvellous way, that usually you only read about in books, you know, the idea of the slightly mad artist seeing nothing but the extraordinary things that pour out of him - or her - and become part of our culture a few years later. Well it was like that, I literally felt that I was watching history being made. These two extraordinary drawings she made on the ferry going to and coming back from Ireland, in ’99. I was astonished by the quality - and beauty - of them, as I still am now.

Ferry Head 1 Fanny

Ferry Head 3 Fanny

For some weeks this went on, she continued to draw heads from her amazing imagination. She started feeling a little emboldened by now, not only as a result of my enthusiasm, which she was already beginning to suspect was very real, but by the images she saw appearing before her which truly surprised her too, for their evident quality and beauty. She started experimenting, and making her drawings fuller of detail and even with two heads from time to time. Knowing how much I liked the erotic theme she even incorporated a degree of the erotic in one or two of these drawings.

After some weeks her Head Series came to an end with this extraordinary drawing. When I saw it I was rendered speechless - a quality I am not usually associated with - but it really had me dumbfounded. I mean it is as great as any drawing by Aubrey Beardsley, whose work I felt this one strongly called to mind. And I have always admired Beardsley, and so mean this as the highest compliment. It is a truly brilliant and beautiful drawing, that’s all.

Erotic Heads Fanny

Beardsley Fanny

I would say from this time on, Fanny at last started taking herself seriously, and accepted that yes, alright, she was an artist - or still manifesting her deepest characteristic of modesty, accepted that she had potential to be one. Rather like that girl in “Brassed Off” saying she was a “bit wobbly” and then playing a magnificent rendering from Rodriguez’ famous “Aranguez” Guitar Concerto. “And she says she’s a “bit wobbly,” says one of the members of the orchestra before whom she was auditioning. Well I felt like that,. “And she says she’s a bit wobbly.” And then she comes out with a drawing like this “Beardsley.” Amazing. And I was so happy to be a part of it all...as an artist myself, even above and beyond the obvious pleasure anyone would take in the achievements of someone they are very close to.

Marian Fanny Christian, Part Two

Anthony Christian

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