Return to Trinidad: Beauty and Horror Both

October 1959 - May 1960

At the end of that summer, Hugh’s father visited North America and proposed that he and Hugh return to Trinidad from Montréal. Hugh now had to pack up and send work to Montréal where his brother Rex had arranged a show beginning September 20th at the Arts Club. The work would then be shipped to Trinidad.

It is not clear whether Hugh had made a clean break with Arthur at this time, even though he was going to Trinidad. Despite his ambivalence about going back to Shrub Oak, the attractions of the studio, his loyalty to, and wish not to hurt Arthur, or endure the recriminations of a complete break were also very much on his mind. However, the Montréal exhibition and the trip to Trinidad provided him with the excuse to get his paintings out of Trinidale. This was very important, as it is quite clear that he did not feel able to leave for good without this matter being resolved. Now he had the option not to return if he decided that was the best course of action.

Hugh and his Father sailed for Trinidad on September 25th, arriving on October 8th.

His return was greeted with enthusiasm within the art community, and he was swept up in a social whirl immediately. This presented some problems because he had no money, but it was at least partly solved by Iona and Arthur sending him money as down payments for paintings. And as he lived with his parents his basic living expenses were taken care of. He was painting feverishly in preparation for an exhibition he had arranged the Arts Society scheduled to open December 12th. . In addition to larger oils he had undertaken botanical studies of Trinidad plants and flowers, which he hoped would generate income. Some were included in a group exhibition in November and proved to be very popular.

While he obviously loved aspects of living in Trinidad, he was very ill-suited to life in a small place and he missed his like-minded friends. His lack of control over his living situation made working difficult as he was often interrupted by the general activities of the household. Preparing for his exhibition also caused increased strain and all of this led to more drinking and occasional outbursts often directed at his mother.

By the time the exhibition opened Hugh was having a manic episode but he almost immediately crashed into depression. However by the time the exhibition closed he was close to equilibrium. His depression returned but he continued to paint and he had arranged to have another exhibition at the Art Society in late April. He was increasingly disenchanted with Trinidad, particularly the people he met, and was uncomfortable with all but a few of his acquaintances. He felt that there were things he could not say without causing offence. This pressure invariably pushed him to do exactly that, particularly if he drank, which led him to behave more outlandishly. Some of his tirades occurred during blackouts, and he did not remember what he had done or said. When told, he was surprised by the strength and vehemence of his utterances, which he took to be the truth of his unconscious.

As the winter went on he became more disenchanted with Trinidad and planned to return to New York after this Spring show. He remained ambivalent about his relationship with Arthur, but he did not rule out his returning to Trinidale. However Hugh’s distance and a manic episode in early April that seems to have continued well into May, meant he badly misjudged Arthur’s state of mind. Arthur committed suicide toward the end of April or in early May. Hugh’s immediate reaction to this news is not known but he later wrote to Daphne that he thought Arthur’s mental state was so bad that suicide was the only alternative to his being confined to an asylum.

The farewell show went very well with good sales but this time older larger more abstract work sold rather than the realistic flower studies.