Surrealism and sartorial flair
James transformed his mid-Georgian Wimpole Street home into a highly theatrical spectacle with classical marble columns, billowing satin draperies, lush swags and marvellous garlands. In the bathroom designed for his wife, he commissioned the work of the artist Paul Nash and, as a sort of comic invention evocative of the Edwardian culture of jokes and charades, he immortalised Tilly's wet footprint by having it woven into the carpet that led to her bathroom.