Loïs Hutton studied at the Margaret Morris School in London’s Chelsea from 1921 , learning dance from Margaret Morris and painting and sculpture from John Duncan Fergusson. She began designing costumes for Margaret Morris then in 1924 she set up her own ballet group “Ballets Rhythme et Couleur” with Helene Vanel as well as a dance troupe and eventually a theatre in Saint Paul de Vence on the French Riviera. They also held classes in Paris which were attended by many famous dancers of the era.
By the mid-1930s, Loïs and Hélène’s names were on the lips of the most glamorous people in the world, from Dali to the Duke of Windsor and Picasso. They were openly lovers and shared their bohemian life with the artists, writers and poets that visited them in Saint Paul de Vence – including Fergusson and Morris as well as Man Ray, Picasso, Dali etc.
Vanel became the lover of George Leslie Hunter when he had a studio in the town – their affair caused his breakdown – athe same time Hutton was the lover of Edna St Vincent Millay the American poet.
Lois Hutton’s work is held in the collection of the Fergusson Gallery and was the subject of the book Rhythm & Colour by Richard Emerson which was published by Golden Hare in 2018.
