A Beautiful Letter to You

Dimensions (cm):
76 cm wide x 102 cm tall (unframed)
Dimensions (in):
30 inches wide x 48 inches tall (unframed)
Surface:
Canvas - 12oz Cotton Duck on sustainable hardwood stretcher bars, crafted from certified hardwood plantations.
Frame:
Frameless umber painted edge - framing available on request
Medium:
Acrylic - ASTM 1 & 2
Finish:
Krylon Matt Finish
Signed:
Signed front and back with Certificate of Authenticity

A letter from Virginia Woolf to Vita Sackville-West, 21 January 1926

In 1920s London, two remarkable women began exchanging letters that would come to define one of the most intimate literary relationships of the century. Virginia Woolf, already a celebrated modernist writer, and Vita Sackville-West, a novelist and poet from an aristocratic background, met through the Bloomsbury circle and quickly became emotionally and creatively entangled. Both were married to men, both fiercely independent and both drawn to the space between convention and freedom.

Their relationship unfolded through hundreds of letters filled with wit, desire, affection, and shared imagination. This letter, written while Vita was travelling in Europe, is one of the most well-known. Woolf writes with disarming honesty and warmth - her longing underpinning the rhythms of daily life.

Though the romantic intensity between them softened over time, their bond endured for nearly two decades. What began as an affair grew into a lasting friendship and creative partnership, rooted in admiration and deep emotional understanding. Their love, in its many forms, lived on through the words they exchanged and the art it inspired.

Thursday
[21 January 1926]
Monk’s House, Rodmell, Lewes

Miss Sackville-West, Hotel de la Ville, Milan
I am reduced to a thing that wants Virginia.
I composed a beautiful letter to you in the sleepless nightmare hours of the night, and it has all gone: I just miss you, in a quite simple desperate human way.
You, with all your beauty, and your brilliance, and your courage, and your humour, and your vanity, and your infuriatingness…
I miss you even more than I could have believed; and I was prepared to miss you a good deal.
So this letter is really just a squeal of pain.
It is incredible how essential you have become to me.
I suppose you are accustomed to people saying these things.
Damn you, spoiled creature; I shan’t make you love me any more by giving myself away like this —
But oh my dear, I can’t be clever and stand-offish with you: I love you too much for that.
Too truly.
You have no idea how stand-offish I can be with people I don’t love.
I have brought it to a fine art.
But you’ve broken down my defences.
And I don’t really resent it.
Please forgive me for writing such a miserable letter.
V. 

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Frequently Asked Questions

What are the specifications for A Beautiful Letter to You?

A Beautiful Letter to You measures 76cm wide by 102cm tall, unframed, part of the Parch collection. Acrylic paint is applied to 12oz cotton duck canvas over sustainable hardwood stretcher bars. The piece is left unframed with an umber painted edge, though framing is available on request with a matt archival coating and is signed on the front and back. A certificate of authenticity accompanies the artwork. Avoid hanging A Beautiful Letter to You in direct sunlight or humid rooms to protect its layered surface.

A Beautiful Letter to You comes with free shipping anywhere in Australia. For international orders, please contact Lee J Morgan Art to arrange delivery and costs. A Beautiful Letter to You is framed to order once purchased, with a two week turnaround before it leaves the studio, so it will not be dispatched immediately. Add this framing period to the usual courier delivery time when working out an arrival date. If you need A Beautiful Letter to You by a specific date, let us know and we will try to accommodate your timeline.

Yes, you are welcome to view A Beautiful Letter to You in person at the studio in northwestern Sydney. Appointments give you a chance to see the warm neutral, soft stone and parchment tones up close and get a true sense of scale before committing. Photographs rarely capture the texture and depth of an original piece as well as seeing it directly. Contact Lee J Morgan Art to book a time that suits you, and we can also talk through framing and placement options while you visit.

At 76cm wide by 102cm tall, A Beautiful Letter to You works well as a feature piece on a mid-sized wall, ideally one at least 1.2 metres across to give the composition room to breathe. Its format suits placement above a sofa, console or bed, where its warm neutral, soft stone and parchment tones can anchor the space. Warm ambient lighting brings out the depth within the surface. A Beautiful Letter to You suits contemporary, transitional or Japandi interiors with a considered colour scheme.

A Beautiful Letter to You's warm neutral, soft stone and parchment tones pair beautifully with warm timbers such as walnut or American oak, alongside brushed brass or aged bronze hardware that lifts the palette. A warm limestone or terracotta floor grounds the setting, while linen curtains in a soft neutral shade let the surface stand out without competing. A boucle cushion in a complementary tone adds a further layer of texture. A Beautiful Letter to You also sits well beside blackbutt furniture or a dark timber console.