A review in the TLS of a new edition of Aldous Huxley’s letters devotes special attention to the author’s complicated relationship with Mary Hutchinson, noting:
What was kept a close secret was that the [Huxley] marriage went through a long period during which both Maria and Aldous were sexually involved with Mary Hutchinson – a writer, married to a barrister. She was also, but less discreetly, a mistress of Clive Bell’s. (An unflattering portrait of her by Bell’s wife, Vanessa, is now in the Tate.)
Emphasis is mine; the “unflattering portrait” is the sour, lemony one shown here. The Tate’s display caption for the painting reads in part, “This portrait shows the short-story writer Mary Hutchinson. She was the mistress of Bell’s husband Clive, a fact of which Bell was aware. This may account for the unflattering nature of the portrait. When it was exhibited, to the sitter’s consternation, Vanessa Bell wrote ‘It’s perfectly hideous… and yet quite recognisable.'”
Image taken from the Tate’s website. © Estate of Vanessa Bell.