Steve Reynolds

I bought flat 3 in 2012 not realising its fascinating history until Joanna Moorhead, a Guardian journalist at that time, got in touch. She said her cousin, the British Surrealist artist Leonora Carrington, who had lived in Mexico until her death in 2011, had visited my flat in the 1930s.

From this a very interesting story emerged: it turned out Erno Goldfinger, Hungarian architect and emigre, and his heiress wife Ursula Blackwell (of the Crosse and Blackwell family) had rented flat 3 from 1935. They lived there with their children until 1939 while Erno’s first Modernist house was being built: 1-3 Willow Road. Erno had trained as an architect in Paris where he met Ursula, who was studying art. They met in the early 1930s, married and moved to London where Erno hoped to find wealthy clients. It was Ursula’s trust fund which helped finance the Willow Road project.

"Friday The 13th" (1965) by Leonora Carrington

In June 1937 the Goldfingers had a dinner party in flat 3; they invited their friend, Surrealist artist Max Ernst, and Leonora Carrington who attended private art classes with Ursula. Max and Leonora immediately fell in love and ended up running away together to France. They lived there until the threat of Ernst being arrested by the Nazis led to him fleeing to the USA in 1941.

“Landscape with Wheatgerm” (1936) by Max Ernst

Leonora eventually also escaped Europe, marrying a Mexican diplomat. She established herself as a very successful artist remaining in Mexico until her death in 2011.