tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14411641552864487632024-03-18T19:29:33.523+00:00The Kissed MouthPre-Raphaelite and Victorian Art for all!Kirsty Stonell Walkerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08342964877965021654noreply@blogger.comBlogger929125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1441164155286448763.post-23654101634529676822024-01-03T13:42:00.001+00:002024-01-03T13:42:49.138+00:00Book Review: Julia Margaret Cameron - A Poetry of Photography<p> Happy New Year everyone and I trust you have all recovered from your Christmas jollities and the suchlike. I was very fortunate to receive a lovely Christmas present from Father Christmas (and the lovely people at Bodleian Library Publishing, merci beaucoup) of a brand spanking new volume on Julia Margaret Cameron's photography. Now, as you know, I love a bit of JMC and have gone as far as to write a book about her, and so am always interested to see what everyone else is writing, plus any book on Julia is going to be a joy to look at, so I was very excited when the whacking great big parcel arrived...</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7MAdqUT2Ew37g5GjC6vzGdAC5AXys6SBnb4to2oVy7AJVBCYGehIZVWAFewjE0-3IsjtFAhh8F8mCQtIseZVm_As2W_71BDLP-OB0fO2LcanAc79UHcpyPYeCV59QmZGLScdGNzl3k5s5KJEDeU9d9P0C-qSkYdVekLY-YY0Ur9GNkOK5d1NboYnij04/s4080/20240103_120059.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4080" data-original-width="3060" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7MAdqUT2Ew37g5GjC6vzGdAC5AXys6SBnb4to2oVy7AJVBCYGehIZVWAFewjE0-3IsjtFAhh8F8mCQtIseZVm_As2W_71BDLP-OB0fO2LcanAc79UHcpyPYeCV59QmZGLScdGNzl3k5s5KJEDeU9d9P0C-qSkYdVekLY-YY0Ur9GNkOK5d1NboYnij04/w480-h640/20240103_120059.jpg" width="480" /></a></div><br /><p>Oxford holds a sizable collection of Julia's photographs - over 100 of which appear in this book, which has been written in conjunction with that collection from the Bodleian and the Ashmolean, together with other works of art that place her work in context. This book by Nichole J Fazio explores how Julia blurred the line between photography and poetry in her pursuit of the visual poetic, her response to the verses of others and her creation of a visual language of her own.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEje_0GyhTRjUF6UJilhEGe_R0f7B_4k0j5xH4Y7KhM0lsjo6H-r7gbxeNegsN_i1cLhqhQOXAQsA9pBFgUTgCww2c3Vm9WTKXA7qoKa7kn6gI-Hk7BLBJju7ic7cVVXhyNVnxERTY_1R3PZ8IfjKIVS-mHjtXfr_r32Qmo9jJzX4Hw6202ATIMLXf6FIaw/s338/The_Kiss_of_Peace,_by_Julia_Margaret_Cameron,_M197101590002.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="338" data-original-width="269" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEje_0GyhTRjUF6UJilhEGe_R0f7B_4k0j5xH4Y7KhM0lsjo6H-r7gbxeNegsN_i1cLhqhQOXAQsA9pBFgUTgCww2c3Vm9WTKXA7qoKa7kn6gI-Hk7BLBJju7ic7cVVXhyNVnxERTY_1R3PZ8IfjKIVS-mHjtXfr_r32Qmo9jJzX4Hw6202ATIMLXf6FIaw/w510-h640/The_Kiss_of_Peace,_by_Julia_Margaret_Cameron,_M197101590002.jpg" width="510" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>The Kiss of Peace</i> (1869)</td></tr></tbody></table><p>Julia herself wrote and translated poetry and had a great love of the works of others. Her devotion to Tennyson as both a friend and an artist created some of her best works, but it is rare that we look at her visual work as poetry. Arguably, her poetry is better without words, or certainly has a timeless quality that an awful lot of poetry can lack. In her visual poems, Julia was experimental, not always successful, unconcerned with the rules of visual art and sometimes spectacularly iconic in ways that still resonate with us today and seem inexplicably modern. Such is the pleasure of her work - somehow, she expresses an emotion she feels yet over 150 years later we can see our own emotions in that same image, even if it is not quite what she intended.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfDs4jinJOFYEpcMsXw6jmii4tAbqyFPWBw8Vj1u9aIgpI8IAzgLzRGTYTGD_4_XR2ulBjuWG-RjvtY3nmqQiIobL0RT3uEIbPGuYMbq-tEcJPx9ZbeCLCZ6_zbRkuoFhePErnMvPIKnh0XXTqGY-Iv58ecrmxPdjauDzZYKrg3SQLtZ3tfgr8x-uSmYE/s898/741px-Maud,_by_Julia_Margaret_Cameron%20(1).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="898" data-original-width="741" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfDs4jinJOFYEpcMsXw6jmii4tAbqyFPWBw8Vj1u9aIgpI8IAzgLzRGTYTGD_4_XR2ulBjuWG-RjvtY3nmqQiIobL0RT3uEIbPGuYMbq-tEcJPx9ZbeCLCZ6_zbRkuoFhePErnMvPIKnh0XXTqGY-Iv58ecrmxPdjauDzZYKrg3SQLtZ3tfgr8x-uSmYE/w528-h640/741px-Maud,_by_Julia_Margaret_Cameron%20(1).jpg" width="528" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Maud </i>(1875)</td></tr></tbody></table><p>The book is split into two distinct sections - the essays and the plates, all delivered on beautiful quality paper (these things matter). In the essays, we explore Julia, how she fitted (or didn't fit) into the movement of nineteenth century, male-dominated photography, and how her intentions differed from those of the other practitioners. One thing I have always been fascinated with is when portraits veer from the intended outcome - Julia has many examples; there might be two images of Henry Taylor, one is a portrait and one is something like 'King David' but both are so similar, so when does a portrait stop or start being a portrait? </p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghPQp178GvXmhHgfDsJtKDBHW5zh0CrRfYVKVkGHpT7Hddeqpa6oY_FCOtZsexBmLoJIi6nBizmSxVt5Kg4Uui1wkazrNdER1InqdUSRm1FYceP1QiZQF_Ml4Ufo-vZfE8zQQGSiQ0zPaIXr9WwGY4Uc7LfrkGXJMDR6dBBNNn21Q4eB2EIkbDOqLglqA/s899/Study_of_King_David,_by_Julia_Margaret_Cameron.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="899" data-original-width="744" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghPQp178GvXmhHgfDsJtKDBHW5zh0CrRfYVKVkGHpT7Hddeqpa6oY_FCOtZsexBmLoJIi6nBizmSxVt5Kg4Uui1wkazrNdER1InqdUSRm1FYceP1QiZQF_Ml4Ufo-vZfE8zQQGSiQ0zPaIXr9WwGY4Uc7LfrkGXJMDR6dBBNNn21Q4eB2EIkbDOqLglqA/w530-h640/Study_of_King_David,_by_Julia_Margaret_Cameron.jpg" width="530" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>A Study of King David</i> (1866)</td></tr></tbody></table><p>I really enjoyed the chapter on G F Watts who I think we should acknowledge as a lynch-pin in nineteenth century British art as he knew everyone (truly the Kevin Bacon of Victorian art) and his relationship with Julia is a complex one which I have always felt Julia does not get enough credit for. I also like the alignment of her work with Symbolism and its early place in Britain.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6nOB3AJf20XRCYjzdXdbV9Ek01LPfInMQ66rig7JCDHPuxE0X2imo1hgO11aLJliwC9wNGnRTLQu_6eagejvImEUVGdVERiyUQVUeZ0cSc5LPdMHl3LJMQNehhnL5FHAw2wZP58lRPGuOl1zsvSJI2ZHHpfq6Wen3YEy42PdIGzxcRCQQYBm8N2CSFrc/s692/Julia_Margaret_Cameron,_Portrait_of_G._F._Watts_R._A,_c._1865,_Albumen_silver_print,_11.4_x_9.5_cm,_MoMA,_547.1960.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="692" data-original-width="578" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6nOB3AJf20XRCYjzdXdbV9Ek01LPfInMQ66rig7JCDHPuxE0X2imo1hgO11aLJliwC9wNGnRTLQu_6eagejvImEUVGdVERiyUQVUeZ0cSc5LPdMHl3LJMQNehhnL5FHAw2wZP58lRPGuOl1zsvSJI2ZHHpfq6Wen3YEy42PdIGzxcRCQQYBm8N2CSFrc/w534-h640/Julia_Margaret_Cameron,_Portrait_of_G._F._Watts_R._A,_c._1865,_Albumen_silver_print,_11.4_x_9.5_cm,_MoMA,_547.1960.png" width="534" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>George Frederic Watts RA </i>(1865)</td></tr></tbody></table><p>I think her sequence for <i>Idylls of the King</i> contains some of her best and worst work, or rather her most timeless and most dated pieces. I've always felt there is a sharp contrast between a picture like <i>Maud</i> (1875) and <i>'So like a shatter'd column lay the King'</i> (1875), one meditative and aesthetic, the other theatrical and decidedly am-dram. I think they show the struggle for Julia between the dramatic 'narrative' art and the more 'art for art sake' style of her photography, not to mention her manipulation (intentional or otherwise) of the photographic form with variable focus, scratches, smudges, all changing the outcome of the image.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZcU8xsXIQA67bpS8GqHeL3XWOvsf4zahDrnQVwaLvxua5lYpNx25vc19gwyF-br9vu6FpVWcOG6uw-YWve_8pOzOq-XdhHqBydfM3MblVbUeLpQ0LWb9QbWnzC9GAM8o0ZHMv-qUgdfoeNFuFcKL4KQ9I_4M3WacAi_9vI0VMos6NJy8XLUgzxKwW0_A/s1731/2008BU5479.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1731" data-original-width="1400" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZcU8xsXIQA67bpS8GqHeL3XWOvsf4zahDrnQVwaLvxua5lYpNx25vc19gwyF-br9vu6FpVWcOG6uw-YWve_8pOzOq-XdhHqBydfM3MblVbUeLpQ0LWb9QbWnzC9GAM8o0ZHMv-qUgdfoeNFuFcKL4KQ9I_4M3WacAi_9vI0VMos6NJy8XLUgzxKwW0_A/w518-h640/2008BU5479.jpg" width="518" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i style="text-align: left;">'So like a shatter'd column lay the King'</i><span style="text-align: left;"> (1875)</span></td></tr></tbody></table><p>This is a book about Julia's work, rather than a biography, and a look at how that work fits within the artistic and poetic framework of her time. There is an attempt to see her development as a photographer/poet/artist, the pinnacle being the <i>Idylls </i>cycle but with so many striking images it sometimes is hard to see a development in a way - Julia is brilliant at all points in her career, but also very Victorian at points, very religious and very overdramatic, all of which are charges that could be levelled at Julia herself (and many Victorian artists and poets). Her poetic work is amazing but it would be easy to underestimate the power and differentness of her portraits of her friends. I am always struck by her beard-portraits and how the men look at ease, despite the long exposure times. Sometimes it is almost as if they don't know she is there, which would be impossible for many reasons.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBi0EuqBSLk-SdovA7faioPXD_UaHe3w6tOwGuCunAMJh4-KDeffeYSpK5d1OozYxgiJp-tOQeHPN_bwqPg_z8OtL2XT3RMpA8mPcwVYiqgkytUimPDdwWU2HLlUxed4NQSE5p4OHPCvRQgi_8EADA-3_3RpLggXp6cYstw1ouO0Go_BzsrMyviLBLGaE/s470/julia-margaret-cameron-the-dream,-1869.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="470" data-original-width="367" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBi0EuqBSLk-SdovA7faioPXD_UaHe3w6tOwGuCunAMJh4-KDeffeYSpK5d1OozYxgiJp-tOQeHPN_bwqPg_z8OtL2XT3RMpA8mPcwVYiqgkytUimPDdwWU2HLlUxed4NQSE5p4OHPCvRQgi_8EADA-3_3RpLggXp6cYstw1ouO0Go_BzsrMyviLBLGaE/w500-h640/julia-margaret-cameron-the-dream,-1869.jpg" width="500" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>The Dream</i> (1869)</td></tr></tbody></table><p>This is a cracking book, and a great way to start 2024. It's a heavy, beautifully illustrated and thoughtful book, proving a background and framework to consider these increasingly familiar photographs. All aspects of her work are here from the gentle religious pieces, the famous men and women, the children and the ever-present Tennysonian verses. I appreciated the multiple photographs on the same subject, for example it is interesting seeing <i>The Whisper of the Muse</i> in its different versions. I very much hope that Julia Margaret Cameron is finally finding her place as an innovator and (for want of a better word) influencer in art in the mid-nineteenth century. Not enough is written about her influence on other artists, concentrating instead on those that influenced her, yet it is impossible to look through such a beautiful book as this and not see the difference she made to the conversation. I can only hope more exhibitions are to come.</p><p><i>Julia Margaret Cameron: A Poetry of Photography</i> by Nichole J Fazio<i> </i>is available now from the <a href="https://bodleianshop.co.uk/products/julia-margaret-cameron" target="_blank">Bodleian Shop</a> and all splendid book sellers.</p>Kirsty Stonell Walkerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08342964877965021654noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1441164155286448763.post-61584611758909827172023-12-24T22:14:00.000+00:002023-12-24T22:14:35.770+00:00Sunday 24th December - The Plight of Victorian Female Artists<p> Well, here we are at the end of Blogvent and we have met some incredible women this month and I am left with some truths universally acknowledged:</p><p>1. Don't work from London - if you are working from a town outside London, you will be a hero in the local press. You will be praised to the roof tops every time you exhibit anything and if you reach the Royal Academy, you will be loved even more. They are also more likely to do a nice obituary for you, which will help your future biographers.</p><p>2. Try not to be related to another artist, especially if he is famous before you even start painting - the problem with a famous father is that you will always be in his shadow and compared to him. Art historians will go on about how your work is far inferior to his and you are a pale copy. If he is your husband or brother and you are working at the same time, there is a very good chance that people will mistake your work for his. How many Emma Sandys are labelled as Fred Sandys? When Charles Gogin died, the newspapers said how Reigate had been given three paintings by him by his wife. Problem was that only two of the pictures were his and the other was hers.</p><p>Mind you, if your husband/brother/father is extra famous, you stand a very good chance of appearing in his biography. Marion Collier's early life benefited from being a Huxley. Even if you only glance into a great man's orbit, there is a good chance you will leave a trail that future art historians and biographers can follow. Try and leave some letters, that's always a great place to start.</p><p>3. Make friends with a journalist from the <i>Queen</i> - I can't even begin to explain how much that publication has saved me this month. It really cared about women artists and wanted to share their stories, their pictures and their photographs. God bless the <i>Queen!</i></p><p>4. Try and be wealthy - it will make your career easier. Actually, that one is probably good advice full stop. Damn, I wish I could take my own advice...</p><p>This month I have been using the Royal Academy catalogues (both the text and the illustrated one) to find when our ladies were exhibiting and if I could find one of their paintings in the accompanying book (I was ever the optimist). I began to wonder if there was any correlation between time passing and the position of women in the RA. Obviously, this is not wholly scientific in a general sense, but we only have today left and I thought if I took two random years and looked at how women fared, we could see if the Victorians really were the repressive regime we assume and whether things really did change in a couple of decades with those ever-so modern Edwardians.</p><p>I took the 1892 RA and the 1914 RA as my test subjects because they were the earliest RA I could find with an illustration booklet and I thought I would use 1914 because enough men might die in the following few years to skew my results. By 1892, women had access to art schools and so you could argue that more women in the art establishment in the role of creator rather than the model would make a difference, not only in the people creating, but also what was created.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdZbVSHMztGZqOQFAXG084-FheJL64MKtIy3JJOeco4t_Pibk2goscKy7AXqvN09kBzxLK-LaExnts6aritxK9EhP0PiPX-kYpArbDwQzUFa3d3Hgb8AseQEoVBqmS5qazOzxdg1vFh3G1dYmqAkz4glfk8avpntoTXYCwJJiieUWsGQuG9dKoTNpln9I/s1200/hawking.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="625" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdZbVSHMztGZqOQFAXG084-FheJL64MKtIy3JJOeco4t_Pibk2goscKy7AXqvN09kBzxLK-LaExnts6aritxK9EhP0PiPX-kYpArbDwQzUFa3d3Hgb8AseQEoVBqmS5qazOzxdg1vFh3G1dYmqAkz4glfk8avpntoTXYCwJJiieUWsGQuG9dKoTNpln9I/w334-h640/hawking.jpg" width="334" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Hawking</i> (undated) Laura Alma-Tadema</td></tr></tbody></table><p>Starting with the stats for 1892: at the RA that year there were 2007 works of art created by 1262 artists. Among those were 242 women. That is not great, less than 20% but that would mean (if we were being optimistic) that one in six illustrations should be from women in the catalogue. The illustrated catalogue had 200 illustrations, so around 38 of them should be by female artists. Even if we went with number of artists rather than number of illustrations, then out of the 156 artists illustrated, we should get 29. Actually, we had 9, which is less than 6%. They were by Laura Alma-Tadema, Hilda Montalba, Elizabeth Forbes, Jessie Macgregor, Henrietta Rae, Margaret Dicksee, Maud Goodman, Louise Jopling and Margaret Bird. Of those women, at least two, Rae and Jopling, had absolutely built themselves big careers at this point, Elizabeth Forbes and Laura Alma Tadema were married to artists who were well-known, Margaret Dicksee was from an art family with a famous father and brother. My point about not being related to anyone (above) is obviously wrong as it didn't harm those women in this instance.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_LorKU0haSGebtrgh-zlxbCCJ7anHIW10ZQHGjXtcJta6DoQozMTReqCaP13-Cpb1bgu7F0QtjncWrFA4sf61wC8pBgp10g8iUKvu26zdW0hsPs9deLugIK0dz-QDier_xmO5OA3wrrRCMApSnl8jjtzM5juMjz5t8PrdKLFh9CYL5A26suAPpxLEyz8/s1095/Untitled-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="437" data-original-width="1095" height="256" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_LorKU0haSGebtrgh-zlxbCCJ7anHIW10ZQHGjXtcJta6DoQozMTReqCaP13-Cpb1bgu7F0QtjncWrFA4sf61wC8pBgp10g8iUKvu26zdW0hsPs9deLugIK0dz-QDier_xmO5OA3wrrRCMApSnl8jjtzM5juMjz5t8PrdKLFh9CYL5A26suAPpxLEyz8/w640-h256/Untitled-1.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">1989 Guerrilla Girls' poster</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div>So, if the female 6% made it to the catalogue through being artists, what about in subject matter? When you start breaking down the paintings, you notice that rather a lot of women appear in the catalogue, they just have got their boobs out. Some of them are rich enough (or married to someone rich enough) to have their portrait painted (boobs hidden). Eleven of them are in distress. Thirteen of them are 'classical' which means they aren't naked but we can all see nipples through that frock, you're fooling no-one. Sixteen of them are pretty ladies with their clothes on and six of them are untrustworthy, tricksy minxes. There is one instance of male nudity, and male portraits are more prevalent that female. There are twenty paintings of men being heroic, six of men with beards being serious, two of men in kilts and another two of soldiers being awfully brave (in addition to men being individually heroic). When you break it down, despite what was said to Alma Gogin about portraits not entering the RA easily, portraits got a lot of attention in the illustrations, followed by landscapes and waterscapes (non-fishing). My favourite category, 'Poor People Being Sad,' scored five, and to be fair, they are mostly women too.</div><div><br /></div><div>Off to 1914, and George V is on the throne, we are about to get into a massive war and women are off to factories and on their way to the vote (I have a thing about saying we were 'given' the vote, the Powers That Be just stopped withholding it in 1928) and if I am so inclined, the end of the 'Long Victorian' period is in sight. Surely things have changed radically, right?</div><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijiVgw7Y8TOurLscEx3GdvqfmEKh2-mB7fBu5hvIDawGorWynEkv2_7rSAQxvbnqrBV9eU-dc0HCCRFeHbg0oCwLJ-aGTR_OKra7GWbwP_3sNKyqGg6hMz5zp8Ykvqrvmkz1ACE6TrMMX49OimqbUhcs3n9DJOLUmV8bOPruE_nZLg02ZAeml1A1uln2c/s685/mrs%20ralph%20peto.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="685" data-original-width="546" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijiVgw7Y8TOurLscEx3GdvqfmEKh2-mB7fBu5hvIDawGorWynEkv2_7rSAQxvbnqrBV9eU-dc0HCCRFeHbg0oCwLJ-aGTR_OKra7GWbwP_3sNKyqGg6hMz5zp8Ykvqrvmkz1ACE6TrMMX49OimqbUhcs3n9DJOLUmV8bOPruE_nZLg02ZAeml1A1uln2c/w510-h640/mrs%20ralph%20peto.jpg" width="510" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Mrs Ralph Peto</i> (1921) Flora Lion</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div>There were 2245 paintings in the 1914 RA, by 1526 artists. Of those, 517 were women. That is 34%! That is a massive jump, so I can look forward to a third of the illustrations being from women - hurrah! There are 238 illustrations in the book and a third would be around 78. We got 15, which is 6 and a bit. So, about the same then. Rats. Those women were Mary Young Hunter, Lucy Kemp-Welch, Flora M Reid, Laura Knight, Jessie Macgregor, Mia Arnesby Brown, Hilda Fearon, Marianne Stokes, Henrietta Rae, Nellie M Hepburn-Edmunds, Daisy Radcliffe Beresford, Flora Lion, Mary Waller, Alice Fanner and Mary F. Raphael. A couple of names remain the same, a few female painters have become famous in the meantime (Laura Knight, Lucy Kemp-Welch), but a fair number I had no idea about.</div><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2Aa44-v2irczakMtQbnO54J5zQszTfea4BRRZ9cNoehsjHihEytkQ2wCP2PFotIXtSIBkbrVFR3qztiJrpTBK_w_Cj333yUalCWGUeWNvrMSRwm3rn6CsGr0eAZn5BJd3CLb15oEbnBfzbrcODD60oSZK1kcWHINk4oFusjYFBAnd2Qd655KQ4USzicg/s823/Margaret_Dicksee_Miss_Angel_1892.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i><img border="0" data-original-height="823" data-original-width="628" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2Aa44-v2irczakMtQbnO54J5zQszTfea4BRRZ9cNoehsjHihEytkQ2wCP2PFotIXtSIBkbrVFR3qztiJrpTBK_w_Cj333yUalCWGUeWNvrMSRwm3rn6CsGr0eAZn5BJd3CLb15oEbnBfzbrcODD60oSZK1kcWHINk4oFusjYFBAnd2Qd655KQ4USzicg/w488-h640/Margaret_Dicksee_Miss_Angel_1892.png" width="488" /></i></span></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: #f8f9fa; color: #202122; text-align: start;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Angelica Kauffmann, introduced by Lady Wentworth, visits Mr. Reynolds’ studio</i> (1892)<br />Margaret Dicksee</span></span></td></tr></tbody></table><div><br /></div><div>How about subject matter? Surely that would have changed? Oh, absolutely and full-frontal nudity increased, whereas just topless stuff dropped back, so apparently boobs were not enough anymore. I have to admit there were not as many obviously distressed women in 1914 (well, in illustration) but the quota of men being all heroic was still quite high. I am being flippant, but the lack of women being disappointed in men to varying degrees is interesting because, in all other ways, the subject matter of the paintings was remarkably similar. Were men incapable of disappointing women in 1914? Could we not afford to show our womenfolk in domestic distress when a war loomed on the horizon and we might need them to look distressed about other men, foreign men?</div><div><br /></div><div>In 1895, it was reported in the newspapers that an art critic had chosen the 30 best pictures out of the whole Royal Academy exhibition (which we know ran into a thousand or two) and he chose only three by women - one each by Lady Butler, Jessie Macgregor and Elizabeth Forbes. As the <i>Yarmouth Gazette</i> mused </div><div><br /></div><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0 0 0 40px; padding: 0px;"><div style="text-align: left;">'Three out of thirty seems a small percentage, but it must be remembered that it has been only during the last few years that facilities have been offered to girl students such as they have recently enjoyed. The profession of artist, even for men, is not yet quite free from the suspicion of Bohemianism and until some five or six years ago the ladies who adopted it as their chosen path in life were regarded by their friends as almost social pariahs, and had a fair amount of roughness to encounter.'</div></blockquote><p>Well now, that's the reason that women artists are not appreciated! They have only just had the training and those that attempted it before were made social outcasts because of all the Bohemianism. It all becomes clear, it's not because of societal prejudice then. That's all fine then.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKxzIBKxHA2cmiAJVgbH_8hFKqIN_JGGQoXW2010bXEKt4Xplt1JSZixQzzyIhJTm1GmzCq_gTDnAR5IV1XuIWXrN6P8yhr7K4Cnp1jS2Gw22QK5mOlXXMd0QDeEpCZazGWmHBCBHeB_RNGUK2I-HuV9cQsIAIJUSpbC9gKS29wXTDtpWOYoKYAGCaetc/s800/NFK_NCM_NWHCM_1989_81_4-001.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="626" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKxzIBKxHA2cmiAJVgbH_8hFKqIN_JGGQoXW2010bXEKt4Xplt1JSZixQzzyIhJTm1GmzCq_gTDnAR5IV1XuIWXrN6P8yhr7K4Cnp1jS2Gw22QK5mOlXXMd0QDeEpCZazGWmHBCBHeB_RNGUK2I-HuV9cQsIAIJUSpbC9gKS29wXTDtpWOYoKYAGCaetc/w500-h640/NFK_NCM_NWHCM_1989_81_4-001.jpg" width="500" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Girl Fishing</i> (c.1918) Mia Arnesby Brown</td></tr></tbody></table><p>In case you weren't convinced of that argument, the <i>Cheltenham Examiner</i> is here to help - 'Except in pastels, watercolours and miniatures, women are seldom happy in strong portraiture. Though some of them may not think it, women have their limits, and that a sex limit.' Apparently our little lady hands can only make faint marks or else we swoon. Apologies.</p><p>It is easy to say 'sexism did it' when trying to explain why women did not get the chances. I also was once asked at an event if women artists weren't famous because they just weren't as good, but I don't feel I am being defensive by saying all of the women who made the RA were as good as the men who were there, and some of them were as exceptional as the best of the men. What worries me is the exceptional women who didn't get the chance to even blip on our radar. I read a horrifying fact when reading about Adah Knight which was that 13,000 pictures were submitted to the 1896 RA and they only had room for 1600. That's around 12% so what about the other 11,400 works of art and artists who did not make it? It's a miracle that women made it there at all, and for that matter, what about working class men and people of colour - how can I tell just by looking at a name what the story for that person is? The RA catalogues are filled with names that have slipped into obscurity. Who knows what secrets they hold?</p><p>I need to go to bed as Father Christmas is on his way, but I think our plan of action is this - the internet is stuffed with free resources - on Archive.org, on the Royal Academy page, on ArtUK - find an artist who is obscure, whose art you love, and befriend her. Make her part of your family. Research the hell out of her and do not be put off by nonsense written in the newspapers about her or in the biography of very important men. Each little step along the way of putting these women back in the narrative is worthwhile. I couldn't find everything I wanted to about the women who graced Blogvent because I was doing it in 12 hour shifts. Imagine what can be found with more time and more digging. </p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdoztDoYG5MfrZc5hCQxSQjMu9WXt4Nw3_BzaWWYFgs1WUbHQAI6CwJkUK8Ez1JODqXG8I_1QDnyKXsXgSnXxcjpT0H49qaAu4IVf-ubKWyn63VhpWMOP-F48LJb5RQ7p1kQ1N_zf0os5YdVBvtuyiPIPyydtzuaDczrNogw9_MQA4b8KRGzg9qzZpobU/s901/nellie%20hepburn%20edmunds.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="901" data-original-width="735" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdoztDoYG5MfrZc5hCQxSQjMu9WXt4Nw3_BzaWWYFgs1WUbHQAI6CwJkUK8Ez1JODqXG8I_1QDnyKXsXgSnXxcjpT0H49qaAu4IVf-ubKWyn63VhpWMOP-F48LJb5RQ7p1kQ1N_zf0os5YdVBvtuyiPIPyydtzuaDczrNogw9_MQA4b8KRGzg9qzZpobU/w522-h640/nellie%20hepburn%20edmunds.jpg" width="522" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>"She had two eyes so soft and brown, Take Care!<br />She gives a side glance and looks down, Beware!" <br /></i>(1912-14) Nellie Hepburn Edmunds</td></tr></tbody></table><p>It's all very well for me to look at the statistics behind the Royal Academy exhibitions and make tutting noises but if we leave these women in obscurity then we are not helping to highlight their work or proving the likes of the <i>Cheltenham Examiner</i> c.1902 wrong. If you liked one of the women from the last 23 days, start digging! Do a curation on ArtUK, write an article, see where has her work and go and visit it. If I have learned anything from the last thirty years of doing this sort of nonsense then it is this (and Fanny Cornforth will back me up here) : If you talk long enough and loudly enough about someone, people will join in and that person will become part of the conversation. </p><p>If I can do it, so can you. Happy Christmas.</p><div></div>Kirsty Stonell Walkerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08342964877965021654noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1441164155286448763.post-9861979592564552772023-12-23T19:42:00.000+00:002023-12-23T19:42:21.403+00:00Saturday 23rd December - Alma Broadbridge Gogin (1854-1948)<p> I wonder if it is wrong that I chose today's subject because of her name? </p><p>It's all go today as we are having our Christmas Day tomorrow with the family, so I am busy making croissants (family tradition), peeling sprouts and making a trifle whilst trying to remember what I could have possibly forgotten, In the meantime, for the penultimate day of Blogvent I have the charmingly named Alma Gogin for company...</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiVyHmd1vbphjx_TKLBFrWjhEO1MMNnPD6e9eRNurg6uRljIdgOYRoO-feu2GhJlHNJSjnic-Kn5Zo9yXyM3HtLqoT7s4PzlI7h0NIVCyQV-bCRI2cFcmC08a1Kw6PZL6TqFZjZbG1fJ5Xk3160u_nPEB4QFSjQIhFalj9J7RLnVlEVCt84Ho7SUNKXaY/s1200/alma%20by%20charles%20again.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="934" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiVyHmd1vbphjx_TKLBFrWjhEO1MMNnPD6e9eRNurg6uRljIdgOYRoO-feu2GhJlHNJSjnic-Kn5Zo9yXyM3HtLqoT7s4PzlI7h0NIVCyQV-bCRI2cFcmC08a1Kw6PZL6TqFZjZbG1fJ5Xk3160u_nPEB4QFSjQIhFalj9J7RLnVlEVCt84Ho7SUNKXaY/w498-h640/alma%20by%20charles%20again.jpg" width="498" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Alma Gogin</i> (undated) Charles Gogin</td></tr></tbody></table><p>I have found another artist-wife-of-an-artist, however, before she was Alma Gogin, she was Susan Alma Broadbridge, born on 1st October 1854 to Edward (1830-1911) and Mary (1828-1906) in Brighton. Edward was a furniture dealer and upholsterer (like Averil Burleigh's Dad and my Uncle Chub) with the family living above the (quite large and pleasant) shop in East Street in Brighton, close to the sea. Her mother was a milliner and the family seem very comfortably off, Edward serving as a local Councillor, and the family was well-known. Alma was the second of four siblings - her older sister Kate (1853-1927) and younger brothers Edward (1863-1898) and Walter (1871-1946). By 1871, the family had moved up the road to Queen's Road and were living at 111 Queen's Road, now known as Sundial House. There was definitely a moment when she stopped being Susan and started being Alma but that seems to have happened at different times for her work life and census records. I'll just make it simple and call her Alma, as she wanted.</p><p>At some point in the 1870s and 80s, Alma went to Paris to study art with Gustave Boulanger (1824-1888) and Julian Joseph Lefebvre (1836-1911) at the Academie Julian, and she appears to be absent from home during the 1881 census so that may well have coincided with this period. Alma's work was first seen in her native Brighton in the Corporation Gallery's 1880 exhibition of oil paintings. Of the around 700 works, a fifth of them were by local artists including Alma. Her work also appeared at the Manchester Art Gallery exhibition of 1884 where the gallery bought her piece <i>Cherries</i> for £6 6s for the collection.</p><p>Her break into the Royal Academy came in 1886 with <i>An Unequal Match, </i>which didn't make much impact in the press, but she also had two other exhibitions which at least got her mentioned. The November exhibition of the Nineteenth Century Art Society in Conduit Street contained Alma's piece <i>Day Dreams</i> described by the <i>London Evening Standard </i> as 'a very well dressed young lady, sitting in a very pretty chair - [it] invites attention by harmonious colours and dignity of treatment.' She also appeared in Brighton's Corporation Art Gallery 12th annual exhibition of modern pictures in oil where, according to the <i>Brighton Herald</i> she 'showed some good work'.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhDUhuGzJXEqVsSk-d6WpGm93xUeM1nk4YwIWJB3s5C59-OF-vUrOSusyJHru2xhTQ4XvC5AK0bVXdp67o3PXAvRELfapXuNuqCIgBQaqMzQITEO5W2u_r-XHu3ffhPGDU0YBtggdSnnuhyphenhyphenODwPVhnvo_4G02Hpfv8KeZhSxzaDVn4r63e0-8glthfhBY/s1200/tealeaves.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="793" data-original-width="1200" height="422" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhDUhuGzJXEqVsSk-d6WpGm93xUeM1nk4YwIWJB3s5C59-OF-vUrOSusyJHru2xhTQ4XvC5AK0bVXdp67o3PXAvRELfapXuNuqCIgBQaqMzQITEO5W2u_r-XHu3ffhPGDU0YBtggdSnnuhyphenhyphenODwPVhnvo_4G02Hpfv8KeZhSxzaDVn4r63e0-8glthfhBY/w640-h422/tealeaves.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>"So for good or ill in leaves of tea / Do maidens find their fortune told" </i>(1887)</td></tr></tbody></table><p>By 1887's Royal Academy, Alma had moved to Warwick Studios in Hampstead and her painting that year was <i>"So for good or ill in leaves of tea / Do maidens find their fortune told" </i>which is also known by the far duller title 'Tea leaves'. I love this painting, even down to the tassels on the tablecloth. I'd love to see it and see if we can work out what the fortune will be - there are some flowers and a fan, all of which hold messages, for example the open fan in the left hand means 'come and talk to me,' which might hint that she is hoping for someone she loves to come and tell her that they love her too. Next to her seems to be a bunch of those tiny daffodils which symbolise forgiveness, and the lily next to her has died (is that a Madonna lily with dead flowers?). I'm building a whole scenario of someone dying and she's learning to forgive them because she's met a good looking bloke who will look after her daffodils for her. I love narrative art so much.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfxr3nR9xNLjXK3JgijUxkDhcMvDshckAl9FX9hHdtAOAsDpTUCNSq4o8VWVluOriSaJIANkYruKMBpVwFuOHieZIbEJwvFEwHSNSguF_C4_tpbJ6eejd_CchCrLAqouAyx0-oF0D42nHD7nmfOvF5K6jsOhv_RKUS1XKnpTFEK0Ix0Bx8uh79uFit1h0/s1200/shipyards%20studio%20shoreham.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="697" data-original-width="1200" height="372" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfxr3nR9xNLjXK3JgijUxkDhcMvDshckAl9FX9hHdtAOAsDpTUCNSq4o8VWVluOriSaJIANkYruKMBpVwFuOHieZIbEJwvFEwHSNSguF_C4_tpbJ6eejd_CchCrLAqouAyx0-oF0D42nHD7nmfOvF5K6jsOhv_RKUS1XKnpTFEK0Ix0Bx8uh79uFit1h0/w640-h372/shipyards%20studio%20shoreham.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Shipyards Studio, Shoreham</i> (1889)</td></tr></tbody></table><p>In 1888, Alma started to offer lessons in the <i>Brighton Gazette</i> - 'Miss Alma Broadbridge, exhibitor at the Royal Academy and pupil of Mons. Lefbre [sic] and Mons. Boulanger (members of the Institute of France) has established a CLASS for the study of DRAWING and PAINTING in oil and water-colour. Private lessons and schools by arrangement - 60 Brunswick Road, Hove.' When I read things like that, the capital letters end up being shouted for effect. She appeared to have moved back down to Brighton, backed up by her 1889 Royal Academy entries, a three-quarter portrait of her mother and another of a woman after a ball. The <i>Brighton Gazette</i> reported 'the young artist may consider herself very fortunate in getting two pictures hung, especially as they were portraits' which is an interesting attitude - I assumed portraits would get less attention in the press unless the person was well known or exceptionally pretty but I didn't know that portraits were harder to get into the RA, or at least perceived to be.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFJuDBvkVqIrh87qCqxcPFtvPHB0pvWE8Rm7lPmm36YxvCiFPtEOAkDXzT_V_xljlv1s_KKby2B-Iulnlr-CBdw2w9LXOwPSEMxk4BBfX1lNQEOKDwGvpNYJxOzVZqVTl18uo7S4X4Y8BoGTU3MW0SkcXIhnudq_29LsqYo1nUIOoFel6mQOkE7NN8m0E/s1200/my%20wife%20reading%201888%20cg.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1021" data-original-width="1200" height="544" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFJuDBvkVqIrh87qCqxcPFtvPHB0pvWE8Rm7lPmm36YxvCiFPtEOAkDXzT_V_xljlv1s_KKby2B-Iulnlr-CBdw2w9LXOwPSEMxk4BBfX1lNQEOKDwGvpNYJxOzVZqVTl18uo7S4X4Y8BoGTU3MW0SkcXIhnudq_29LsqYo1nUIOoFel6mQOkE7NN8m0E/w640-h544/my%20wife%20reading%201888%20cg.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Alma Reading</i> (1888) Charles Gogin</td></tr></tbody></table><p>There was no exhibition for Alma in 1890, but in 1891 she was back at the RA with <i>Confirmation Day</i>. She was the last of the children living at home according to the census that year: Kate was married to Charles Hudson and living in Cuckfield in Sussex, Edward was married to Clara and living in Brighton, Walter away from home and due to be married to Louise. Alma married in 1894 to fellow artist Charles Gogin (1844-1931). A decade older, Charles was the son of a commercial clerk from France who died in the mid 1860s. Before his father's death Charles too was heading for Clerk Life, whilst his sister Cecilia was training to be an artist. After Claude Gogin died, Charles trained to be a painter, hence he and Alma were at a similar point in their careers, although Charles exhibited a little earlier.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHYQt4FJPHzkq2hJiCNqNLK9ekWQS-dlVi8VOnW8PuZTnlp1c-dcJr_4u9FCC5pcIEihBVJR3KmUX5Pel5DpM5Ydh2Pt8fGDYl9847l4wCpU3YPjc1n1cUXyeUTvwIoo2ry98FV770FhOODAfJa-Pc4LiOe5x3mKXy9nVjp2SdyAWq-JWLFuvtMZoBb_s/s1200/our%20studio%20at%20shoreham.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="836" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHYQt4FJPHzkq2hJiCNqNLK9ekWQS-dlVi8VOnW8PuZTnlp1c-dcJr_4u9FCC5pcIEihBVJR3KmUX5Pel5DpM5Ydh2Pt8fGDYl9847l4wCpU3YPjc1n1cUXyeUTvwIoo2ry98FV770FhOODAfJa-Pc4LiOe5x3mKXy9nVjp2SdyAWq-JWLFuvtMZoBb_s/w446-h640/our%20studio%20at%20shoreham.jpg" width="446" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Our Studio in Shoreham</i> (1900)</td></tr></tbody></table><p>The Royal Academy just after the Gogin wedding was the last one Alma exhibited as 'Broadbridge'. Her piece <i>"Please, May I Come In?" </i>received no press coverage or any illustration in the Royal Academy catalogue. That's true of all her work, and to be fair, Charles isn't exactly overly illustrated on that front either. Alma returned in 1895 with <i>Little Sunshine</i> and the couple had moved to Shoreham (living there around the same time as Annie Miller, Pre-Raphaelite model). </p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEio4OaScSVdMXxzoorKnQ00NkQMgZ7Pcyl3wi4GQTOAxtylaMRU-KDypItUd239YAPWxOkQVs4-SbDGOWHyUK4yz_-SqSZpo2z6PTtvUlbWtE9dl4ZIDhNdYA5TSDzozbKCtCiIR4zm5bFRsGOL6JniZnh4UzHYMVwIanQxuG13p-6dfUpnmlHHCHqSLbw/s1246/captain's%20tale.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="815" data-original-width="1246" height="418" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEio4OaScSVdMXxzoorKnQ00NkQMgZ7Pcyl3wi4GQTOAxtylaMRU-KDypItUd239YAPWxOkQVs4-SbDGOWHyUK4yz_-SqSZpo2z6PTtvUlbWtE9dl4ZIDhNdYA5TSDzozbKCtCiIR4zm5bFRsGOL6JniZnh4UzHYMVwIanQxuG13p-6dfUpnmlHHCHqSLbw/w640-h418/captain's%20tale.png" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>The Captain's Story</i> (1895)</td></tr></tbody></table><p>She also showed <i>The Captain's Story </i>in 1895 which proved very popular. The <i>Manchester Evening News</i> reported 'The old tar is telling his stirring tale to the children, and the pose and intense expression of the three are admirable.' <i>Stratford upon Avon Herald</i> felt the work illustrated 'her capacity of subject.' It is a beautiful picture, a bit like something painted by George Dunlop Leslie. She scored again in 1898 with <i>"What Shall I Say?" </i>a painting of a girl sitting at a spinning wheel reading a letter, which was hung in a favourable position. She also appeared in the Autumn exhibition at the Dudley Art Gallery in September.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQWWjiZ-_gCtFnKR98IbTTXKE09dok5-IvUgJAgvkIVdM-ZVdjtxYPdngYVIWfRyyOIVvmkwepvpITNxChbQ4OZHHDv4CXLp2vJpshEnQfBrqGtN11ulQQMVwia3HTsRoEFKhM8-neaizT52Z__rqaIC-vBVHwqIOPjYMGeeLyXHD1ZFZxBOxHMr1e49E/s1200/regrets.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="861" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQWWjiZ-_gCtFnKR98IbTTXKE09dok5-IvUgJAgvkIVdM-ZVdjtxYPdngYVIWfRyyOIVvmkwepvpITNxChbQ4OZHHDv4CXLp2vJpshEnQfBrqGtN11ulQQMVwia3HTsRoEFKhM8-neaizT52Z__rqaIC-vBVHwqIOPjYMGeeLyXHD1ZFZxBOxHMr1e49E/w461-h640/regrets.jpg" width="461" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Regrets</i> (undated)</td></tr></tbody></table><p>By 1901, Alma and Charles were living in Compton Avenue in Brighton, which are tall white houses that are worth over a million. Both Alma and Charles are listed as artists and art teachers on the census and they have a servant. As far as I can see, Alma didn't exhibit on such a grand scale after this point. Charles had painted the portrait of Samuel Butler, novelist, and acted as his artistic consultant; on Butler's death in 1902, the author left Charles a life annuity of £100 which would pass to Alma on Charles's death.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3cln0IxLPEuYBNlHCF7-oOJB4Yx5eF3WxL-9UTtR3l7fvIVhpbYGXeH1EKwl42tYVqEChJpJd3XasKo2Yo5cz9zrquwT_VcMpjBqVuHEANyZKP5tXb5CEjUyPDt8FaO693LXSwEgNtkUrfKLs3KkhxsaGuYnPRCHh-Xwaa1wXSoTftZFAAZraH23yzaE/s1200/anemones.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="909" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3cln0IxLPEuYBNlHCF7-oOJB4Yx5eF3WxL-9UTtR3l7fvIVhpbYGXeH1EKwl42tYVqEChJpJd3XasKo2Yo5cz9zrquwT_VcMpjBqVuHEANyZKP5tXb5CEjUyPDt8FaO693LXSwEgNtkUrfKLs3KkhxsaGuYnPRCHh-Xwaa1wXSoTftZFAAZraH23yzaE/w484-h640/anemones.jpg" width="484" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Anemones</i> (20th century)</td></tr></tbody></table><p>In the 1911 census, again the Gogins are both artists and art teachers at Clarence Square. In fact, their life seems quite quiet and uneventful other than a move from Brighton to Reigate in Surrey until Charles's death in 1931, then Alma's profile rises rapidly once more. Charles died in the January of that year and by the March, possibly spurred by his death, she was holding an exhibition at their home at 95 Station Road in Reigate. The <i>Surrey Mirror </i>reported that Alma was 'an artist of considerable repute' and the exhibition 'promises to afford much pleasure and interest ... students of art, particularly, could spend many useful moments glancing at the fine collection of flower studies - in oil and water-colour - which constitute one of the features of a notably varied show.' She also gave the Borough two paintings by Charles - <i>Sea Poppies</i> and <i>Ypres Castle, Rye</i> - and one of her own, <i>Regrets</i>.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIi6AvMRc5ymccpct4MMD_hXG4gaZP8erbfvPb8KBEPvNZFa4c8cwYR6I85D8NuU7jmbsvGDjRHjyX6T6u_LQ7A81NIDHlGLO3XXmGS-H3Yd4Mn3XN7byh43HzQBhqS4cKJfb9YX0l_MFt4ctk1CPSPbMIQVWAFzpz-8WOsmK6XEBdh_L2Z9RjAoNRoTc/s1200/Chrysanthemums%201927.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="760" data-original-width="1200" height="406" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIi6AvMRc5ymccpct4MMD_hXG4gaZP8erbfvPb8KBEPvNZFa4c8cwYR6I85D8NuU7jmbsvGDjRHjyX6T6u_LQ7A81NIDHlGLO3XXmGS-H3Yd4Mn3XN7byh43HzQBhqS4cKJfb9YX0l_MFt4ctk1CPSPbMIQVWAFzpz-8WOsmK6XEBdh_L2Z9RjAoNRoTc/w640-h406/Chrysanthemums%201927.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Chrysanthemums </i>(1927)</td></tr></tbody></table><p>By the 1939 register, Alma had moved to 92 Blackborough Road in Reigate, listed merely as retired, a widow with a maid. In 1945, Alma invited the Haywoods Heath librarian (the town not being very far from Reigate) to view her collection with the idea to bequeath several of her and her husband's paintings to the new Haywoods Heath Museum. She died three years later, noted by the <i>West Sussex Gazette</i> - 'By the death of Mrs Alma Gogin (92) of Hatchlands Road, Redhill, an interesting link with Victorian art and letters has been severed. Mrs Gogin was the widow of Charles Gogin, landscape and portrait painter ... Mrs Gogin was also a gifted artist, who specialised in flower studies and was a discriminating collector of objets d'art.'</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMfXma4BU5L07FzwGp5UMy9QH2eBXTSSLk11beBs98EQNDs1k2t2SMp4fECVafKs1-aQDjz0c3DoMjpkHK96e0HlJbBWDxCdx9ZlOnqqqQI5NtavRouu8o3Ev97pehQ2x-cGVy4Wh45T0Xu5jnsF3OJMfojDycfPY46M_al2hQvzyn2Gs4QXD6kDwSzUQ/s1200/Alma%20by%20Charles.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="928" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMfXma4BU5L07FzwGp5UMy9QH2eBXTSSLk11beBs98EQNDs1k2t2SMp4fECVafKs1-aQDjz0c3DoMjpkHK96e0HlJbBWDxCdx9ZlOnqqqQI5NtavRouu8o3Ev97pehQ2x-cGVy4Wh45T0Xu5jnsF3OJMfojDycfPY46M_al2hQvzyn2Gs4QXD6kDwSzUQ/w494-h640/Alma%20by%20Charles.jpg" width="494" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Alma</i> (1890s) Charles Gogin</td></tr></tbody></table><p>I think we have a rare moment where both Alma and her husband have been neglected. Look at the tissue on the portrait of Alma above, stabilising the the paint surface in need of conservation. The couple are both talented artists and need our love. What I find interesting about Alma is that although she did a fair amount of flower painting, she found her fame with narrative pieces, yet she is repeatedly called a flower painter. Here is the continued down-playing of women's art, still-life scoring far below other categories in the artistic hierarchy. As we draw to the end of Blogvent, there are patterns of how these women are forgotten, are diminished, and tomorrow we will examine the scale of the problem then and now, and work out how we will fix it.</p>Kirsty Stonell Walkerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08342964877965021654noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1441164155286448763.post-45488043525632721072023-12-22T22:39:00.000+00:002023-12-22T22:39:37.336+00:00Friday 22nd December - Margaret Murray Cookesley (1843-1927)<p> I've started typing this at 6.30am, shortly before I'm off to buy food for the weekend, so thoughts and prayers would be appreciated. I'm hoping that everyone is keeping safe and warm and well, and that your Christmas crackers are as nice as mine (they are Natural History Museum ones, very pretty indeed). After yesterday's quite epic time with Averil, I'm very much hoping that today will be quieter, but I suspect that this lady artist is going to be an interesting challenge as she was a traveller. Say hello to Margaret Murray Cookesley...</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrfgs9S2qGiDAgPqOUUx_FMqe_xIFoJlXOXrel3VzfMBQwwl_FyrkuvauE6SQdmA52Nl27zW9sRKd9ikD_jfBcgF_Hz3NSNA6mJ16cJ05jeVcXAw2RvjIxgvY-wDabwbjliWq8HedJdleWxNVJ9dxibxtHc12eDJUuKRQVjqo1arFpSeKYG9G21wUANtY/s1500/an%20interesting%20letter%201892.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1266" data-original-width="1500" height="540" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrfgs9S2qGiDAgPqOUUx_FMqe_xIFoJlXOXrel3VzfMBQwwl_FyrkuvauE6SQdmA52Nl27zW9sRKd9ikD_jfBcgF_Hz3NSNA6mJ16cJ05jeVcXAw2RvjIxgvY-wDabwbjliWq8HedJdleWxNVJ9dxibxtHc12eDJUuKRQVjqo1arFpSeKYG9G21wUANtY/w640-h540/an%20interesting%20letter%201892.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>An Interesting Letter</i> (1892)</td></tr></tbody></table><p>She began as Margaret Deborah Garland, born in April 1843 to an affluent family in Dorset. Her parents were John Bingley Garland (1792-1875) and Frances 'Fanny' Maria (1815-1886), who married in 1822 in Poole, near Bournemouth. The couple had seven children (in total), and Margaret was the sixth and last daughter. John appears to have been married before in Canada, and remarried in 1840 to Fanny, making her the mother of Margaret's elder sister Frances (1841-1925) and younger brother John Butler Garland (1845-?). John Senior was a merchant and the first Speaker of the House for Newfoundland, with a rather useful <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Bingley_Garland" target="_blank">Wikipedia</a> page. He was also an artist, creating the Blood Collages. You heard me...</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjP_jlEBMNSIWLxkQCa1y_BSYqw8yEqZkIasCmxlxGCyHtqlMgG01gKvJRtSwW8xyBAl39yyiZttSP7s1yqK32n9lfsOzM1ZhHY1WR5P0Kbh3B6ScXnj48pEFD8qLwPcwVw7SDsO7ZtniCtBK4q7ZZUHUpGkSu8qerf_HsFtd-fvrgJfSFjWWf7f9624ss/s1200/blood%20collage.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="795" data-original-width="1200" height="424" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjP_jlEBMNSIWLxkQCa1y_BSYqw8yEqZkIasCmxlxGCyHtqlMgG01gKvJRtSwW8xyBAl39yyiZttSP7s1yqK32n9lfsOzM1ZhHY1WR5P0Kbh3B6ScXnj48pEFD8qLwPcwVw7SDsO7ZtniCtBK4q7ZZUHUpGkSu8qerf_HsFtd-fvrgJfSFjWWf7f9624ss/w640-h424/blood%20collage.jpeg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Two of the Blood Collages by John Bingley Garland</td></tr></tbody></table><p>I do not have the time to unpick all of this and mercifully there is <a href="https://publicdomainreview.org/collection/garland-blood-collages/" target="_blank">a page</a> if you fancy a look, flipping nora. Let's move on swiftly...</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgE-_TVqlbyb-DjMvsVw-vkumoIHyyMCG0de8IlS_LylUdwXox7nOSdwCbgR1KgPeeoZtHtTq0tkVIYVWniIUH35vTK7xicAIBmAT8lShK-8304BjInw76g7urXQHhHmQ0V5Cl6xFrHp8HH8iVWrn1A1q6IleZMo7TkTmrBwh0H4abQWTZPkT0ZFVQZ0Lk/s952/moroccan%20orange%20sellers.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="575" data-original-width="952" height="386" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgE-_TVqlbyb-DjMvsVw-vkumoIHyyMCG0de8IlS_LylUdwXox7nOSdwCbgR1KgPeeoZtHtTq0tkVIYVWniIUH35vTK7xicAIBmAT8lShK-8304BjInw76g7urXQHhHmQ0V5Cl6xFrHp8HH8iVWrn1A1q6IleZMo7TkTmrBwh0H4abQWTZPkT0ZFVQZ0Lk/w640-h386/moroccan%20orange%20sellers.png" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Moroccan Orange Sellers</i> (undated)</td></tr></tbody></table><p>Margaret trained in Belgium under Louis Gallait and then returned for a year to South Kensington to study anatomy. Similar to Averil Burleigh, it seems that no sooner than Margaret had finished her training, she married. Her husband was Edward Murray Cookesley (1837-1916), an officer under Brigadier General Franks at the Indian Mutiny and the Siege of Lucknow. The couple married at Wimbourne Minster in April of 1866 and Edward sold his commission in 1870, retiring from the army. Interestingly, Margaret's sister Frances also married a soldier, Henry Hoste Swinny in 1870 and he retired his commission at the same time as Edward.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNZb9QC6pJk7SrXlfGYSSKil6DDgLT79oakiuGKwhhi_gzgwH0Zr23cv2G7HHpEixehdrVHN7UmW-tp3aGPQTtuxfTH2ajQ6EJDmTkxcQjVzoNy-vCNw37uxsrr9Jc4t-Yz1R3wYJPLGq1Wbtg0xkv0eSLN4BrBNbYY9V0H9Vm9-IkXNwSZch6KOWakHo/s942/the%20lion%20tamers.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="501" data-original-width="942" height="340" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNZb9QC6pJk7SrXlfGYSSKil6DDgLT79oakiuGKwhhi_gzgwH0Zr23cv2G7HHpEixehdrVHN7UmW-tp3aGPQTtuxfTH2ajQ6EJDmTkxcQjVzoNy-vCNw37uxsrr9Jc4t-Yz1R3wYJPLGq1Wbtg0xkv0eSLN4BrBNbYY9V0H9Vm9-IkXNwSZch6KOWakHo/w640-h340/the%20lion%20tamers.png" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>The Lion Tamers</i> (1898)</td></tr></tbody></table><p>For reasons I will come to when we reach 1894, I know that from 1870-78, Edward had no occupation. I know that Margaret travelled to the Holy Lands, to Egypt and countries to the East where she painted scenes of life and leisure for which she would become famous. I think the first mention I can find for her in the newspaper is in 1883 in <i>Truth</i>, where she appears in a review of the Ladies Amateur Art Society with her picture <i>Drifting Home. </i>Another reason to believe she had travelled prior to this is that she also exhibited <i>Egyptian Seis</i> and <i>Mohamitan Priests Entering a Mosque </i>at the same exhibition.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiovyYsIsyN_ATW5JG6qzpuvEp07FiZ_r2tuMWMgl9ZLkvX_e3MLy38j8KjOBFI-GO3Lq1UBzz_Yl38wTWVDVXCSNpHd9sv_rfUA4p8ix5IgDNGTE_6_A5J-CY0x_yOoAxT8b45k94K0o7R1z0zyXmpMVxUwIWOxm7FxHyZuFb6bNSd8DljDhldN-CXq0Q/s1403/the%20poetry%20of%20motion.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1403" data-original-width="1020" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiovyYsIsyN_ATW5JG6qzpuvEp07FiZ_r2tuMWMgl9ZLkvX_e3MLy38j8KjOBFI-GO3Lq1UBzz_Yl38wTWVDVXCSNpHd9sv_rfUA4p8ix5IgDNGTE_6_A5J-CY0x_yOoAxT8b45k94K0o7R1z0zyXmpMVxUwIWOxm7FxHyZuFb6bNSd8DljDhldN-CXq0Q/w291-h400/the%20poetry%20of%20motion.png" width="291" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr></tbody></table>In 1884 she appeared in a more professional manner with the Society of Lady Artists at Great Marlborough Street where she exhibited <i>Young Egypt</i> which showed 'considerable pictorial promise' according to the <i>Illustrated London News</i>. This paved the way for her appearances at the Royal Academy which started in 1885 with <i>An Arab Cemetery</i>. The couple's address was 12 Observatory Avenue in Campden Hill. What is interesting is that her husband left for America around this time and managed a horse ranch in Wyoming (among other things) until 1892. According to the <i>Kensington News, </i>she spent her winter with Edward in 1889 in San Francisco<i> </i>but obviously spent time apart from him, concentrating on her career.<p>In 1888 she showed <i>Gordon's Friends: Women of the Upper Nile</i> and <i>An Eastern Doorway</i>. She also showed <i>A Barber Shop at Tangiers</i> at McLean's Gallery, another scene from her journeys in North Africa and the Middle East. That is definitely where her heart was, as there is no doubt she travelled but there are no images of America or Europe, only her wholehearted embrace of Orientalism. The <i>Burnley Express</i> commented that Mrs Murray Cookesley 'is advancing by leaps and bounds.' The <i>Morning Post</i> in 1888 also reported that Margaret had left town for Morocco with the purpose of making sketches of 'Oriental life.' As the <i>Illustrated Sporting and Dramatic News</i> reported in 1890, when reviewing the Nineteenth Century Art Society's Summer exhibition 'the Eastern subjects of M. Murray Cookesley are as worthy of adoration as anything in the exhibition.'</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBbM4GeGaOOinsxRNWVLBUDhcDwTXTiG1DDhecMdoRvH-8GMnXAFFPcEUsGz3CnXwn5JN6cbTQlWaMb-HfPQHonbua9PUkh0kKZPJTY2lIU9r227ZUd_vlp1ond2IIx-F__rh6bg6Y6jwA7UOXTxAVY7CJxpi-BuW175CL7_pEUJAOltK_kSySpvtiP8E/s750/the%20little%20mogul.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="520" data-original-width="750" height="444" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBbM4GeGaOOinsxRNWVLBUDhcDwTXTiG1DDhecMdoRvH-8GMnXAFFPcEUsGz3CnXwn5JN6cbTQlWaMb-HfPQHonbua9PUkh0kKZPJTY2lIU9r227ZUd_vlp1ond2IIx-F__rh6bg6Y6jwA7UOXTxAVY7CJxpi-BuW175CL7_pEUJAOltK_kSySpvtiP8E/w640-h444/the%20little%20mogul.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>The Little Mogul </i>(1892)</td></tr></tbody></table><p>I was astonished by how quickly Margaret's reputation grew and I think no small part of that is Margaret's active pursuit of her subjects and capturing what she imagined the Eastern life was. I wondered if her 1891 RA painting <i>Three Little Wags</i> was a play on Three Little Maids (I can't stop making that comparison, I do apologise), but in 1893 she got to make a trip that would seal her reputation forever. She was commissioned by the Sultan of Constantinople to paint his son. He apparently handed her a photograph of the boy saying that would be sufficient, but Margaret insisted that she needed to sketch from life and so managed to fit in a couple of carriage journeys with him in order to get enough of a sketch to make the portrait. The Sultan was so impressed with the resultant piece that he gave her the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Order_of_Charity" target="_blank">Order of the Chefakat</a> and the Sultan requested that Margaret stay and paint his wives but she didn't have enough time. </p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKHY6TgGTle6jKGLS3cWETcBDsFKwV17JbN8zNqjIdfYDR8KRec-Erw2z2md7Ui2SojMHx-8-pqEB-WIwCNaEZ-uO0o_RVO1ObC2o1ii_IUcZOa0Ddmk9dI_WkLDA4EM0HDk8ynUxehuumnOoJAfCkIP13qMx00D0s1xPRbz4uc4_PQCvaGR-wrnWBym0/s3434/tableeaux.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3434" data-original-width="2320" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKHY6TgGTle6jKGLS3cWETcBDsFKwV17JbN8zNqjIdfYDR8KRec-Erw2z2md7Ui2SojMHx-8-pqEB-WIwCNaEZ-uO0o_RVO1ObC2o1ii_IUcZOa0Ddmk9dI_WkLDA4EM0HDk8ynUxehuumnOoJAfCkIP13qMx00D0s1xPRbz4uc4_PQCvaGR-wrnWBym0/w432-h640/tableeaux.png" width="432" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A Tableaux for the Crystal Palace</td></tr></tbody></table><p>While doing the research for this I was puzzled by the sudden change in her activities in the mid 1890s. She went from being all about her fine art and travel to tableaux vivant and novelty, which seemed an odd choice to make. I'm not judging anyone for being popularist and it certainly seems that when the directors of the Constantinople experience at Olympia were after an artistic director, Margaret's art made her an obvious choice. The <i>Echo</i> reported that 'judging from the dress rehearsal of "The Orient" at Olympia yesterday, everything, even the minutest detail is in working order for the opening ... ladies of the harem are posed in graceful attitudes clothed in gorgeous costumes. Mrs Murray Cookesley has also designed the Temple of Venus.' In addition to this, she created living pictures at the Crystal Palace, recreating different scenes from art and history in tableaux vivant which included Titania and Oberon, Cleopatra, a Guardian Angel watching a sick child and a popular picture of the time <i>Art Attracts the Heart</i>. All this at a place called the Palace of Perpetual Pleasure. </p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgo3dOsgZnu5iUGZlQ-vdvBEPY2GLNyENIG7RgzyNtrWMXcyyzHDT9b3L2lohUSw7pNzKiHpRBt7yMG_cjS0wgqPJFmHqU20mzIIPcY1PagNnk43hLC-uBjDXz2edD80bLN3Z5bVmHjlFJyhnTNAz81wxgkfjFpyrIIwP8sFdv1Oum3KU9PNR9-YcaosTM/s1200/ric%20and%20rare.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="902" data-original-width="1200" height="482" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgo3dOsgZnu5iUGZlQ-vdvBEPY2GLNyENIG7RgzyNtrWMXcyyzHDT9b3L2lohUSw7pNzKiHpRBt7yMG_cjS0wgqPJFmHqU20mzIIPcY1PagNnk43hLC-uBjDXz2edD80bLN3Z5bVmHjlFJyhnTNAz81wxgkfjFpyrIIwP8sFdv1Oum3KU9PNR9-YcaosTM/w640-h482/ric%20and%20rare.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>'Rich and rare were the gems she wore'</i> (undated)</td></tr></tbody></table><p>Now, all this seemed odd until I read a separate news article from 1894 about Edward Murray Cookesley's bankruptcy. He had accrued losses and liabilities that were in excess of an equivalent of over £200K in today's money and his movements and mistakes over the previous decade were written in the newspapers. I'm guessing that Margaret took any and all work she could get and that Palaces of Perpetual Pleasures paid well. It also might be the reason they move quite a bit before settling in 1898 at Cromwell Place. In the meantime, Margaret exhibited more Arabic scenes including <i>Umbrellas to Mend: Damascus</i> in 1894, <i>An Arab Cafe, Cairo</i> in 1895 and <i>Death of the First Born </i>in 1896. Edward also invented tinned soup at this time, which was amazing - don't get excited, it wasn't like cream of tomato, he just found a way of placing a powdered soup into a cartridge which could be combined with water and boiled, making a soup that was 'more than merely palatable' according to the <i>Echo</i> in April 1896. Yummy.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKQKkSg3_zQtyxidduxPnEhMsA2dhg7rFQhV6-zswgDxHIBL3xLexwTRSfoKr9sPlJhyJGn1fbxIv2a-v0HnhskDIRiqM1PANtwDDPEO6UzPOBof9aNzvY4ljqcSuDT3MVgondWqxaou8LIO4oYt3Vli-L5PDtUCc3uQ9-Z4XJ5gNQlZWGabxLQUhyphenhyphencu4/s1460/ellen%20terry.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1460" data-original-width="750" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKQKkSg3_zQtyxidduxPnEhMsA2dhg7rFQhV6-zswgDxHIBL3xLexwTRSfoKr9sPlJhyJGn1fbxIv2a-v0HnhskDIRiqM1PANtwDDPEO6UzPOBof9aNzvY4ljqcSuDT3MVgondWqxaou8LIO4oYt3Vli-L5PDtUCc3uQ9-Z4XJ5gNQlZWGabxLQUhyphenhyphencu4/w328-h640/ellen%20terry.jpg" width="328" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Ellen Terry as Imogen </i>(1898)</td></tr></tbody></table><p>Possibly the most surprising move is 1898 portrait of Ellen Terry as Shakespearean heroine Imogen, which is not only really good but is also not a street scene in the Middle East. She also received a third prize for her picture <i>The Gambler's Wife</i> at the 10th annual drawing of the Crystal Palace Art Union.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwBTjgnGdeghm92dIeK8kx2iT2cNpcEJe5904YXe_e_OTb3H9MZj8xXpbHIIpANZEwwhnZRioI9Pzv87np2luOt295HjPmZXHp5qPG-nOpXKYu-FFUTmO-oH-CHXBBKUgbVgb4zXt_Ce9VYBtsPq0CAJVay-Np4olaIk-OwWIjutcDFbY7ZnUvWHDSiB8/s1200/LAN_TOWN_BURGM_paoil14-001.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="821" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwBTjgnGdeghm92dIeK8kx2iT2cNpcEJe5904YXe_e_OTb3H9MZj8xXpbHIIpANZEwwhnZRioI9Pzv87np2luOt295HjPmZXHp5qPG-nOpXKYu-FFUTmO-oH-CHXBBKUgbVgb4zXt_Ce9VYBtsPq0CAJVay-Np4olaIk-OwWIjutcDFbY7ZnUvWHDSiB8/w438-h640/LAN_TOWN_BURGM_paoil14-001.jpg" width="438" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>The Gambler's Wife</i> (1898)</td></tr></tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="text-align: left;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="text-align: left;">I wonder if her husband's financial troubles were common knowledge, as she released a statement reported in the newspapers in 1899 that she and Edward were not leaving Cromwell Place. She had purchased the house and studio from the estate of John Everett Millais (as it belonged to him before his death) and I think it is interesting (or maybe I am reading too much into it) that the newspaper report says that </span><u style="text-align: left;">she</u><span style="text-align: left;"> had bought the house and studio.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="text-align: left;"><br /></span></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEideYQkm2I3SPi-dDrVqBRqKu-Cito5Tsi1MpQ3QzjIGy49z5mJ6NP5Hk3QoOM_-5p1ikGpB_pbyWQ_erkTGomkQgFYeSKl64wkPuSg_hUb6pK06HGX0T6if8dbQNmLMC7uM1k6078fnHso0gDJ7_b8A6QjsiaL89i2XXVDV26xpr_7S7_fiD-Tn5yaU1M/s991/astarte%20or%20cleopatra.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="991" data-original-width="542" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEideYQkm2I3SPi-dDrVqBRqKu-Cito5Tsi1MpQ3QzjIGy49z5mJ6NP5Hk3QoOM_-5p1ikGpB_pbyWQ_erkTGomkQgFYeSKl64wkPuSg_hUb6pK06HGX0T6if8dbQNmLMC7uM1k6078fnHso0gDJ7_b8A6QjsiaL89i2XXVDV26xpr_7S7_fiD-Tn5yaU1M/w350-h640/astarte%20or%20cleopatra.jpg" width="350" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Astarte</i> (1903)</td></tr></tbody></table><p>Her RA appearances continued and in 1903, she was commission to paint <i>Astarte</i> for George Royle who lived in Cairo. This is a very interesting painting as I have also seen it referred to as <i>A Priestess of Isis</i> and <i>Cleopatra</i> but <i>Astarte</i> is the title published underneath it in the <i>Queen</i> magazine accompanying the article on the commission.</p><p>A detail which I absolutely loved when I read it is that when Margaret was preparing to submit her paintings into the RA she would hold a 'picture tea' for her friends. This was reported in the <i>Northern Whig </i>in March of 1904 when her friends had visited for tea in order to see her new works. She also became the chair of the Society of Lady Artists, who held an event at the Grand Hotel in London in 1905 for the Lord Mayor of Liverpool, John Lea. Lea had been a friend to artists for many years, extending great hospitality to them for the Autumn exhibition in Liverpool and it was arranged that a reciprocal event should be held in London but the male artists excluded the women from the event so they held their own. Margaret even wore her medal from the Sultan.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpE330nid_bMWG0yqgOEeOli5CTAwxKrgGbTOximSsm-Kr1MqTpKQXdJZv4GFQQ4fw1CMZQgb_RsWDjyK0t6kJdtYWf-9rmW3om3KcKR19tIfQXj667xgsqey4DVZGnzhXM2Yo5S2rY2rK8xcaQW4tJHHRq8tFko2oINQqP6WM4gj7vzlsOBePOJQ3cbM/s586/Circe_Resplendens_(1913)%20Margaret_Murray-Cookesley.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="586" data-original-width="330" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpE330nid_bMWG0yqgOEeOli5CTAwxKrgGbTOximSsm-Kr1MqTpKQXdJZv4GFQQ4fw1CMZQgb_RsWDjyK0t6kJdtYWf-9rmW3om3KcKR19tIfQXj667xgsqey4DVZGnzhXM2Yo5S2rY2rK8xcaQW4tJHHRq8tFko2oINQqP6WM4gj7vzlsOBePOJQ3cbM/w360-h640/Circe_Resplendens_(1913)%20Margaret_Murray-Cookesley.jpg" width="360" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Circe Resplendens</i> (1913)</td></tr></tbody></table><p>I'm not sure exactly when Margaret and Edward took a place in Bath but I'm guessing it was before the Great War as Edward was part of the Bath Anti-German Union. She kept the house in Cromwell Place as she continued to submit works to the RA from there, showing <i>The Escape</i> and <i>Joyous Youth</i> in 1907<i>, In Captivity</i> in 1908 and <i>Circe Resplendens</i> in 1911. I really wish I had an image of her 1912 RA work <i>The Latest Bit of Gossip, </i>but sadly not to be found as it was obviously beyond the RA illustrated catalogue to have any of her work.</p><p>Edward died in 1916 and he received a reverent mention in the local press, including his service at Lucknow and the Mutiny. Margaret remained part of Bath's social life, exhibiting with the RA while also manning a stall at a local sale of work for St Michael's missionary work. Her last work at the Royal Academy was <i>Entrance to the Old Mosque at Damascus</i>, a fitting end to a life enchanted by the beauty of the Middle East.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxMGZiBQ8zRY8NumqqqG8htlXH3xgb7GZ4EUpEWTtGtZzEa39XJDvZwk4x8AAM7YU_eGrw0g-A4y0z8qCiEcHiSYvSiI1HrvFVB_tV2KAlsXZjP188vwiasDrwjMQdv4EjQ5krUdomrY3atzA8yHBH7EXE_HxUxp9gjIyeIWr3de90pKK9Z8BN1xR4yNs/s685/frederick%20harrison.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="685" data-original-width="475" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxMGZiBQ8zRY8NumqqqG8htlXH3xgb7GZ4EUpEWTtGtZzEa39XJDvZwk4x8AAM7YU_eGrw0g-A4y0z8qCiEcHiSYvSiI1HrvFVB_tV2KAlsXZjP188vwiasDrwjMQdv4EjQ5krUdomrY3atzA8yHBH7EXE_HxUxp9gjIyeIWr3de90pKK9Z8BN1xR4yNs/w444-h640/frederick%20harrison.jpg" width="444" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Frederick Harrison</i> (undated)</td></tr></tbody></table><p>The <i>Bath Chronicle</i> ran a full obituary for her when Margaret died on 8th February 1927. It talked about how she loved to travel, what a good musician she was and how she was best known locally as a portrait painter which would have surprised her critics. The piece ends with fond sentiments about her love of her work and others 'Her generosity towards deserving causes, a generosity of time and labour as well as substance, will never be forgotten.'</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPkDt6cS2-olQRdcgIDsLO6zDrR0AR2rdet-bs3iHRAbjqxmuve35KxXDO2RfU2g-mNPl5yoc6UCc-sMv-_C9jlv3jZSRynS8Ex0NT89zC2UTo8WB5IEoS1-5aOP6ELY-u4x6-uJ0dAJepdpYx7_4FSKBSBLf-sCS3NSJGtjIOfAYSnex2T6Ajmrkfe5U/s998/portrait%20of.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="998" data-original-width="750" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPkDt6cS2-olQRdcgIDsLO6zDrR0AR2rdet-bs3iHRAbjqxmuve35KxXDO2RfU2g-mNPl5yoc6UCc-sMv-_C9jlv3jZSRynS8Ex0NT89zC2UTo8WB5IEoS1-5aOP6ELY-u4x6-uJ0dAJepdpYx7_4FSKBSBLf-sCS3NSJGtjIOfAYSnex2T6Ajmrkfe5U/w480-h640/portrait%20of.jpg" width="480" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Portrait of a Girl</i> (undated)</td></tr></tbody></table><p>I'm not entirely sure how we forgot her art, but hopefully her works, and not just her pieces from the Middle East, will be remembered, as well as a woman who was not afraid to paint from life and travel for her art. Orientalism is such a loaded and problematic subject matter now, any artistic merit naturally tinged with Empire, but it would be good, as the <i>Bath Chronicle</i> did, to look at Margaret's art as more than just Eastern images, and her work as a portraitist should not be ignored. The portrait of the girl above reminded me of modern works such as pictures by Annie Ovenden and if you had told me that it was from the 1970s, I would have believed you. However, it also reminds me of Millais' early portraits, and I would love to see more of her work like this because it is beautiful. Possibly the secret to Margaret's revival lies in her portraiture, so we should start hunting for more.</p>Kirsty Stonell Walkerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08342964877965021654noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1441164155286448763.post-59557118637891704332023-12-21T22:43:00.001+00:002023-12-21T22:43:39.899+00:00Thursday 21st December - Averil Mary Burleigh (1883-1949)<p> Blimey, we're almost there and we've reached the shortest day, which is a relief as Spring is on its way! After yesterday, I felt I owed you a colourful post and although I know some people will get irritated by my inclusion of Averil Mary Burleigh as a Victorian artist, I'm sticking to my guns as I am bloody-minded and anyway, she was born in the 1880s. She also was an artist in tempera, which gets me all overexcited (I love a bit of tempera revival) and she did book illustrations for Keats and she married an artist and gave birth to one. I think she may well be a full house! Let's crack on with our new friend Averil...</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgv8ttsFpg2eZn8K6ZNWjxexaqsYvBx9Tr4uVuWBWG23Bf5IrGRR_mOI390tZThZw21khYG8sGRo-uWfRDhuTwoU5KApWXG4hkzPzQqU38JNAo5eK0uBbdcMYekVDmcA6bjN4rzhdl_5W67GFrPYGgvlv_gT8U0AUFZYEukAhyphenhyphenZwjNI2OSOq_X6llUV7lU/s814/portrait%20of%20averil%20by%20charles.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="814" data-original-width="554" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgv8ttsFpg2eZn8K6ZNWjxexaqsYvBx9Tr4uVuWBWG23Bf5IrGRR_mOI390tZThZw21khYG8sGRo-uWfRDhuTwoU5KApWXG4hkzPzQqU38JNAo5eK0uBbdcMYekVDmcA6bjN4rzhdl_5W67GFrPYGgvlv_gT8U0AUFZYEukAhyphenhyphenZwjNI2OSOq_X6llUV7lU/w436-h640/portrait%20of%20averil%20by%20charles.png" width="436" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Averil Burleigh</i> (1940s) Charles Burleigh</td></tr></tbody></table><p>Today looks like it will end up an embarrassment of riches in terms of illustrations compared to yesterday, but that is no bad thing as I really think it will help to see the pictures we are talking about. This will certainly be the case when we start talking about why I was so happy to include Averil Burleigh in my line-up of Victorian women, especially since she didn't show one picture until Victoria had turned up her toes. However, as I have said before, what is Victorian art if not art made by Victorians? Is there such a thing as 'Victorian' when not attached to a person and who are we to decide if something is or is not Victorian? I think this is essentially a female issue as we tend to think of liberated women as 'modern' and repressed women as 'Victorian' but is that being truthful about either viewpoint? I find it very interesting when 'modern' art critics (those of the 1920s to 40s) refer to an artist as 'Victorian,' or even more controversially 'Pre-Raphaelite,' when art writers now decry using such terms. We'll come back to this...</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNqxavl2gvM9uJSmH9IYx-wQcIYhe2NckaKat9OHDrIT4HBSK0yYgQliIJW8OFykpTVp3YchMCRLoM92ujX5PQ0dJzWQs5Lo6lVh-_nbE1sHFe5jeV9vNDsHUnE49OHWmPeI2M1yGaAbLV9kdgcHu9cxB-dR3M9MwZf3Zs3Lpdbgenipmglu4MD1A-DG4/s809/Averil%20Burleigh%20fairy%20keats.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="809" data-original-width="564" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNqxavl2gvM9uJSmH9IYx-wQcIYhe2NckaKat9OHDrIT4HBSK0yYgQliIJW8OFykpTVp3YchMCRLoM92ujX5PQ0dJzWQs5Lo6lVh-_nbE1sHFe5jeV9vNDsHUnE49OHWmPeI2M1yGaAbLV9kdgcHu9cxB-dR3M9MwZf3Zs3Lpdbgenipmglu4MD1A-DG4/w446-h640/Averil%20Burleigh%20fairy%20keats.jpg" width="446" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Illustration from an edition of John Keats' poems (1911)</td></tr></tbody></table><p>So, Averil Mary Dell was born on 21st April 1882 to Henry (1852-1924) and Hannah (1856-1926), in Hassocks in West Sussex. Averil was the third of six children, born between 1877-90. Henry was an Upholsterer (like my Uncle Chub) and the family were obviously doing well enough to employ servants by the 1891 census, when they had moved to Ditchling. They would have been there for the arrival of <a href="https://fannycornforth.blogspot.com/2023/10/pitched-in-key-of-jewels.html" target="_blank">Amy Sawyer</a> (long before Eric Gill was embarrassing anyone's lifestock). Averil had her training in Brighton Art School, for which the family moved to Brighton, living in St Michael's Place in a tall, white Victorian house. She did very well; the <i>Brighton Gazette </i>reported the school results in 1902 and Averil got a first class for model drawing, drawing from life, drawing from the antique, modelling design and modelling the head from life I'm guessing it was at art school that she met fellow artist Charles Burleigh.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3m0NwXoW5mOLWWYnp5a9CqWQkO-AUBI6tuFLfSpcDb3oiyZvivO_xizrSSKWoXsoGiZrhlXF-YJvXKpMJsaWpU-iIMM-UcxGkx9x4aufpWfPGZbbFMlm2PJmlzV1ra8wr4b4C79qJvhiUp8Oro66SoxjoxCetW0nN9BXIhQPEu0A94orv8QABTCUpKPY/s761/Untitled.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="761" data-original-width="604" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3m0NwXoW5mOLWWYnp5a9CqWQkO-AUBI6tuFLfSpcDb3oiyZvivO_xizrSSKWoXsoGiZrhlXF-YJvXKpMJsaWpU-iIMM-UcxGkx9x4aufpWfPGZbbFMlm2PJmlzV1ra8wr4b4C79qJvhiUp8Oro66SoxjoxCetW0nN9BXIhQPEu0A94orv8QABTCUpKPY/w508-h640/Untitled.png" width="508" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Charles Burleigh</i> (1940s) Veronica Burleigh</td></tr></tbody></table><p>Charles was from Hove (which is very close to Brighton) and in 1901 he was a boarder in a house less than half a mile from the Dell family. He was a bit older, born in 1868, so I wondered if he was also a teacher at the art school. The couple married in 1904 and very quickly had their children Duncan (1905-1953) and Veronica (1909-1999). There was a very interesting line in one of her obituaries that I thought summed up how different a 'modern' attitude to motherhood was to a Victorian one - 'her career was interrupted by marriage and the rearing of a family. But it was not long before she was once again seriously devoting herself to art.' (<i>Eastbourne Chronicle</i>, 13 January 1950) The language used is astonishing - interrupted, rearing a family - and I can't think that anyone would speak like that now, let alone in 1904, but somehow in 1950, there is a level of bitterness about how women's lives are curtailed by domestic and social obligations. I'm not saying they are wrong to point out how much work she could have got done in the years between her marriage and her first RA acceptance, it's just we don't tend to say that out loud. Maybe I should move to 1950...</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCTM7nTYzU_3UczPYbABUSmYA-QDp5BTDcDBC5mPWyErwpuLMc2KA7PE-hi54pKGaM1LIgscQHgn2Wh5oPaLUTTZYC7vetFY43HIlqrmJAg4AAMS0TJV2Lf4C9JrKa36W8BentbQFIPEPzvPTJq0pduuqvj-wAOkMJvjUZS3Y5E5k2W1CsGi8EYwha0ro/s1024/Averil_Mary_Burleigh_-_John_Keats_Ode_To_A_Nightingale_(colour_litho.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1024" data-original-width="715" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCTM7nTYzU_3UczPYbABUSmYA-QDp5BTDcDBC5mPWyErwpuLMc2KA7PE-hi54pKGaM1LIgscQHgn2Wh5oPaLUTTZYC7vetFY43HIlqrmJAg4AAMS0TJV2Lf4C9JrKa36W8BentbQFIPEPzvPTJq0pduuqvj-wAOkMJvjUZS3Y5E5k2W1CsGi8EYwha0ro/w446-h640/Averil_Mary_Burleigh_-_John_Keats_Ode_To_A_Nightingale_(colour_litho.jpg" width="446" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Illustration for 'Ode to a Nightingale'</td></tr></tbody></table><p>So, once Veronica and Duncan were reared (like bantam hens, is what comes to mind), the family had moved to 7 Wilbury Crescent in Hove. Houses along that street are absolutely delightful and go for around £1M to give you some idea of how nice. 1911 saw the publication of an edition of John Keats' poems for which Averil did illustrations that are fantastic and full of fairies and magic. Charles had started exhibiting at the RA in 1905 but Averil would have to wait until 1912 for her first piece to appear, <i>The Man Born to be King</i>. You could argue he got to exhibit first because the domestic responsibility did not fall on him, but Averil still reached the RA at 30 to Charles's 37. There was nothing at the RA in 1913, but 1914 saw two more paintings exhibited there, <i>The Lovers</i> and <i>Motherhood. </i>It also saw the publication of an edition of <i>Macbeth</i> with Averil's illustrations...</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiG4xKby1P6JlT24Ju4U_O8dnFNH4OFqJXUYkjUussrAcVwyFcF0KgqAhmZAcjuICGwYCfa1EwKkRrG8Ev481tmZ8alCxFzyq3haGfP5rIshyphenhyphenLRdtaM5Yk3g0KojugrjUXUwQ7-_e2bGX-r_qRUE2l2e8JiY03yUxoVNadEsf3aRs3Mh0yGQmD_gI-0tps/s921/Macbeth%201914.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="731" data-original-width="921" height="508" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiG4xKby1P6JlT24Ju4U_O8dnFNH4OFqJXUYkjUussrAcVwyFcF0KgqAhmZAcjuICGwYCfa1EwKkRrG8Ev481tmZ8alCxFzyq3haGfP5rIshyphenhyphenLRdtaM5Yk3g0KojugrjUXUwQ7-_e2bGX-r_qRUE2l2e8JiY03yUxoVNadEsf3aRs3Mh0yGQmD_gI-0tps/w640-h508/Macbeth%201914.png" width="640" /></a></div><div><br /></div><i>Macbeth</i> was followed in 1915 with <i>Much Ado About Nothing</i> and <i>Adoration</i> at the Royal Academy. The book was greeted with enthusiasm, praising the work as being full of 'cleverness and imagination.' (<i>Stratford Upon Avon Herald</i>, 12 February 1915). The following year, Averil had two pictures at the RA again, <i>Sir Cauline and the Fair Christabelle</i> and <i>St Genevieve, </i>which the <i>Sussex Daily News </i>called 'very nearly, if not quite, a masterpiece.' 1916 also saw Averil show <i>Japanese Sunshades</i> at the Brighton Autumn Exhibition and exhibit with the Arts and Crafts Exhibition Society, <i>The Dancers</i>, which was for sale for £20. <i>The Dancers</i> also appeared at the 1919 Royal Academy.<div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkBFOaDcNtbejbei71qVKPdsGW5bIb0GH5dp48AiHR57DvDNJT4VwPosXDmzDJlPIv-AXlra6t5q-2i6c_xlOkonqMwJeRtigROIuhYS9mme7QtXxQ4nW5AAjNQoEfWCwh_slBxrDlGkmktzfcVvsTdN73gp9oB4PGL-2yrETQyEw_ZIqrJhiuUAbN6j8/s2164/cup%20and%20ball%20a%20study%20in%20rhythmic%20action.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2164" data-original-width="1399" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkBFOaDcNtbejbei71qVKPdsGW5bIb0GH5dp48AiHR57DvDNJT4VwPosXDmzDJlPIv-AXlra6t5q-2i6c_xlOkonqMwJeRtigROIuhYS9mme7QtXxQ4nW5AAjNQoEfWCwh_slBxrDlGkmktzfcVvsTdN73gp9oB4PGL-2yrETQyEw_ZIqrJhiuUAbN6j8/w414-h640/cup%20and%20ball%20a%20study%20in%20rhythmic%20action.png" width="414" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Cup and Ball: A Study in Rhythmic Movement</i> (1920)</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div><div>This is where researching someone who is that little bit later gets a little bit easier as we have newspaper illustrations! The <i>Sketch</i> was keen to show some pictures, whereas the Royal Academy's official illustrated catalogue only included her once. 1920's RA included Averil's water colour <i>Cup and Ball</i> and <i>Caerulea</i>, hanging in the same gallery as Girl Gang alumni, <a href="https://fannycornforth.blogspot.com/2012/02/look-see-cooksey.html" target="_blank">May Louise Greville Cooksey</a>, followed up in 1921 by <i>The Magic Belt</i>.</div><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZZ22CIMjgy4RCV7T3NLCBK8fuw7CGiFyns2okNrA9GZjdpKiE4Np7UlNVQ1-dUyqBgsLk-XWkf2hlP1g47OneMEhD_O4XrLMJfCqoo0YhO1F1CssmizpzZm7wFrxJQfX1sIoVMzHTp8y_Xx6eBszz1T3dpiaHsBIlgaBqFxpjitrqQ0_qiORGsgL915Y/s675/madonna%20of%20the%20peach%20trees.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="675" data-original-width="670" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZZ22CIMjgy4RCV7T3NLCBK8fuw7CGiFyns2okNrA9GZjdpKiE4Np7UlNVQ1-dUyqBgsLk-XWkf2hlP1g47OneMEhD_O4XrLMJfCqoo0YhO1F1CssmizpzZm7wFrxJQfX1sIoVMzHTp8y_Xx6eBszz1T3dpiaHsBIlgaBqFxpjitrqQ0_qiORGsgL915Y/w636-h640/madonna%20of%20the%20peach%20trees.png" width="636" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>The Madonna of the Peach Tree</i> (1923)</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">1922 saw <i>Dian's Pool</i> at the Royal Academy, described as a 'fantastical conceit' by the <i>West Sussex Gazette</i>. The following year, one of her two works <i>Golden Hours </i>and <i>The Madonna of the Peach Tree</i> actually made it into the RA official illustrated guide. Sadly, that would be the only time. She missed 1924 at the RA, but followed up in 1925 with <i>The Keeper of Keys</i>. She also appeared at an exhibition of pictures and drawings at the Galleries of the Fine Art Society, New Bond Street - 'Mrs Burleigh is an artist of uncommon and individual gifts. She has imagination, and the power to express that imagination with a fine sense of style...Her work belongs to a Pre-Raphaelite tradition, with something that is Mrs Burleigh's own.'</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzVJ_0XT6D9hphob3GPlMRYVnbwGXA57Ag4jVbz5vhI4qxoqP6Cvpr42MS7883DKnknsUvau2Yp1Sz6ECPfZD4gPpjlpv5L8QT9mmT3raU0ppQc5IeonxF5Xifz9Hertu7jVEZ1hWNmxEjmodWA-wwH2adOJI7SSkQuRYXCr2aDSHSMVaAuUrrV5IZuxw/s1200/sand%20dunes%20tempera.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1177" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzVJ_0XT6D9hphob3GPlMRYVnbwGXA57Ag4jVbz5vhI4qxoqP6Cvpr42MS7883DKnknsUvau2Yp1Sz6ECPfZD4gPpjlpv5L8QT9mmT3raU0ppQc5IeonxF5Xifz9Hertu7jVEZ1hWNmxEjmodWA-wwH2adOJI7SSkQuRYXCr2aDSHSMVaAuUrrV5IZuxw/w628-h640/sand%20dunes%20tempera.jpg" width="628" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Sand Dunes</i> (1926)</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Yes, they (the <i>Brighton Herald</i>) called her Pre-Raphaelite and it will happen again. 1926 saw <i>Sand Dunes</i> and <i>The Hospital, Vire</i>, followed in 1927 by <i>Youth's Distraction</i> and <i>Diana the Huntress</i>. Not much was said in the news and I really want to get to 1928 because that's when the <i>Eastbourne Chronicle</i> reviewed the Society of Sussex Painters with this - 'A PRE-RAPHAELITE To my mind, one of the most interesting exhibitors is Mrs Averil Burleigh, who can only be described as a survival of the Pre-Raphaelite School.' They went on to describe <i>Golden Isle</i> and <i>Distractions of Youth</i> as 'though highly artificial, are very delightful. The colourings, gold and greens, reds and blues, are clear and fine.' Let's circle back to this at the end...</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2ELxt4k0HC7luVaqiloRfdkg6NPhhrbVNV2uyUOkn0XHj5MlOb0U85Focuj0xJ6qg6H7IcePJcfo4eXh1J0BeUf9PyG_XNMMt0hgGOM5UERMkyYJG1DXU21WS8eMhBsp7df6SrYACJYFrbVNRcoliq10TAaZIb0VW8cAstlPxLgPRTHMc7oulJPn6COw/s1837/herald%20of%20spring.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1228" data-original-width="1837" height="428" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2ELxt4k0HC7luVaqiloRfdkg6NPhhrbVNV2uyUOkn0XHj5MlOb0U85Focuj0xJ6qg6H7IcePJcfo4eXh1J0BeUf9PyG_XNMMt0hgGOM5UERMkyYJG1DXU21WS8eMhBsp7df6SrYACJYFrbVNRcoliq10TAaZIb0VW8cAstlPxLgPRTHMc7oulJPn6COw/w640-h428/herald%20of%20spring.png" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">1928 also saw three pictures at the RA and we have images for all of them! We have <i>The Herald of Spring</i>, followed by <i>The Popinjay</i>...</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEtIudZHXSHhf_HFmXVIhXY0kJ2J4zc6aY4d0RqF6sKbLr9S-hA5YVF6V03W1mOm2-hjCyUl3U1b0X63MXDTTHKHLf48O19QhmEjWto2RcCLBCZfkMArt5ft4fLTWW2Sv8DpOvRCgE5M2tat52nF1mGOHmGqxBQMES7ZcVYenZ7ArEw4AwoZ_R8TXzz1k/s1532/the%20popinjay.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1532" data-original-width="1433" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEtIudZHXSHhf_HFmXVIhXY0kJ2J4zc6aY4d0RqF6sKbLr9S-hA5YVF6V03W1mOm2-hjCyUl3U1b0X63MXDTTHKHLf48O19QhmEjWto2RcCLBCZfkMArt5ft4fLTWW2Sv8DpOvRCgE5M2tat52nF1mGOHmGqxBQMES7ZcVYenZ7ArEw4AwoZ_R8TXzz1k/w598-h640/the%20popinjay.png" width="598" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Both were illustrated in the newspapers as contenders for their 'picture of the year'. Finally, we have one of Averil's best known works<i>, The Troubadour</i>, this time in colour...</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKeBJgr4rkbKSFoNq7fLbb4YvPwxG7IqrlM9Pu8b7LZzjP0BkKQmtjsSF3ysPM5GXru_wiBBcxCU17YSZSDyXhbSMCYneV-OllvqjU_9gQJ5LOOZFgpAkJo88qqrJEdRJGqlAS8jTtu2CInI5iEl3XDaDdjGY4vG3p-e59SOPWLH6dWXpx1s093W47vT4/s1282/The-Troubadour%201928.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1184" data-original-width="1282" height="592" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKeBJgr4rkbKSFoNq7fLbb4YvPwxG7IqrlM9Pu8b7LZzjP0BkKQmtjsSF3ysPM5GXru_wiBBcxCU17YSZSDyXhbSMCYneV-OllvqjU_9gQJ5LOOZFgpAkJo88qqrJEdRJGqlAS8jTtu2CInI5iEl3XDaDdjGY4vG3p-e59SOPWLH6dWXpx1s093W47vT4/w640-h592/The-Troubadour%201928.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Hang on! That's the same picture! Well, it works with either title but I think the picture is <i>The Troubadour</i>, so heaven knows what <i>The Popinjay </i>looks like...</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNMGdM3ScrYxAZ8IpLKRENEP1m_1UTxxAbaQIECzEYLeb-k3o15ignfxILQa_N5rO_zqpp1KG4VYHs36y19Vtc4Hss_gAsj_Cqc8H9uUu0QU4uhht3s9EanhV4IKozY2fJzyIjl1Tq7wRug-k5hRuuatyj8HHtOdyen6xa_Q6vl79ktxNnE4HNefjVlmI/s2836/najinski.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2540" data-original-width="2836" height="574" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNMGdM3ScrYxAZ8IpLKRENEP1m_1UTxxAbaQIECzEYLeb-k3o15ignfxILQa_N5rO_zqpp1KG4VYHs36y19Vtc4Hss_gAsj_Cqc8H9uUu0QU4uhht3s9EanhV4IKozY2fJzyIjl1Tq7wRug-k5hRuuatyj8HHtOdyen6xa_Q6vl79ktxNnE4HNefjVlmI/w640-h574/najinski.jpeg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Nijinski in l'Apres-Midi d'un Faune</i> (1928)</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">1928 also saw the presentation to Belfast Municipal Art Gallery of <i>Sand Dunes </i>(above) and the exhibition of a portrait of the dancer Nijinsky, so the newspapers were full of Averil and her Pre-Raphaelite-ish art. The <i>Eastbourne Gazette </i>sang her praises - 'Mrs Averil Burleigh, the brilliant artist who lives at Brighton, shows some of her decorative paintings which are touched with the medieval...Averil Burleigh, who is the mother of a tall son and an artistic daughter - the latter often acts as model to her mother - is the wife of C H H Burleigh, RBI, an artist of real renown, and their happy life is an example of how two people possessing the artistic temperament may avoid "getting on each other's nerves."' Interesting how quickly Averil got reduced back down to a mother and wife in a year where she had received so much praise and had so much success.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2zBt5xtCPT4WXI6wfpTBDhnO15yiYmv1_qEmcIG5qPwPOuHKq85Zj7yrprfzgInLLHlx8GgT8xWBq0rU-tcNWsDzfT1vQ_bmB0qzvdQooUegq9ZGsYlGFmbUpxDJ9zMzY8wTvvovI4LqkEZKmwbS3JIoeszxMz1wlgUFmVcgVR3iTyGgJKGCs9AT7RIU/s2832/jugglers%20a%20study%20in%20modernity.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2609" data-original-width="2832" height="590" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2zBt5xtCPT4WXI6wfpTBDhnO15yiYmv1_qEmcIG5qPwPOuHKq85Zj7yrprfzgInLLHlx8GgT8xWBq0rU-tcNWsDzfT1vQ_bmB0qzvdQooUegq9ZGsYlGFmbUpxDJ9zMzY8wTvvovI4LqkEZKmwbS3JIoeszxMz1wlgUFmVcgVR3iTyGgJKGCs9AT7RIU/w640-h590/jugglers%20a%20study%20in%20modernity.png" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>The Jugglers</i>: <i>A Study in Modernity</i></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">In 1929, Averil exhibited <i>The Jugglers</i> at the Society of Women Artist and it was illustrated in the <i>Sketch</i> in 1932. She also had <i>Victory</i> at the Royal Academy, where her daughter Veronica was exhibiting her first Academy work. I absolutely love this image by Veronica of her and her parents from 1937...</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRscKNxmTAXmIN36Wy0XZBoAUI0psYNsW4KdZez-vZEJ_m0H9i1n4br56aNJQEHvYB_66DOfZlDpHR3cfprkAmyWrIJmpr84mpTUqULAIXLsEzvzNjataX8m31eAIuuVzqo2mzc5nym7swkXTag3JIbn-6wdlKSmdd_a6JRtcQDSB6IZtyqNRZM7WcaRc/s800/ES_BRHM_BNS_086_016-001.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="596" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRscKNxmTAXmIN36Wy0XZBoAUI0psYNsW4KdZez-vZEJ_m0H9i1n4br56aNJQEHvYB_66DOfZlDpHR3cfprkAmyWrIJmpr84mpTUqULAIXLsEzvzNjataX8m31eAIuuVzqo2mzc5nym7swkXTag3JIbn-6wdlKSmdd_a6JRtcQDSB6IZtyqNRZM7WcaRc/w476-h640/ES_BRHM_BNS_086_016-001.jpg" width="476" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Self Portrait with Artist's Parents</i> (c.1937)</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">There is a lovely <a href="https://artuk.org/discover/stories/the-burleigh-family-of-artists" target="_blank">ArtUK</a> piece on Veronica that mentions Averil and Charles, but here is a unique problem of living in a household of artists - they kept painting themselves and each other...</div><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrbOpWBbCM4QDf6CT9Qo45jhhZvahoCOrThv4x9JlPHn8_om48fKkJzTDR0Jcotr0N_IM0agmSYvqhN0Y-DcnCrgIF6hLbjvC_mtyfW3HpYXdfQwwjaE0J8Pvah2eqoLPiuAskTZKbm033MZ-pwoSycJ7eFJBH8zCJyOaDVtFO77cQJ5d6uKNyHTV_-HM/s944/averil%20painting%20at%207%20Wilbury%20Crescent%20by%20charles.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="776" data-original-width="944" height="526" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrbOpWBbCM4QDf6CT9Qo45jhhZvahoCOrThv4x9JlPHn8_om48fKkJzTDR0Jcotr0N_IM0agmSYvqhN0Y-DcnCrgIF6hLbjvC_mtyfW3HpYXdfQwwjaE0J8Pvah2eqoLPiuAskTZKbm033MZ-pwoSycJ7eFJBH8zCJyOaDVtFO77cQJ5d6uKNyHTV_-HM/w640-h526/averil%20painting%20at%207%20Wilbury%20Crescent%20by%20charles.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Averil Burleigh painting at 7 Wilbury Crescent</i> (c.1940) Charles Burleigh</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div>Charles painted Averil, then Averil and the kids...</div><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2ziVsTPfTlbIWb5rgBPzXNoG1b8YDeil9QD5ihn8weZchdnOkQ-xsQ7HazyygEwj096Ce1aEwd0qyJ4b5JNsckPLlwGUNW4J_6hZ3cjPRw-DWtjdDqswCJpJ_omLdvsbm52PKNIk4OEsZIrXRtb21Zc5XA9nvaYSIgkJupYkHyLyc9ih3NMvUomPeai4/s944/the%20burleigh%20family%20taking%20tea%20at%20Wilbury%20Crescent.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="754" data-original-width="944" height="512" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2ziVsTPfTlbIWb5rgBPzXNoG1b8YDeil9QD5ihn8weZchdnOkQ-xsQ7HazyygEwj096Ce1aEwd0qyJ4b5JNsckPLlwGUNW4J_6hZ3cjPRw-DWtjdDqswCJpJ_omLdvsbm52PKNIk4OEsZIrXRtb21Zc5XA9nvaYSIgkJupYkHyLyc9ih3NMvUomPeai4/w640-h512/the%20burleigh%20family%20taking%20tea%20at%20Wilbury%20Crescent.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>The Burleigh Family Taking Tea at 7 Wilbury Crescent</i> (1947) Charles Burleigh</td></tr></tbody></table><br />Averil used Veronica as a model and Veronica painted Averil. The two paintings I find most interesting are two portraits of Averil, one by Charles and one by Averil. I was reminded of the Elizabeth Siddal self-portrait as opposed to Rossetti's image of her...</div><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbFvPA72A3p7tSsWLIl1bw9iVT0MwyF_TOMnobzaIhw5neTx8n7X7KnzvGJiA5EwhuVQls4s9F6BZIhT4sPwTYEdlmtaPrqVPkAXSQrZjnyfoQongOXQ0VMr1-eXc5EcmoKK6ZjERDlXzkHEeU9ai-e5W88ylTn4jrkcP3ifHwSTm4vGpQngzf5nNhuLs/s1794/self%20portrait%201928.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1794" data-original-width="1262" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbFvPA72A3p7tSsWLIl1bw9iVT0MwyF_TOMnobzaIhw5neTx8n7X7KnzvGJiA5EwhuVQls4s9F6BZIhT4sPwTYEdlmtaPrqVPkAXSQrZjnyfoQongOXQ0VMr1-eXc5EcmoKK6ZjERDlXzkHEeU9ai-e5W88ylTn4jrkcP3ifHwSTm4vGpQngzf5nNhuLs/w450-h640/self%20portrait%201928.jpg" width="450" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Self Portrait</i> (1928)</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div>Averil painted herself in her tempera glory, medieval and plain, with the rolling splendour of the hills behind her, lost in a medieval revelry. This is in very sharp contrast to Charles's portrait...</div><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikz7__D6aVwyvjPlM3Q0fWaDcNhRxzYF1rjwAMAFU5rPlwIOeevvFzAq14OJawjPWBCtYyAWv1Npr2D0kM0PwO3LWNFWDh7t0csqf47QfTFoh2FL_YoURqfaPKDFU0kRqaWMWpP_UfEfTrZeQq6y7QNkQp5aftX-TjrW-R7RnYmjsgNe7hxHSIRM_v7zs/s243/Portrait_of_Averil_Burleigh%20(1).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="243" data-original-width="179" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikz7__D6aVwyvjPlM3Q0fWaDcNhRxzYF1rjwAMAFU5rPlwIOeevvFzAq14OJawjPWBCtYyAWv1Npr2D0kM0PwO3LWNFWDh7t0csqf47QfTFoh2FL_YoURqfaPKDFU0kRqaWMWpP_UfEfTrZeQq6y7QNkQp5aftX-TjrW-R7RnYmjsgNe7hxHSIRM_v7zs/w236-h320/Portrait_of_Averil_Burleigh%20(1).jpg" width="236" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Averil Burleigh </i>(1930s) Charles Burleigh</td></tr></tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">I really like this portrait but she does look like a really classy knitwear model. In Charles's portrait, she is glam and modern, not medieval and androgynous. It is interesting how Averil's use of tempera seems to completely shape how she sees herself, and you can see the influence of others of the tempera school, like Joseph Southall and Maxwell Armfield. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaeXQQcXeXOGPaGPAGH21EzhWHywMHEu4hLH-ARJ1g4dcbgPZsKHyBoIsppx5TCJm0Nu8795GQBsIC_5aUjpa-AQMTIZFqpyUDqAF5qpwpoqg0m8yBLBd-6Evb4kLAk-iM1Bz50j5trwKptuduffU4yQyPWUk3wHe2hRPV0s_EiRKyxjCwuOtx-LKC9_o/s1200/washer%20women.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="860" data-original-width="1200" height="458" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaeXQQcXeXOGPaGPAGH21EzhWHywMHEu4hLH-ARJ1g4dcbgPZsKHyBoIsppx5TCJm0Nu8795GQBsIC_5aUjpa-AQMTIZFqpyUDqAF5qpwpoqg0m8yBLBd-6Evb4kLAk-iM1Bz50j5trwKptuduffU4yQyPWUk3wHe2hRPV0s_EiRKyxjCwuOtx-LKC9_o/w640-h458/washer%20women.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Washer Women</i> (1930)</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">The works at the Royal Academy continued for all of them in the 1930s. Averil produced multiple paintings for the May exhibition ever year, which is impressive, and included <i>Les Blanchisseuse </i>and <i>The Spring Poets,</i> both in tempera, in 1930, <i>Gossip, St Genevieve</i> and <i>Treasurers from the East</i> all tempera, in 1931. 1932 brought <i>Washing Day, The Garland</i> and<i> Susanna</i>, again all tempera.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoSyuK0lmRMyHtzClPffb0h3kE5vtghsoYBEiK-EWOhzRCPNcRg7ihyphenhyphen9kUnhwL3nRFKRwd7TA7xOAlMzF_mOvjtL06bQ_6Cv-3X8FIDBuXS8TVi8ChqM4Zs9f9_jQtByFA7LrFaCETnqK8BG_1jNiUK5wcmFrYXQEXzkbCyG9hrMo0eoaCQmecWJ-lXTk/s1500/the%20still%20room%201928.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1469" data-original-width="1500" height="626" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoSyuK0lmRMyHtzClPffb0h3kE5vtghsoYBEiK-EWOhzRCPNcRg7ihyphenhyphen9kUnhwL3nRFKRwd7TA7xOAlMzF_mOvjtL06bQ_6Cv-3X8FIDBuXS8TVi8ChqM4Zs9f9_jQtByFA7LrFaCETnqK8BG_1jNiUK5wcmFrYXQEXzkbCyG9hrMo0eoaCQmecWJ-lXTk/w640-h626/the%20still%20room%201928.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>The Still Room</i> (1928-33)</td></tr></tbody></table><br />Her 1933 RA piece <i>The Still Room</i> might have been exhibited elsewhere as early as 1928, as well as <i>A Rest</i> and <i>Three Generations</i>. The decade continued with tempera pieces and oil, mixed in with water colour, all of them graceful and delicate with such vivid colours.<div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKH7o7accA9NT9H-sQg8HjhIMguLbmnWE-TiqKTq4Z_O-eb2STVZf0NEYkE1EVFttUHsqzsZHPrQ1wlJePNjtR6mk60c1AtTRCNGsfKjikjAeOz55_Z-BS-IZD2Mo-Q1pnT830ka6o53cplTMyYfHkH8aHjv0SFKjwxtdlupjcH-amaqb_wYhA-64OYS0/s1024/Averil_Mary_Burleigh_-_Hockey_on_the_ice_(pencil_with_watercolor_ink_on_paper).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="761" data-original-width="1024" height="476" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKH7o7accA9NT9H-sQg8HjhIMguLbmnWE-TiqKTq4Z_O-eb2STVZf0NEYkE1EVFttUHsqzsZHPrQ1wlJePNjtR6mk60c1AtTRCNGsfKjikjAeOz55_Z-BS-IZD2Mo-Q1pnT830ka6o53cplTMyYfHkH8aHjv0SFKjwxtdlupjcH-amaqb_wYhA-64OYS0/w640-h476/Averil_Mary_Burleigh_-_Hockey_on_the_ice_(pencil_with_watercolor_ink_on_paper).jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Hockey on the Ice</i> (undated)</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div>In 1936, she became a member of the Royal Institute but resigned in 1939 when she was one of just two women elected as an Associate of the Royal Water Colour Society. She was also a founder of the Sussex Women's Art Club and seems to have been held in very high regard by the local newspapers.</div><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEho-yohx2bZudglTLAXIUuO0-xWDol3c15a2ckeNGGr_Y2HfHREgmfm2jJaOIE-i4qwh9fs3hlPY19chRgQMjDulGgJPIJrzJ47PBPVxpyavxN7kfvw3yJmF1OL5C4_5Ay09ufYgCuBqEoLZa10XwNpK2A4md_6toaFVCvI6zwu0tvR_jOR31nYb0m5XCA/s512/girl%20with%20parasol%20in%20conversation%20with%20flower%20people.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="470" data-original-width="512" height="588" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEho-yohx2bZudglTLAXIUuO0-xWDol3c15a2ckeNGGr_Y2HfHREgmfm2jJaOIE-i4qwh9fs3hlPY19chRgQMjDulGgJPIJrzJ47PBPVxpyavxN7kfvw3yJmF1OL5C4_5Ay09ufYgCuBqEoLZa10XwNpK2A4md_6toaFVCvI6zwu0tvR_jOR31nYb0m5XCA/w640-h588/girl%20with%20parasol%20in%20conversation%20with%20flower%20people.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>A Girl with a Parasol in Conversation with Flowers</i> (1920s)</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div>In 1939, the family were still at 7 Wilbury Crescent with Charles listed as an artist teacher, Averil as an artist, Veronica the same, but Duncan as 'incapacitated'. I expected them to stay there forever, but in 1943, the Burleigh's Royal Academy address changed to Dinas, Bettws-Y-Coed in North Wales. Veronica served in the WAAF and I wonder if her parents and Duncan moved to North Wales for safety. I thought 7 Wilbury Crescent had been bombed as there appears to be a block of modern flats in its place, but <a href="https://hovehistory.blogspot.com/2020/09/hove-heroes-in-second-world-war.html" target="_blank">this site</a> states that Veronica lived there until the 1970s, so if it had been demolished, it was a 1960s and onwards clearance.</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitz_rNJYCInAE0IjCrHRMR8HiNlUWJWhc6LfU0EwxTrAfgNv_9Yv4huRK6hMTt4I4qkQXTlwBq8jEniCsPNbrfZ6Y240Mu5oVINpTVsbsa1ngLYiIWNdT5P1MJdsWScbbNv9klmzhBoNbxc6PzR_YV1ykUeYkusBl-ILEM8cEUiE4_NYqc7qYKL2ZKYEA/s1592/refugees.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1530" data-original-width="1592" height="616" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitz_rNJYCInAE0IjCrHRMR8HiNlUWJWhc6LfU0EwxTrAfgNv_9Yv4huRK6hMTt4I4qkQXTlwBq8jEniCsPNbrfZ6Y240Mu5oVINpTVsbsa1ngLYiIWNdT5P1MJdsWScbbNv9klmzhBoNbxc6PzR_YV1ykUeYkusBl-ILEM8cEUiE4_NYqc7qYKL2ZKYEA/w640-h616/refugees.png" width="640" /></a></div><div><br /></div>Averil continued to paint and exhibit almost to her death in 1949 - her last RA piece was <i>Oranges and Lemons</i> in 1945. She died on 18th March, leaving Charles over £6K. Sadly, he also died in 1956, with Duncan going between them in 1953, leaving Veronica alone in Wilbury Crescent with all her mother's medieval tempera art.<div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3RLQaeX8M1y6mVEQLCtSVG5k5WckgmAxQj0zhYWOy61KbZDPgdsK5WFnAjard18watpdmSCnq2QFFCKW5oNm69bgu5hEL0_o_90GxIu0iAm3InIzzHAOHbN34ZEgx6OxcVFae9mNl_3ha-BenLhAmPxFV326dAQXKpfQDeb53q6IORC7OFSMSUHrrOzM/s750/the%20little%20princewatercolour.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="737" data-original-width="750" height="628" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3RLQaeX8M1y6mVEQLCtSVG5k5WckgmAxQj0zhYWOy61KbZDPgdsK5WFnAjard18watpdmSCnq2QFFCKW5oNm69bgu5hEL0_o_90GxIu0iAm3InIzzHAOHbN34ZEgx6OxcVFae9mNl_3ha-BenLhAmPxFV326dAQXKpfQDeb53q6IORC7OFSMSUHrrOzM/w640-h628/the%20little%20princewatercolour.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>The Little Prince</i> (undated)</td></tr></tbody></table><div><div><br /></div><div>When Averil died, the local papers wrote fulsome commentary on her importance and local retrospectives were arranged. My favourite is the one from 1950 in the <i>Eastbourne Chronicle</i> which gave me many of the facts for this post about her schooling and which societies she belonged to. According to the article, she also appeared in the Paris Salon and New English Art Club, which I can find nowhere else. The exhibition it was reviewing included 57 paintings, the largest of them being <i>Refugees</i>, best suited to a hotel reception, according to the newspaper.</div><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6YZBe_I8-83GNY3Gd5fRZPhmC5qZRXRXGVx6etKqfhNnhis48kcnExNYJOuhFyWPNDA1ktx2c9kUvXEX2FFLayfcN7liP7xCMbwSquyBEmgF6GnWJcA5HlPCnAAes9tZHXkllClUA_XpnnUMp1lAW9CEaVozjfy-qJJ3YI_pP_sYL_nRpoDFpni4wQIM/s1024/Averil_Mary_Burleigh_-_John_Keats_Endymion_(colour_litho)_.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1024" data-original-width="714" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6YZBe_I8-83GNY3Gd5fRZPhmC5qZRXRXGVx6etKqfhNnhis48kcnExNYJOuhFyWPNDA1ktx2c9kUvXEX2FFLayfcN7liP7xCMbwSquyBEmgF6GnWJcA5HlPCnAAes9tZHXkllClUA_XpnnUMp1lAW9CEaVozjfy-qJJ3YI_pP_sYL_nRpoDFpni4wQIM/w446-h640/Averil_Mary_Burleigh_-_John_Keats_Endymion_(colour_litho)_.jpg" width="446" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Endymion</i> (1911)</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div>So, why does the term 'Pre-Raphaelite' matter? To the critics in the 1930s, it obviously signified things, such as Keats, Medievalism, details. I can almost hear some of you from here shouting 'No!' because I think we are so used to the term being applied to anything vaguely floral or red-haired, and I have noticed in recent years the tightening up of 'Pre-Raphaelite'' and Pre-Raphaelite follower', but I agree with the critics in the 1930s, there is something in her drafting of figures, especially the dancers, that reminds me of Millais. For some of you, the fact that I call her a 'Victorian artist' will not make sense as Edward VII was almost dead by the time she hit the RA but what makes someone Victorian? What makes someone modern? This is a conversation I look forward to having again...</div></div>Kirsty Stonell Walkerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08342964877965021654noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1441164155286448763.post-59025426108704385442023-12-20T20:33:00.000+00:002023-12-20T20:33:09.622+00:00Wednesday 20th December - Constance E. Plimpton Smith (1858-1938)<p> Today has been very frustrating and I almost gave up several times, but I have persevered for all the good it will do us. I have one very sad illustration and a lot of loose ends, but I think that might be the story with a lot of the women who appeared on the walls of the Royal Academy never to be seen again. Our victim today exhibited there from 1884 to around 1900. Not only that, after she married, she and her artist husband submitted joint paintings to the Royal Academy, which must have been a novelty. Say hello to Constance E. Plimpton...</p><p>I warn you now, there will be a lot of 'I think' and 'as far as I can see' in this post as Constance has been, by far, my most slippery character so far, which is ridiculous; for some facts I'm rock solid. I know for a fact that she was born in the summer of 1858, the year after her brother Richard was born. I think (here we go) that the 'E' in her name is Eliza, after her mother, her father being William (1817-1891) a corn and seed merchant (like his father before him). Her brother Richard became Assistant Professor of Chemistry at University College London. The family lived on Lansdowne Road in Lambeth for many years, and Constance was first seen here in the 1861 census. In 1863, Eliza died, leaving her husband with Richard and Constance, although by 1871 William's sister Martha has joined the household and would remain there until her death in 1882. </p><p>Constance doesn't list any occupation in the census in 1881, but by 1884 she is exhibiting, firstly with the Royal Institute of Painters in Watercolour, where she showed two works - <i>"There is but one / with whom she has heart to be gay / She is weary of dance and play" </i>and <i>Lillie. </i>The first is based on Tennyson's poem <i>Maud</i>, and I'm guessing the second is a portrait. As we will see, Constance was quite the fan of Tennyson, and so if we knew what her art looked like, we could judge whether or not she could join the Neo-Pre-Raphaelites.</p><p>1885 brought the Royal Academy and a portrait of <i>Ada, daughter of T Sweet Esq</i>. She missed 1886 at the RA but returned in 1887 with <i>Study of a Head </i>and <i>"Into that wondrous track of dreams again," </i>another piece based on Tennyson, this time <i>A Dream of Fair Women</i>. Sadly, 1888 saw the very un-Tennysonian <i>Two Pets</i>, but she was back with Alfred in 1889 with <i>"A rosebud set round with little wilful thorns" </i>from <i>The Princess.</i></p><p>In 1890, <i>Building News</i> reviewed the Royal Society of British Artists at Suffolk Street, saying '"Poppy" by Constance E. Plimpton is a clever sketch of a girl's head, full of expression and character.' Constance also showed three paintings at the Royal Academy, <i>Hugh Stannus Esq</i>, <i>On the Terrace </i>and <i>A Blue Study. </i>In addition to the portrait of Stannus, who might be <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hugh_Hutton_Stannus" target="_blank">Hugh Hutton Stannus</a>, the architect, she also submitted two portraits to the RA of 1891 - <i>Mildred, daughter of Ingress Bell</i> (possibly <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ingress_Bell" target="_blank">Edward Ingress Bell</a>, another architect) and <i>Molly</i>. It also saw the death of her father, leaving her alone at 23 Lansdowne Road in Lambeth, but not for long. A few months later, she married a fellow artist, John Henry Smith.</p><p>1892 was a bit of an interesting year for Constance. She had three pictures at the Royal Academy, <i>Playtime, </i>two children playing with a kitten and ball, which appeared as a line drawing in <i>The Queen</i> in a review of RA pictures by ladies...</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3uR5_2T0tEWb7Wm2-txCboD_lrHeJui-HTJzxBkLbVDIDHutkV4ffOiyyPgFH21pXtDaE-tk78SyweI_UCBzsgKh3VmMfn7mbqzZmaown6LzFKIrsF0cVWzB5elPWZwEMWh4sw4_MeRx5NDBwSW92I6IggscUInHyVH6O5SkhKjjDMYQCN6RAz0Wm2YY/s526/playtime%20from%20the%20Queen.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="313" data-original-width="526" height="380" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3uR5_2T0tEWb7Wm2-txCboD_lrHeJui-HTJzxBkLbVDIDHutkV4ffOiyyPgFH21pXtDaE-tk78SyweI_UCBzsgKh3VmMfn7mbqzZmaown6LzFKIrsF0cVWzB5elPWZwEMWh4sw4_MeRx5NDBwSW92I6IggscUInHyVH6O5SkhKjjDMYQCN6RAz0Wm2YY/w640-h380/playtime%20from%20the%20Queen.png" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p>Why have colour when you could have rope-y black and white? Anyway, Constance also had <i>"Sweet lips, whereon perpetually did reign the Summer calm of golden charity" </i> from 'Isabel' by Tennyson, and <i>The Audience</i> painted with John Henry Smith. Well, where did he come from and could you submit paintings as a duo? Benezit is about as much help as you are going to get on John Henry Smith in that he was a painter in the nineteenth century (thanks Benezit, you spoil me) but other sources have him starting his career in the 1850s, so we can guess that he was at least 20 years Constance's senior. Also, searching through census records for the right John Smith is possibly the most hopeless thing you can do. He moved into Lansdowne Road where the couple remained for the rest of the decade. Constance also got another mention in <i>The Queen; </i>they covered the Royal Society of British Artists Winter exhibition, writing 'Miss Constance E Plimpton exhibits an effective painting, both in colour and character in "A Japanese Study."'</p><p>In the 1893 Royal Academy exhibition, Constance and John exhibited another joint piece <i>Idle Summer Time</i> and she exhibited alone <i>Sweet Violets</i>, <i>Mor</i><i>ning Frolics, </i>and <i>"He is but a landscape painter and a village maiden she," </i>which isn't some sort of autobiographical cry for help but yet another Tennyson piece. The couple also had a daughter, announced in the newspapers - 'July 20, a daughter to Mrs Constance E Plimpton Smith - Eagle's Nest, Clapham Common.' - I think 'Eagle's Nest' is <a href="https://claphamsociety.com/green-plaques/eagle-house/" target="_blank">Eagle's House</a> which looks very fancy indeed.</p><p>In 1895, Constance's work appeared at an exhibition in Canning Town which had been <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Percy_Alden" target="_blank">Percy Alden</a>'s dream to bring fine art to the workers. The catalogue had the Ruskin quote 'Life without industry is guilt, and industry without art is brutality' written on the cover. Constance misses a few Royal Academies until 1897, by which point the family had moved out of London to Greyshott near Haslemere in Surrey. This is reflected in her RA piece <i>Surrey Broom-Maker. </i>She also entered <i>Drawing Room Pets</i>. She also appeared in the Society of Haslemere Artists exhibition - 'women's work holds a creditable place in the exhibition. "An Old Inhabitant" by Mrs Constance E Smith is an interesting and powerful study of a woman's head, the lines in the face telling their tale of a life of toil and care. "Friendly Footsteps" by the same artist is in quite another vein.' (as reported in the <i>Surrey Advertiser</i>)</p><p>The family moved to the charmingly named Kit-Cat Cottage in Greyshott in 1899. Constance only appeared at a few more RAs - in 1898 she showed <i>Quiet Moments</i> and a portrait of Catherine, the daughter of fellow artist Anderson Wells. In 1899, she submitted one more portrait, <i>Mrs C E Corry Lowry, </i>then finally, in 1900, she showed <i>A Silver King</i>.</p><p>That is pretty much all the information I have. She died on 25 May 1938 - John had died somewhen between 1900 and 1938 but a vast amount of people named John Smith had died in Surrey in that time and today I sadly don't have the wherewithal to go through them all (although I do love that sort of thing). I also cannot quite fathom the name of her daughter or what became of her. It seems a terrible shame for a woman who did so well and had quite an impressive exhibition record, but the only image by her is that sketchy impression in the <i>Queen</i>. Hers is possibly the sorriest record we will see this month and it is worrying that we are just losing people, but in age of digital technology there is hope. This is a plea to all collections, both public and private - put your collections on-line, even if you feel more comfortable with a watermark on your pictures. We will know where the pictures are, whether Constance Eliza Plimpton-Smith was a Neo-Pre-Raphaelite or just a Tennyson junkie and where her works are in readiness for her retrospective. </p>Kirsty Stonell Walkerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08342964877965021654noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1441164155286448763.post-77368692245832110272023-12-19T20:06:00.000+00:002023-12-19T20:06:04.055+00:00Tuesday 19th December - Isabel Frances Douton (1858-1924)<p>Today, I am off to Cadbury World, so I am beginning this at 4.30am and who knows what time I will finish it but I can guarantee you that I will be full of chocolate and probably feeling a bit sick. I can't wait. For today's subject, I am profoundly grateful to SRadcliffe53 on Ancestry for making their records on Isabel Frances Douton publicly accessible, especially the will, which is a corker. So, let's meet Isabel...</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgq6nrUruKFmgSvnXWRP-R3zLR7KR9pLPCFoO7YcysxTpMB0ASwPPBdCtxQxXzz9ldwZOTIb6ET-0dwhltdAEO81IITLRM4EnxivX_ppllGdcKJsAPyoOPax2HNdPwdc3Hk7xJet16GoovIOCQaKXka_LsWzcyIqX1fHrn3vbid2bueq4MOVs1HogMl-hI/s700/portrait%20of%20a%20girl.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="700" data-original-width="563" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgq6nrUruKFmgSvnXWRP-R3zLR7KR9pLPCFoO7YcysxTpMB0ASwPPBdCtxQxXzz9ldwZOTIb6ET-0dwhltdAEO81IITLRM4EnxivX_ppllGdcKJsAPyoOPax2HNdPwdc3Hk7xJet16GoovIOCQaKXka_LsWzcyIqX1fHrn3vbid2bueq4MOVs1HogMl-hI/w514-h640/portrait%20of%20a%20girl.jpg" width="514" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Portrait of a Girl</i> (undated)</td></tr></tbody></table><p>There is not very much written about Isabel, and I suspect that is the curse of the miniature striking again. In this day and age, a book on miniature painters would be splendid as you could blow the images up next to a life-size picture. I'd buy that, it sounds gorgeous. I don't think exhibitions are completely out of the question - you wouldn't need a big room, after all. You'd maybe need a lot of magnifying glasses...</p><p>Isabel Frances Douton was born in Biggleswade (excellent name for a place) in the summer of 1858 to Charles (1821-1900) and Anne (1825-1896). Charles was the vicar of Biggleswade, which has to be the title of a book and if not, should be. They had married in 1852 and Isabel was the fourth of six children, surrounded by George (1853-1924), Mary (1855-1926), Robert (1856-1918), Charles Jnr (1860-1899) and finally Anna (1864-1890). I find it interesting that Charles and Robert are sent away to school, but George remains at home in the 1871. George and Charles both became school teachers, while Robert joined the Merchant Navy had adventures overseas and was buried at sea near Egypt.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFoVXpM-yjuqnMumPZW5tp9UMJDiqJSVKqduQ29yW2a4IpoqiSqh213kxxUGO3s3rv2ltRHQe31SRTwmP2CxoaLgmpOYvS9GxN1oNX7QBLWB_cJSrct3ZkjSKahVkE-sYf531uUd8QbepfKFPSedz6mP3hyphenhyphent2iebvn-RAogyBFHG7jKjahco58SkROZcg/s714/miniature%20ofa%20pretty%20girl.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="714" data-original-width="554" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFoVXpM-yjuqnMumPZW5tp9UMJDiqJSVKqduQ29yW2a4IpoqiSqh213kxxUGO3s3rv2ltRHQe31SRTwmP2CxoaLgmpOYvS9GxN1oNX7QBLWB_cJSrct3ZkjSKahVkE-sYf531uUd8QbepfKFPSedz6mP3hyphenhyphent2iebvn-RAogyBFHG7jKjahco58SkROZcg/w496-h640/miniature%20ofa%20pretty%20girl.png" width="496" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Miniature of a Girl</i> (undated)</td></tr></tbody></table><p>As Isabel is in neither my trusty <i>Dictionary of Women Artists</i> by Chris Petteys or <i>Dictionary of British Art, Vol IV Victorian Painters</i> by Christopher Wood (so big, you could repel attackers with them) so my details of her education is a little thin. She attended the Cheltenham School of Art, but, by a mention in the newspapers in 1895, she has magically become a 'Birmingham artist.' By this point, the family has moved to Cheltenham, and Charles had become the Curate of St Stephens, which is very nice too. Isabel is recorded with having no profession in the 1891 census, and I will not stop being hacked off when middle class girls don't confess to having aspirations in 1890.</p><p>The <i>Cheltenham Chronicle</i> were the first to mention her in 1891 when Isabel achieved 1st class excellent in freehand, 1st class in model drawing, 1st class excellent in perspective, 1st class in outline from cast, 1st class in shading from solid, 1st class in shading from ornament, and a whole host more. In 1892, at the Cheltenham School of Art meeting and prize giving, Isabel is awarded a prize for her 'shading from ornament.' She went on to exhibit with the Cheltenham Fine Art Society in 1895 where she had no less than five pieces, but the <i>Cheltenham Chronicle </i>particularly like the group of three children <i>Ruth, Geoffrey and Phyllis</i>. The <i>Bath Chronicle and Weekly Gazette</i> praised her excellent work. She was back at the Cheltenham Fine Art Society in 1896 with a 'very effective pastel portrait' but she would have to wait until 1904 before she reached the Royal Academy.</p><p>Part of why I was interested in Isabel is her solid RA record which contrasts with how obscure she is. As I said above, this might be miniature-ist prejudice but there are certainly artists who have done less who get more attention. In 1901, with both of her parents dead, Isabel had moved to Hammersmith where she would remain for her artistic career. She is listed as 'living on own means' - for goodness sake - in the census, and has a servant. She appeared at the Royal Academy in 1904 with a portrait of <i>Mildred, Daughter of Rev. F H Bolingbroke </i>(a portrait of her neice) but received no reviews for that nor for her RA 1905 piece <i>Miss Taverner</i>. She also appeared at the Fine Art Society exhibition with <i>Stella,</i> 'a graceful sketch' according to the <i>Morning Post.</i></p><p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlnvwT74IvDS4WNmJ-d7nSpas8-AEJ4XSFBjuR0tGxHTSveCbTxl5rFoppK0U4heYodrrqn0wieaEkw4MDTA8ZP4o_bNkGHKW9rvDDn5fU7qTiE6u9aWx5kRx1_Iu6__j738ZgT1zWsbZ8ZbAM4WUR2sDfrusEn-R-vEzPb20XVNSblgbwzihAzJ48NwY/s1570/mildred%20bolingbroke.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1570" data-original-width="1149" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlnvwT74IvDS4WNmJ-d7nSpas8-AEJ4XSFBjuR0tGxHTSveCbTxl5rFoppK0U4heYodrrqn0wieaEkw4MDTA8ZP4o_bNkGHKW9rvDDn5fU7qTiE6u9aWx5kRx1_Iu6__j738ZgT1zWsbZ8ZbAM4WUR2sDfrusEn-R-vEzPb20XVNSblgbwzihAzJ48NwY/w468-h640/mildred%20bolingbroke.jpg" width="468" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Mildred Bolingbroke (1882-1970)</i> (1904)</td></tr></tbody></table></p><p>1906 was a busy year for Isabel. She had <i>A Bonnie Wee Bairn</i> at the Royal Academy (nothing in the papers for that). Isabel still exhibited in the Cheltenham and County Fine Art Society exhibition and won the first prize for a professional miniature, which was £1 1s. The <i>Cheltenham Looker-On</i> paper reported 'The first prize for professionals has been gained by Miss Douton. Her portrait of a child is executed with painstaking care, and leaves nothing to be desired.' Her miniatures were also praised as 'very artistic' by the <i>Liverpool Daily Post</i> when they appeared in a special exhibition by the Royal Society of Miniature Painters at the Liverpool Autumn exhibition.</p><p>By this point, Isabel seems to have become a regular fixture at the Royal Society of Miniature Painters exhibitions, showing pieces of 'distinctive style' in 1907 and studies that 'derive charm from their light-handed grace of treatment' in 1908, both mentioned in the <i>Morning Post</i>. As the <i>Globe</i> said, reviewing her work in the Royal Society of Miniature Painters exhibition in 1908, 'good things come from Isabel F Douton.'</p><p>Isabel's work also appeared at the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Irish_International_Exhibition" target="_blank">Irish International Exhibition in 1907</a>, lending two miniatures, <i>Baby Richard</i> and <i>Dear Lady Disdain</i> to the art section. She missed the 1907 RA but returned in 1908 with <i>Queen of my Heart </i>and in 1909 with <i>A Little Maid from School </i>(possibly inspired by the Mikado). Her 1910 RA portrait was of her brother Robert's daughter Isabel (1894-1975), although that family were on the other side of the world in Australia. I wonder if it was the result of a visit (which would be a massive journey to do for a visit) or possible a photograph. 1911's RA saw Isabel exhibit <i>Rough et Noir</i>, but again, to no press coverage.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi14DT5jgB25F1bEK7zc6LLuQu0yS8vVRwAyifyav_ZXhXDHMj4cXE1CfNxBKh0LrUc_ZBq7Q0Mci_Q8LzhRVPJWrMtdQs_wPKeY9KnQtgrseg04QOnmbp9XAx7Qx5M9JEQot-NwllaiOsD9RxpqOPZ8YzEdOJdJcLIClfqZReBN3-THp5h7oYzQ2vMz4k/s1169/mrs%20duncan%20baille.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1169" data-original-width="954" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi14DT5jgB25F1bEK7zc6LLuQu0yS8vVRwAyifyav_ZXhXDHMj4cXE1CfNxBKh0LrUc_ZBq7Q0Mci_Q8LzhRVPJWrMtdQs_wPKeY9KnQtgrseg04QOnmbp9XAx7Qx5M9JEQot-NwllaiOsD9RxpqOPZ8YzEdOJdJcLIClfqZReBN3-THp5h7oYzQ2vMz4k/w326-h400/mrs%20duncan%20baille.png" width="326" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Mrs Duncan Baille</i> (c.1913)</td></tr></tbody></table><p>If it wasn't for the <i>Queen</i> magazine, I think I might have despaired that Isabel would get any more mentions but they start a column reviewing the Royal Society of Miniature Painters exhibitions and we do at least get some comment on Isabel's work and the occasional ropey image, like the above. On her miniature of Mrs Duncan Baille, the <i>Queen </i>wrote that it was a 'good example of the charm and vividness with which a head can be painted in little when no attempt is made to "prettify." A likeness may be pleasing or otherwise but it is the first requisite of a portrait, large or small, and when, as in this case, it is the former [pleasing] that is all that is wanted.'</p><p>Isabel's work was mentioned in Cyril Davenport's 1913 book entitled <i>Miniatures, Ancient and Modern</i>. In the Royal Academy in 1914, Isabel had two miniatures, <i>Chloe</i> and <i>Susan </i>and in the Royal Society of Miniature Painters exhibition of the same year she had <i>Robert, son of Douglas King Esq</i>, which was praised as being a worthy example of a looser style of painting. She continued to exhibit at the RA with <i>La Jeunesse</i> and <i>Doris</i> (1915), <i>Prunella</i>, <i>Blonde Cendree</i> and <i> Valerie</i> (1916), <i>Benjamin</i> (1917), <i>Tommy, son of Lieutenant Colonel</i> <i>C. Evill DSO</i> (1918) a portrait of Charles Ariel Evill's son Thomas Hayward Evill (1911-1967), <i>Miss Grace Sweet</i> (1919) and finally <i>The Maid I Love </i>and <i>Guinevere </i>in 1924.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdUHCDQmedyNRe-MU_dyxFgNuZodfc-V_kBRkcQLLO0eZ4nJed4_1GN7BZO129jVcD_lbqrnhO6plO4g9K5xxcCz4IdLsPAI0ppA0MMkd8-62bzOrZtxQpiRMtdOfL27XGEDKKXucl8JNkwkVlAnM_25GL8wuxzQn5REICkw6lCKiGfq_xiqs72xzHUGQ/s426/mini%201.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="426" data-original-width="413" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdUHCDQmedyNRe-MU_dyxFgNuZodfc-V_kBRkcQLLO0eZ4nJed4_1GN7BZO129jVcD_lbqrnhO6plO4g9K5xxcCz4IdLsPAI0ppA0MMkd8-62bzOrZtxQpiRMtdOfL27XGEDKKXucl8JNkwkVlAnM_25GL8wuxzQn5REICkw6lCKiGfq_xiqs72xzHUGQ/w388-h400/mini%201.jpg" width="388" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Miniature of a Child</i> (undated)</td></tr></tbody></table><p>Isabel died in 1925, leaving her brother George her china, his wife two miniatures of her choosing, her sister Mary a miniature mounted in a locket, her cousin Elizabeth two books and two miniatures, plus other bequests among nieces, nephews and friends. In a wonderfully macabre move, the second item in her will reads<span style="font-family: inherit;"> 'Having all my life suffered
from fear of premature burial I earnestly request my Executors to employ a
surgeon to sever an artery in my body before it is placed in a coffin and I
direct them to pay such surgeon a fee of Ten guineas for so doing.' I am in awe.</span></p><p>Today we have learned again how miniature painting was a lady's world and you shouldn't expect any publicity. Isabel also followed the path of being a celebrated local artist before heading for London, so that the people back home will root for you, for a while at least. I doubt she will be our last lady on that path.</p>Kirsty Stonell Walkerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08342964877965021654noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1441164155286448763.post-789033319132146192023-12-18T18:46:00.000+00:002023-12-18T18:46:41.141+00:00Monday 18th December - Lilian Yeend King (1883-?)<p> I love artistic relationships - I've done a fair bit of work on husband and wives who both paint, but I think there is also a fair amount to say about children who follow in their parent's artistic footsteps. One of my favourite things to say as I walk past Meredith Frampton's <i>Portrait of a Young Woman</i> in the Tate is 'his mum, the artist, made that frock.' Already in this Blogvent we have seen some families all painting together, but I knew that Winifred Sandys was an artist already. I had no idea the Yeend King had an artist daughter (or for that matter, a first name). Say hello to Lilian Frances Hatton Yeend King...</p><p>Now, that is a lot of names and I'm still hazy on a death date as we will see, Lilian's life got a bit complicated. However, I am fascinated by father-daughter artistic combinations, so we'll have to see what comes up in the next 12 hours. Let's start with Dad, as to be honest, not enough is known about him either, which is a great start...</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVdQN5GksEtG2Xj-MBFVeHXnm8oK32q0Iwu3bA3cKr_B_-b0LY4UFNFDb0wYVhSGqsIAYlgiONEK1a4f5zyPhm80TfW0snnmboZSmI8ldtAsEOVWh_hHS3DMG8tTp9njB2z1rEmkurlyokZGNetl-c6GCypszbYNDK78V_VpbwXtYGSOKwvc8fOfgCsg0/s548/yeend.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="548" data-original-width="428" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVdQN5GksEtG2Xj-MBFVeHXnm8oK32q0Iwu3bA3cKr_B_-b0LY4UFNFDb0wYVhSGqsIAYlgiONEK1a4f5zyPhm80TfW0snnmboZSmI8ldtAsEOVWh_hHS3DMG8tTp9njB2z1rEmkurlyokZGNetl-c6GCypszbYNDK78V_VpbwXtYGSOKwvc8fOfgCsg0/w313-h400/yeend.png" width="313" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Yeend King</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisIBPT9z-ZLh0XoXyn1u-TqV_FrjDzHp9GJAYlv-Zx4V9TuckIUVTApXGzxNuwDn8L78imSIlutLzvQEAbbc2Ler95vm2WS1CbT6CEWh1SFHJGq2DFiKgRujB2docqaTdkDJ0glVeBZm4YI6S87HxkxPCyJdxmhOTNeFLrGUE5TvVmBinc3qAzSsjeESs/s685/DOR_BRC_BORGM_01201-001.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="685" data-original-width="529" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisIBPT9z-ZLh0XoXyn1u-TqV_FrjDzHp9GJAYlv-Zx4V9TuckIUVTApXGzxNuwDn8L78imSIlutLzvQEAbbc2Ler95vm2WS1CbT6CEWh1SFHJGq2DFiKgRujB2docqaTdkDJ0glVeBZm4YI6S87HxkxPCyJdxmhOTNeFLrGUE5TvVmBinc3qAzSsjeESs/w494-h640/DOR_BRC_BORGM_01201-001.jpg" width="494" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Three Score Years and Ten</i> (1886) Yeend King</td></tr></tbody></table><p>Henry John Yeend King (1855-1924) has over 50 artworks on <a href="https://artuk.org/discover/artworks/search/actor:king-henry-john-yeend-18551924" target="_blank">ArtUK</a> (the website of all oil paintings and other artworks held publicly in the UK). I've used the above painting by him a few times over the years and it is very popular at the Russell-Cotes where it lives (and why I know it so well). Embarrassingly, I always thought the poor man's name was Yeend King (first name Yeend, last name King) but he has other names, but shockingly no Wikipedia page. He married Edith Lilian Atkinson in June 1881. Over the next year they must have been living in Paris, because Lilian was born there on 13 September 1882, but they have returned by the time their son Walter Eustice is born in 1885. Lilian appears to have been sent to Clare House School in Margate - this was purportedly a boy's boarding school but it seems to have an awful lot of girls there too. There was apparently a sister school - Claremont - so possibly the pupils could move been the two sometimes.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPUSh5Rlkxgp0rfXqChz4nXaSAKl2oyqZ8nb0HQlw88fYL8zZD47nJpvpPbIzN3dGldhRREz20iAF9uVJFXOodp5IHldUhCsXKT2xZ3T8t9BZRFwnKDOtjpuJ9l0z_ZnP8bZ2OHqHyNs29gUjR9795mInViAnicAkKDxy4Hqej6imL7Ba-AtnZ4Xfudvg/s634/tender%20thoughts.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="634" data-original-width="516" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPUSh5Rlkxgp0rfXqChz4nXaSAKl2oyqZ8nb0HQlw88fYL8zZD47nJpvpPbIzN3dGldhRREz20iAF9uVJFXOodp5IHldUhCsXKT2xZ3T8t9BZRFwnKDOtjpuJ9l0z_ZnP8bZ2OHqHyNs29gUjR9795mInViAnicAkKDxy4Hqej6imL7Ba-AtnZ4Xfudvg/w520-h640/tender%20thoughts.png" width="520" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Tender Thoughts</i> (undated)</td></tr></tbody></table><p>Lilian attended Heatherley's School of Art, which seems to have been a popular choice at this time and there appears to be a wider scope and possibly a more relaxed attitude to lady artists than some schools, even that close to the turn of the century. In 1901, she is back living with her parents at 103 Finchley Road in Hampstead, together with their boarder, fellow painter Haynes King. Haynes King does have a <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Haynes_King_(painter)" target="_blank">Wikipedia page</a> but it unhelpfully doesn't tell me if Haynes is living with the family because he is a relation or because he knows Yeend King through work. More to the point, when Haynes King walked in front of a train in 1904, the inquest referred to Yeend King as his landlord, not naming him or mentioning the shared profession. Yeend King was quite a famous name, not as famous as poor Haynes King, but it does seem odd that the link is not made, especially as Haynes had been living with the family for over a decade. </p><p>I can't find any mention of Lilian's pictures before the 1906 Hampstead Art Society exhibition, where the <i>Morning Post</i> mentioned her 'praiseworthy work' which hung with her father's charming sketch. That was a busy year from Lilian as in the October she married Edwin George Fraenkl, a law/divinity student from Dundee. Edwin's father Victor had come to Scotland from Germany around 1867 after marrying Maria, where his four children were born. In 1901 Edwin was living in a boarding house in London, his occupation listed as 'Undergraduate', so I can only guess that he and Lilian had friends in common or that he just really liked art. Either way, the couple gave the All Souls Church in Hampstead a special lectern Bible in 1905 then married there at the end of 1906.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixuIMVSuJf0B6nJZw8fRPdo8KE93Q1vJswxj5ILx4rcV4ql2tnYoAmqeb2ge1cOKJcd8vlx6vMJuIBezl5KGOOFk5PERIPAy-SL-J9AoDfslXqWi3Oh75EF0-R2Y8Hc4Qy-ismaWriAD4h7ZQxfwyReIycuVraneq426-__RR76eXIXgbqHXL4zG57zEA/s762/village%20view.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="762" data-original-width="437" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixuIMVSuJf0B6nJZw8fRPdo8KE93Q1vJswxj5ILx4rcV4ql2tnYoAmqeb2ge1cOKJcd8vlx6vMJuIBezl5KGOOFk5PERIPAy-SL-J9AoDfslXqWi3Oh75EF0-R2Y8Hc4Qy-ismaWriAD4h7ZQxfwyReIycuVraneq426-__RR76eXIXgbqHXL4zG57zEA/w368-h640/village%20view.png" width="368" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Village View</i> (undated)</td></tr></tbody></table><p>The couple moved with Edwin's role as he became the senior curate of St Mary's, The Butts in Warwick. In the 1911 census, Lilian is recorded as an 'artist', and somehow the couple has become the Hatton-Fraenkls which is an exciting combination of their name. Lilian began to exhibit with her married name in brackets afterwards, such as at the exhibition of watercolours she held in St Mary's Hall, Warwick in 1912. The <i>Warwick and Warwickshire Advertiser</i> reviewed it as a 'most charming little exhibition of water colours' and pointed out that Lilian was 'the most gifted daughter of the well-known great artist Yeend King ... Mrs Hatton-Fraenkl, fortunately, has inherited many of her father's excellent qualities as an artist.' The piece is wonderfully gushing - 'As one enters the room, one is struck with a wonderful blaze of pure and rich colouring - alas so lacking in many of our so-called "Artists of Modern Times." The exhibition richly deserves a visit.'</p><p>At some point the couple change their everso-German surname from Fraenkl to 'Freemantle,' I'm guessing because of the Great War. I know one of Mary Hiller's (model for Julia Margaret Cameron) daughter married a German chap and they anglicized their surname around the same time. This makes tracking Lilian even more exciting because she is under Yeend King, Fraenkl and Freemantle at overlapping and random moments in time. In 1915, Lilian's brother Walter Eustice died in Kent, although I have no other information. He was 30 so it might have been war related, there was a hospital for wounded soldier shipped back there, but equally, he could have had a heart attack while on holiday. Around the same time, Lilian seems to have moved home and started divorce proceedings against Edwin. Frustratingly, I can't find their paperwork (as I love a look at who did what) but in the 1939 census, Lilian lists her marital status as 'divorced'. </p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJpP3X6rRIqSZALRxrvPcqiLSmSk3N3wS4kNUt-aF0NK6e4egTkeWP1UjyYHpkc82347C73oGhepITvrw2nFHYgcacBHWbsZeDahxWku4c94b7iAYPjly66tLO7o58DD6x71cXiaRcErLWQRWs3dKsRjJzaKFKbNm_YdlS98UBxYgwcrrc2MD2zhgmjj0/s756/Young%20water%20maiden.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="756" data-original-width="551" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJpP3X6rRIqSZALRxrvPcqiLSmSk3N3wS4kNUt-aF0NK6e4egTkeWP1UjyYHpkc82347C73oGhepITvrw2nFHYgcacBHWbsZeDahxWku4c94b7iAYPjly66tLO7o58DD6x71cXiaRcErLWQRWs3dKsRjJzaKFKbNm_YdlS98UBxYgwcrrc2MD2zhgmjj0/w466-h640/Young%20water%20maiden.png" width="466" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Young Water Maiden </i>(undated)</td></tr></tbody></table><p>Despite (or possibly because of) the return home, her artistic career took new steps into the Royal Academy. The <i>Marylebone Mercury</i> reported that Yeend King had 2 rural landscapes in the 1919 RA and Lilian exhibited a portrait study of her mother. </p><p>I had to chuckle because Lilian's other (and last) appearance at the RA was at the notorious 1921 exhibition which one newspaper dubbed 'The Revolution at the Royal Academy' - 'Well known Artists Excluded for Cubists and Vorticists' (the horror!) There were no problem-pictures from John Collier, no 'sweet delicacies' from Yeend King, and no 'sensitive works' of Mr Harrington Mann. Despite all this 'merciless slaughter', Lilian Yeend King exhibited a portrait of her brother, Eustace, which was neither Cubist or Vorticist.</p><p>Beyond the Royal Academy, Lilian had other exhibitions. In 1923, she appeared with 3 paintings at the New Society of Artists at the Suffolk Street Galleries. Her father died in 1924, causing the <i>Daily Mirror</i> to write 'he was an amusing companion and a loyal friend' and a loss to Bohemian London. I think it was around that time that Lilian and her mother moved out of London, down to West Wittering in Sussex. There her mother died in 1931, and Lilian moved into Rosary Gate, becoming a mainstay in the West Wittering Art Scene. The <i>Chichester Observer</i> praised her work in the 1935 exhibition, saying she had the gift 'to make every picture complete in every detail - not merely a sketch.' She also hosted an exhibition in the church hall in 1938, causing the <i>West Sussex Gazette</i> to report that there was 'nothing of the high-brow or the obscurantist about them. They are happy selections from here and there in her own area.' They really appreciated her 'bits of beauty' as they stood as memorials to a coastline they felt was vanishing.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDtqp-jUyWKUwUsMeKGITfB7phaIDKTlmaCrqnHEQKdVYnxQtS3qpYSD_YId5oIwRZC5q1ZPpSBPr1r7820dL-aHlRb7xIz6IAtdJ6qhdmedncdMIHIHn4eWwjgG5ZIWuyXjbB3uzsUc8k4l4diGqOKwPCB6glNZXBLw8ovt84sGH3fldwn3OkPccfkJA/s755/girl%20at%20the%20well.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="755" data-original-width="630" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDtqp-jUyWKUwUsMeKGITfB7phaIDKTlmaCrqnHEQKdVYnxQtS3qpYSD_YId5oIwRZC5q1ZPpSBPr1r7820dL-aHlRb7xIz6IAtdJ6qhdmedncdMIHIHn4eWwjgG5ZIWuyXjbB3uzsUc8k4l4diGqOKwPCB6glNZXBLw8ovt84sGH3fldwn3OkPccfkJA/w534-h640/girl%20at%20the%20well.png" width="534" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Girl at the Well</i> (undated)</td></tr></tbody></table><p>In the 1939 census, Lilian Freemantle, watercolour artist is recorded at Rosary Gate. In the notes next to her record it seems to imply she was an ambulance driver for the western area, which also tells us she could drive. The last record I can find for her is a 1948 exhibition in the West Wittering Memorial Hall, where they showed a range of landscapes by local artists, as well as a fancy-dress parade. If more art exhibitions came with a fancy-dress parade, think how jolly the Royal Academy would be.</p><p>I can't find her death details, which is driving me mad. An interesting, if slightly mad suggestion I have had is that she died in London as 'Lilian Frances King' in 1987, at the very grand old age of 104. That is slightly bonkers, but that lady did leave over £100K so who knows.</p><p>I think the whole Yeend King family need a renaissance and some sort of father-daughter exhibition needs to happen. Her work is very much influenced by her father, as I think Winifred Sandys was influenced by Frederick, but just think of a Father-Daughter exhibition to see who followed the family path and who rebelled. </p><p>Obviously, we'd have a fancy-dress parade as part of it.</p>Kirsty Stonell Walkerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08342964877965021654noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1441164155286448763.post-644139235871617632023-12-17T20:16:00.001+00:002023-12-17T20:16:11.508+00:00Sunday 17th December - Adah Knight (1864-1953)<p>Goodness, we only have a week left of this nonsense and I feel we have spent time with some pretty awesome women so let's see who our last week brings!</p><p>Oh, I was filled with such hubris this morning as I started on my search for Miss Adah Knight and immediately found this (admittedly rather grainy) image...</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0pNQIbRh922qBI-q0-L9AXfuwjammREXrxFFHKR2y6wwvSsWXC8JSCMuNe2xYY4A8M4Qi_B7kHGxxJmUsQ4dJ1y9IBKZQlr9xyWAeOHH4YIIqAR6DHq5xEBBrjBR_xSMxQINgs_VTCiG2Gu0TiC0vVFvu4N9AUz_vUJPm5CD46sK3YWTpHyD8x3RgCPw/s1405/portrait.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1405" data-original-width="877" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0pNQIbRh922qBI-q0-L9AXfuwjammREXrxFFHKR2y6wwvSsWXC8JSCMuNe2xYY4A8M4Qi_B7kHGxxJmUsQ4dJ1y9IBKZQlr9xyWAeOHH4YIIqAR6DHq5xEBBrjBR_xSMxQINgs_VTCiG2Gu0TiC0vVFvu4N9AUz_vUJPm5CD46sK3YWTpHyD8x3RgCPw/w400-h640/portrait.png" width="400" /></a></div><br /><p>Hello Adah! How lovely to sort of see you. I then found that she had appeared in around 30 years worth of Royal Academies, so images won't be too much of a problem, right? Ummm...</p><p>Okay, so this post is going to be a little light on images as so far I have found three images and two of those are merely an 'attributed to' which is not a good sign. Honestly the third one is a bit dodgy too. Luckily, I can find a goodly amount of mentions in the newspapers so away we go on a rather sparsely illustrated life of Miss Adah Emily Gompertz Knight...</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSx1nHC-RIbzG53ZDhEYwtLIDs2zd85SoCiSIPTvM4qoc__yBH_d4IKakt9frPkmI0TZRZ7AsLJI1QV9PLvy9mGBVqnrRpjcu83JpiFsI2KKsxDv57TzCpqNhTpER7U1aZRadfcDBUuF9yOmlfudL8gSttIwD6MEuGoLkN2E0eC9VS2gxEu6JolYnsPys/s1372/gypsy%20flower%20seller.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1372" data-original-width="1114" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSx1nHC-RIbzG53ZDhEYwtLIDs2zd85SoCiSIPTvM4qoc__yBH_d4IKakt9frPkmI0TZRZ7AsLJI1QV9PLvy9mGBVqnrRpjcu83JpiFsI2KKsxDv57TzCpqNhTpER7U1aZRadfcDBUuF9yOmlfudL8gSttIwD6MEuGoLkN2E0eC9VS2gxEu6JolYnsPys/w520-h640/gypsy%20flower%20seller.jpg" width="520" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Gypsy Flower Seller</i> (?undated)</td></tr></tbody></table><p>Adah was the last child born to John (1824-1900) and Esther (1823-1888) in Gloucester. John was a coal, slate and lime merchant and Adah was preceded by Rosina (1849-1921), Frances (1851-1931), Hester (1857-1898), Edith (1858-1904) and Georgina (1858-1951). The family lived close to the docks on Bristol Road which seems to have been cleared of older buildings unless they really did live next door to Burger King.</p><p>According to the <i>Bournemouth Echo, </i>Adah studied under Herkomer so I guess that means she either studied at Bushey or Slade, followed by a spell in Paris, learning from Pascale Dagnan-Bouveret. She returned to the Gloucester School of Art and we see her first newspaper appearance in a piece from 1889 about the Gloucester School of Art's exhibition of works. Adah was praised for her 'admirably executed girl's head.' As a young woman starting her artistic career, she became the secretary to a committee to raise money in order to keep a set of John Trivett Nettleship paintings in Gloucester permanently. They had been hanging in the Corn Exchange for two years and they needed to raise £1000 to keep them. All those that were able to help were encouraged to send a guinea to Miss Adah Knight at the Glevum Studios, but I can't see if it happened and the Corn Exchange was demolished before the Second World War.</p><p>In 1892, Adah appeared in a Gloucester exhibition again linked to the art school. She exhibited a quarter-length life size portrait of one of her sisters. A year later, Gloucester was all abuzz - 'We are glad to state that Miss Adah Knight has two pictures in the Royal Academy this year. They are, moreover, admirably hung.' The two pieces in question were <i>Lessons</i> and <i>A Little Girl</i> and the address she gave was 2 Beaufort Gardens (which also might be the same as 2 Beaufort Buildings which was their address in the 1891 census.) Her pictures, described as 'dainty' in the <i>Gloucester Journal</i>, were word-drawn for the readers - <i>Lessons</i> was hung low down in the left-hand corner of Gallery VII. It showed a little boy and girl hard at work on their studies on opposite sides of a table. The details such as the girl's pinafore and the dog-eared pages of the book were admired and it was decided to be 'artistic, in a quiet, unpresuming way.' The second, <i>A Little Girl</i> was a black and white study of a youthful head, reported as 'clever.'</p><p>The year later and Adah was back at the RA, with two more black and white studies - <i>Hester, </i>the head of a girl, possibly her sister, and <i>Dreamlands</i> 'a face on which sleep has exercised its potent spell,' according to the <i>Western Daily Press. </i>She missed the 1895 RA, instead exhibiting locally, but she was back in 1896 with four pictures, hung on the line (which is very important.) Her picture <i>A Game of Chess</i> was described in the <i>Bristol Times and Mirror</i> as 'as an old fashioned interior ... correct and shows signs of care.' Another small drawing, <i>Daphne</i> was also admired by the <i>Gloucester Journal</i>, as were two portraits, one of Mrs Tom Morris and the other entitled merely <i>Portrait of a Lady</i>. The <i>Gloucestershire Chronicle</i> announced 'The citizens generally are naturally proud of Miss Adah Knight's success. Anyone who has seen her pictures can readily understand the real merit of her paintings; they are conscientious works of art. They are imbued with that touch of realism which makes all paintings charming to the spectator and admired by the art connoisseurs.'</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgj1cIKZn63B6PqQla7waoFJ-WcWgoKmNsnScjwGtwmjp3ewShfuWrqH-idn_tDJa43LngH0C9hRPx8rDqFMNKEkYU66T5FYbgPiLAnSEF8tXf-XwWh8ffd21eUXz_c3FV4Zsqdo8uxphLWFAPW4OowLbg1uDDs45jPY8jWukB7FXU2zM0XdmLnsG6gJIM/s489/portrait%20of%20a%20gentleman%20of%20learning.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="489" data-original-width="427" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgj1cIKZn63B6PqQla7waoFJ-WcWgoKmNsnScjwGtwmjp3ewShfuWrqH-idn_tDJa43LngH0C9hRPx8rDqFMNKEkYU66T5FYbgPiLAnSEF8tXf-XwWh8ffd21eUXz_c3FV4Zsqdo8uxphLWFAPW4OowLbg1uDDs45jPY8jWukB7FXU2zM0XdmLnsG6gJIM/w558-h640/portrait%20of%20a%20gentleman%20of%20learning.png" width="558" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Portrait of a Gentleman of Learning</i> (undated) attributed to Adah</td></tr></tbody></table><p>1897 brought more success and yet more love from the local press. The <i>Gloucester Citizen</i> wrote 'The Gloucester public will be pleased to learn that among the pictures which have been successful in obtaining a place in the Royal Academy this year is one entitled "Memories" by Miss Adah Knight, the talented daughter of our old and respected fellow citizen Mr John Knight.' She missed the 1898 exhibition, but returned in 1899 with four more works, this time miniatures - <i>A Little Child</i>, <i> Pansey</i>, <i>The Bishop of Gloucester</i> and <i>Mrs Albert Stephens, </i>which the <i>Gloucester Journal</i> called 'delicious'.</p><p>The turn of the century saw the death of John Knight, which was big news in Gloucester and many of the reports of the funeral mentioned Adah's career. She exhibited one portrait at the RA that year, of Miss Cox, which the <i>Gloucester Journal</i> reported was 'executed with the felicity which makes all the work of this local pupil of the renowned Herkomer.' She was also elected a member of the Society of Miniature Painters.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhh6BAO3morqZGea6FAyp_g6gQBferEtYRomkm-bVvbzkrI_cR1DGbSlH769RYNMTzSizeABX-1r1pMa0vGgQ4mK_2tNrZ3Mu82oUbaAFgAuc5AoJvgJe3nz0ReR5OIZlw83XnFROy8dpPITMMjZFnIm1jQo7tJHzOG4ehQseZPW4XSy4Vg6T-iGL1w9tc/s285/blenheim%20towers.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="177" data-original-width="285" height="177" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhh6BAO3morqZGea6FAyp_g6gQBferEtYRomkm-bVvbzkrI_cR1DGbSlH769RYNMTzSizeABX-1r1pMa0vGgQ4mK_2tNrZ3Mu82oUbaAFgAuc5AoJvgJe3nz0ReR5OIZlw83XnFROy8dpPITMMjZFnIm1jQo7tJHzOG4ehQseZPW4XSy4Vg6T-iGL1w9tc/s1600/blenheim%20towers.jpg" width="285" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Blenheim Towers, Boscombe</td></tr></tbody></table><p>While there was no RA for Adah in 1901, she painted the portraits of Lord and Lady Furness to mark their silver wedding anniversary. She returned to the RA in 1902 with a miniature entitled <i>Daffodils, </i>and at the Society of Miniature Painters, she exhibited <i>The Nurse</i>. She would return to the RA in 1905 but in the meantime she left her hometown of Gloucester and moved to the seaside, down to Blenheim Towers in Boscombe, on the east side of Bournemouth. This resulted in the piece in the <i>Bournemouth Graphic</i> when she appeared at the annual exhibition of the Bournemouth Art Society. She was back at the RA in 1905 with <i>Dreams, </i>which still made the news in Gloucester. </p><p>It is interesting how Gloucester never seemed to lose its love for Adah and it still had full reports of her RA successes, such as in 1906 which she appeared again with two miniatures <i>Phenie</i> and <i>Miss Hester Hallowes</i>. She also gave a painting to a friend who married back in Gloucester in the summer. In 1908 she had another couple of miniatures in the RA exhibition, <i>Joan</i> and <i>"She Hath Two Eyes So Soft and Brown - Take Care!' </i>from the poem by Longfellow. I am particularly disappointed to not have a picture of the latter miniature as the poem is a sulky masterpiece about a chap who is scared of ladies, which is fair enough because we are so scary.</p><p>Adah's miniature <i>Eleanore</i> was a well-deserved inclusion in the 1910, according to the <i>Hampshire Observer</i>. Shockingly, there was no news coverage of her 1911 miniature at the RA, <i>Elizabeth</i>, and only one mention of her 1912 entry <i>Gabrielle Desart</i>. The <i>Hampshire Observer</i> were complimentary - 'a clever little picture in which rich purple tones are handled with dexterity.' No mention again for the two entries in 1914, <i>Memories</i> and <i>The Black Hat</i>. In fact, her art does not get another mention until after the war, the only mention being the fact that she gave a brooch at the wedding of Miss Christine Stephens in Cheltenham. I wondered if she was the daughter of Mrs Albert Stephens from 1899.</p><p>Into the roaring '20s and the mentions get noticeably less in the newspapers. Her 1921 piece, <i>The Pink Feather</i> had no mention, but her 1922 miniatures <i>Pamela</i> and <i>Portrait of a Lady</i> garnered a mention in the Gentlewoman's review of the RA. Similarly, in 1923 there was no great fanfare, just an acknowledgement she had been at the RA with <i>Adrienne</i> in the <i>Hampshire Advertiser</i>. 1924's miniature of <i>Katherine </i>was noted in the <i>West Sussex Gazette</i>, the 1926 entry fairing about the same. Her 1927 RA piece <i>Spring</i> was ignored in favour of her piece in the Bournemouth Art Club exhibition. For 1928 at the Royal Academy, the <i>Swanage Times and Directory</i> listed her works <i>Fantasy </i>and her portrait of the late <i>Reverend J F Tooke-Hallowes MA </i>as appearing for what would be her last time.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4QSi3ewfs5MdLpu48brNjzcvzQ-TSXkY1Mci4-c3s0QaZNC02zC67qUv0GtCHSofUJYBtr6mvygM7KQ7er63MFJZGIvl6eliq1nK1fHR7nsWfPetF-B-i13lEiJrpJlkeiDphIKf5qoLn2B_ZomZbDz6C0ORXhy_dSdJt4KjtU5dbBWqBLyBsBW2KzDw/s480/needlework.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="344" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4QSi3ewfs5MdLpu48brNjzcvzQ-TSXkY1Mci4-c3s0QaZNC02zC67qUv0GtCHSofUJYBtr6mvygM7KQ7er63MFJZGIvl6eliq1nK1fHR7nsWfPetF-B-i13lEiJrpJlkeiDphIKf5qoLn2B_ZomZbDz6C0ORXhy_dSdJt4KjtU5dbBWqBLyBsBW2KzDw/w458-h640/needlework.jpg" width="458" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Needlework</i> (undated) attributed to Adah</td></tr></tbody></table><p>By this point Adah was 64 and most of her family had died. Rosina, who she lived with in Bournemouth, had died in 1921. Sister Frances died in 1931, and Adah followed in 1933, leaving Georgina as the last Knight standing, inheriting £1670 from Adah.</p><p>The lessons from today must be that what a local artist lacks in images, they make up for in regional enthusiasm. The Gloucestershire newspapers did a wonderful job in cheerleading for Adah right from the start of her career and even after she had moved away. When you are in a place where an artist at the RA is a novelty, that artist becomes headline news and every year is something to celebrate. Adah did much better on this front than some of my arguably more successful ladies who lived in London. After Sibyl and her sculpture, I wonder if a miniature exhibition is also something that museums would shy away from. ArtUK do not do miniatures, which limits our access to them and I would argue there is a feminist dimension to that as an awful lot of women did miniatures. Mr Walker pointed out the problems with holding miniature exhibitions - how do you display them, you'd need loads - even though he does try and include them where he can. The Victorian and Edwardian periods seem to be an absolute goldmine for their production by women. Maybe if we took miniatures seriously, Adah would have her time again, and this time not just in Gloucester.</p>Kirsty Stonell Walkerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08342964877965021654noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1441164155286448763.post-64443224809917495482023-12-16T19:45:00.000+00:002023-12-16T19:45:19.058+00:00Saturday 16th December - Sibyl Barlow (1897-1933)<p> My husband, the blessed Mr Walker, is very supportive of what I do, even with the resultant book piles and general chaos. He casually said 'I have a lady for you,' (which in our house is not as dodgy a suggestion as it sounds) 'but I don't suppose you are doing sculptors...'</p><p>Now, he right in that I don't normally tackle sculpture, which is terrible of me but also a reflection on how little space sculpture is given in traditional art history teaching. It's like you need to take a completely separate course for that, like it doesn't really count as 'art.' In a way, sculpture can be seen as a metaphor for women in the arts, sort of seen as the same thing but not thought of when listing important artists. A sort of add on.</p><p>Anyway, to cut a long story short, say hello to Sibyl Barlow....</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrmGg-_Lrpas5O1j7AOTpKHS8yJJyaTDlMFmKoG4IsoEOX-SDxLj3FwV_mdob-JJvm9l3OK52bstRDc0y4nOW_inIeNzA7c1UdZFLr2_YxB7_JsSg3_kKzmbaeE6_mtalALQsOXMIEV9ZVKNFfwgIFyTeZI3kLlxrT44RSpvL7z3ob4Wq5Ziw1f0ZSb2k/s4835/Sybil%20Barlow%20photo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4835" data-original-width="3649" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrmGg-_Lrpas5O1j7AOTpKHS8yJJyaTDlMFmKoG4IsoEOX-SDxLj3FwV_mdob-JJvm9l3OK52bstRDc0y4nOW_inIeNzA7c1UdZFLr2_YxB7_JsSg3_kKzmbaeE6_mtalALQsOXMIEV9ZVKNFfwgIFyTeZI3kLlxrT44RSpvL7z3ob4Wq5Ziw1f0ZSb2k/w484-h640/Sybil%20Barlow%20photo.jpg" width="484" /></a></div><br /><p>Now, you can't tell because you are reading this on the internet, but I also do all my work in riding gear and great big boots. It's only sensible.</p><p>I know I was going to talk about Victorian lady artists this Blogvent and Sibyl was born in 1897, but she still counts as a Victorian (just) so she's being let in, and also she really didn't live that long so give the poor woman a break. Also, we are not going to get into what counts as Victorian art right now, let's save that for Christmas Eve when we've all had a sherry.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinoIraDJgjrbebqm1fejVFdEfnVtD8rdXad4oWwaoeWhNBpOz3OHHe0frwnjpmTLUhmVEVgwVvcxDoJG7CjxNgTelCQdi6DWkyI0jHLzkYUI39mRqXuF0CpfLz607PhO2c9A6GW6dzOW4_WvYnbrtETgx-d4FMuPg2ln2PR_0hKFjAp1Czz_itb1irHHQ/s1200/sow.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="837" data-original-width="1200" height="446" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinoIraDJgjrbebqm1fejVFdEfnVtD8rdXad4oWwaoeWhNBpOz3OHHe0frwnjpmTLUhmVEVgwVvcxDoJG7CjxNgTelCQdi6DWkyI0jHLzkYUI39mRqXuF0CpfLz607PhO2c9A6GW6dzOW4_WvYnbrtETgx-d4FMuPg2ln2PR_0hKFjAp1Czz_itb1irHHQ/w640-h446/sow.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Sow</i> (undated)</td></tr></tbody></table><div><br /></div><div>I warn you now that there is not a lot on Sibyl, but that leads me to a ponder on sculpture and its coverage as I have already ranted. Add to this that Sibyl was short-lived but we have a heroic Great War death and an appalling divorce to get through, so I think we'll be okay for content. Back to the beginning...</div><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwWji4fKBJ_ac5i9RA4Q0tpDJxUAdooK0WxPvjigBiMBdeXXrLKWcwrZ319o5MMSjV1WQGX2EDZbc-Ho46J4n21nq6oKB64E9z8dAWqp1LOx3Fhn6w9ZSkwYFLz-LPoYwdXMrVWZdvkq4otS70Jlw20Yd7joA6EvjqRyvOn89lY0lwkfwLTQnExrh1D8o/s1200/tiger%20mask.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="868" data-original-width="1200" height="462" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwWji4fKBJ_ac5i9RA4Q0tpDJxUAdooK0WxPvjigBiMBdeXXrLKWcwrZ319o5MMSjV1WQGX2EDZbc-Ho46J4n21nq6oKB64E9z8dAWqp1LOx3Fhn6w9ZSkwYFLz-LPoYwdXMrVWZdvkq4otS70Jlw20Yd7joA6EvjqRyvOn89lY0lwkfwLTQnExrh1D8o/w640-h462/tiger%20mask.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Tiger Mask</i> (undated)</td></tr></tbody></table><div><br /></div><div>Sibyl Margaret Lancashire Barlow was born on 17th May 1897, the 3rd of 4 siblings. Her parents Alexander Kay Barlow (1855-1928) and Sophia Matilda (1862-1952) married in 1890 up in Lancashire, so I wondered if that was a clue to Sibyl's middle name, shared by her younger brother John (1899-1917). Her two older siblings Joyce (1891-1966) and Alex (1893-1968) shared the middle name Lancaster, like the bomber. I always look to see if it has links to the mother's maiden name but as Sophia's parents were recent immigrants from the Netherlands, it seems unlikely. Maybe they really like Lancashire, and why not?</div><p>The two eldest siblings were born in Essex, then in 1896 the Barlows moved to Wivenhoe Hall. I am eternally grateful to the creators of the<a href="https://www.wivenhoehistory.org.uk/content/topics/places-buildings/wivenhoe-hall-estate/alexander-kay-barlow" target="_blank"> history of Wivenhoe</a> page, not least for this photo...</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEij-psiqacmsibbCFWtRKdG9QlEcxxY5fx87iw5h3MiX1fsfkV41JnsrF108S4p_czdlHZMogfQLz25OwZW_A7OB0eeG0orf7OSjbbQeMB1-Hs3GQCXsu5rOCfVgxNBovUrGCF1C47i7H3sR-DOc0BNC9EzmSQJl99Sh_Yzj9irm8JeAUoFc2wY37QJKUU/s650/Alex%20Kay%20Barlow.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="650" height="492" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEij-psiqacmsibbCFWtRKdG9QlEcxxY5fx87iw5h3MiX1fsfkV41JnsrF108S4p_czdlHZMogfQLz25OwZW_A7OB0eeG0orf7OSjbbQeMB1-Hs3GQCXsu5rOCfVgxNBovUrGCF1C47i7H3sR-DOc0BNC9EzmSQJl99Sh_Yzj9irm8JeAUoFc2wY37QJKUU/w640-h492/Alex%20Kay%20Barlow.jpeg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Alexander Barlow in the traditional Victorian minimalist interior of Wivenhoe Hall</td></tr></tbody></table><p>The family stayed at Wivenhoe until 1927, so a vast amount of Sibyl's life (and that of her family) was spent in Essex. This gave Sibyl access to London schools, although it is slightly mysterious where she went. Chris Pettey's ever-useful <i>Dictionary of Women Artists</i> says she studied in the Dresden Art Academy and in London. In a later newspaper article, it also suggests she attended the Southampton School of Art when her family moved there at the end of the 1920s.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8HyyzJQyLHZ0qV-PCRYcZdOSZ6bumFQxd45bI9DV4MqS6Y05XvNTkLM-A__wcSsqRz0xfY_dZKMfuJVB79xoyIY-V9UrWin0lzbl_GmBzfpKPcPgKiwFjj4AoEXs1b6a-JJbMMqlsns2mp3UppHj53EfJ7MekaKGSAN3OBO_C-yQ8YIdQoziOWLdquyY/s1200/group%20of%20three%20farm%20horse.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="782" data-original-width="1200" height="418" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8HyyzJQyLHZ0qV-PCRYcZdOSZ6bumFQxd45bI9DV4MqS6Y05XvNTkLM-A__wcSsqRz0xfY_dZKMfuJVB79xoyIY-V9UrWin0lzbl_GmBzfpKPcPgKiwFjj4AoEXs1b6a-JJbMMqlsns2mp3UppHj53EfJ7MekaKGSAN3OBO_C-yQ8YIdQoziOWLdquyY/w640-h418/group%20of%20three%20farm%20horse.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Group of Three Farm Horses</i> (undated)</td></tr></tbody></table><p>It is obvious from the little information we have on Sibyl that she loved horses and rode in an almost professional capacity. I was reminded of <a href="https://fannycornforth.blogspot.com/2018/10/in-defence-of-rosa-corder.html" target="_blank">Rosa Corder</a> and her love of animals, without the troublesome sexy overtones. Sibyl was all about the ponies. I'm not sure when she went to Dresden but before she did, there were a couple of family catastrophes,,,</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0OL5Q_sov_tnov_nvxfzQEtk8wm6d-tu-k_CLQrHh1MNNl-71L0-6vrwgKhMsMBMHFceqZztjedUhwcpGiOEbtTj7zUrf46nreWvZ09iSftBh9kxtExpQ8DlAYybrWJ7xiJy8Klx-LAbdUB4-nmtTbfEetSRx58gpIdAKbXFO_D5g1UuD1uEVY8O4cus/s1200/ring%20master%20and%20rearing%20horse.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="728" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0OL5Q_sov_tnov_nvxfzQEtk8wm6d-tu-k_CLQrHh1MNNl-71L0-6vrwgKhMsMBMHFceqZztjedUhwcpGiOEbtTj7zUrf46nreWvZ09iSftBh9kxtExpQ8DlAYybrWJ7xiJy8Klx-LAbdUB4-nmtTbfEetSRx58gpIdAKbXFO_D5g1UuD1uEVY8O4cus/w388-h640/ring%20master%20and%20rearing%20horse.jpg" width="388" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Ring Master and Rearing Horse</i> (undated)</td></tr></tbody></table><p>You know how I am with scandal and tragedy, I absolutely love it. If we start with the 1911 census, the Barlow family are in Wivenhoe with their 5 servants (including a page). Joyce, aged 19, Sibyl, 14 and John, 12 have no occupation, but Alex was at Cambridge where he was an undergraduate. On 2nd February 1915, Joyce married Arthur Haines, but their honeymoon period was just that, because 2 weeks later the marriage went entirely sour when Arthur turned out to be a drinker and someone who enjoyed 'unnatural acts'. Joyce put up with it until May when she packed up and went back to Wivenhoe Hall. Arthur seems to have backed up his awful behaviour with abuse, and while drunk, threatened Joyce with a drawn sword. She applied for a divorce that Autumn.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgH7DcEv2l0ddCnqzplYGfMWtPDtmTL-A93AMy-gslDHD3J-k53PxTPvKzT4FjhyphenhyphenWKZoutj-ffs_NyP3rl5GxrKfhLY7_aOjBjUUXuFcNQlcvIYotcpfrc95VhO3QAIqMXlJKTgXpt_k4FLji2IqUWljen3f107ySIuaN2yRlur4gjXIIqzVSbawesGNhI/s775/sybil%20on%20a%20horse.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="775" data-original-width="704" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgH7DcEv2l0ddCnqzplYGfMWtPDtmTL-A93AMy-gslDHD3J-k53PxTPvKzT4FjhyphenhyphenWKZoutj-ffs_NyP3rl5GxrKfhLY7_aOjBjUUXuFcNQlcvIYotcpfrc95VhO3QAIqMXlJKTgXpt_k4FLji2IqUWljen3f107ySIuaN2yRlur4gjXIIqzVSbawesGNhI/w582-h640/sybil%20on%20a%20horse.png" width="582" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sybil riding one of her models</td></tr></tbody></table><p>If that wasn't enough, with the advent of the Great War, Alex joined the Royal Engineers. I have to admit, when I saw how old he was, I was very concerned, but he wasn't the one I should have worried about. John was only 15 when war was declared, but his enthusiasm seemed palpable. He immediately joined the Essex Cyclist Corp as a despatch rider. At 16, still too young to enlist but fascinated with the new technology of aeroplanes, John got his pilot's licence at the Bournemouth aviation school and went to work in the Wells Aviation Factory. The moment he turned 18, he got his commission with the Royal Flying Corp and received his month's training. One whole month, blimey. After fighting in Messines and other battles he was shot down and killed, six months after getting his wings. He was 19 years old.</p><p>Sybil would have been 21 when John died and in theory pursuing her training as a sculptor. Whether she was that way inclined or not, her chances of marrying were not great after all the men died. You can see why she dedicated her life to horses. By 1926 she had started exhibiting, in time for the family's move to Southampton. At the Royal Academy, she showed <i>Bulger</i>, a bronze statuette and <i>Crossing the Flood Ford</i>, a statuette group. She also exhibited with the S<span style="font-family: inherit;">ociety of Sculptors, Painters and Gravers, the Royal Scottish Academy and the Salon de la Societe des Artistes <span style="line-height: 107%;">Français</span> u</span>p until 1929.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-fV2MBe2jjw12LVJJqHNi1PWOeL4wJKtl4K7XN1PDqcohphqGE1odbw0t8BnI7_XkaTXFLPS644w6G_rMJwFelvRmcHgql-84uVEN6FBqEA7l1ZwMiFLMUklfuyY6jzIm1Jh1PjuKztnU8xJNS8tFlLstof2WLtn23rciyfyP_pOrnTt2fKGmY6H3v70/s1221/sybil%20and%20freddie%20fox.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="731" data-original-width="1221" height="384" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-fV2MBe2jjw12LVJJqHNi1PWOeL4wJKtl4K7XN1PDqcohphqGE1odbw0t8BnI7_XkaTXFLPS644w6G_rMJwFelvRmcHgql-84uVEN6FBqEA7l1ZwMiFLMUklfuyY6jzIm1Jh1PjuKztnU8xJNS8tFlLstof2WLtn23rciyfyP_pOrnTt2fKGmY6H3v70/w640-h384/sybil%20and%20freddie%20fox.png" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sibyl and her bust of jockey Freddie Fox, 1931</td></tr></tbody></table><p>In 1930, Sybil appeared at the Southampton Art Society's 44th annual show at the art gallery. Alongside P. Wilson Steer's <i>Digging for Bait, Shoreham</i>, there was a 'splendidly modelled group of horses by Sibyl Barlow who studied at the local art school.' Finally, at the 1931 Royal Academy exhibition, Sibyl exhibited her head of Freddie Fox, Champion Jockey. The <i>Birmingham Mail</i> described the piece as a beautiful bronze bust, and the <i>Sheffield Daily Telegraph</i> felt the piece would attract many people, not just those who appreciate art. The <i>Belfast Newsletter</i> were taken with how well Sibyl had captured his thoughtful and whimsical expression, but also, because of how busy Fox was, she had to complete it with very few sittings.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPApOxhKfPtALbAKkCtR-YpV9QmwqjXLbr4TRf4rNAumNS4AXrC0VUatQPWeMs-JjC7NC1d8MFouSGfWdrxFxyU9m_nGgxyPk2AXpM5_LdOJeMuTStZXJHyiBoI7q6TdmXwdfe7rV_UJRARko1RJUodBuVF4rUK-KbTaNMMuTCyfzEW0pJdWCav-YBjpw/s1200/calf.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1048" data-original-width="1200" height="558" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPApOxhKfPtALbAKkCtR-YpV9QmwqjXLbr4TRf4rNAumNS4AXrC0VUatQPWeMs-JjC7NC1d8MFouSGfWdrxFxyU9m_nGgxyPk2AXpM5_LdOJeMuTStZXJHyiBoI7q6TdmXwdfe7rV_UJRARko1RJUodBuVF4rUK-KbTaNMMuTCyfzEW0pJdWCav-YBjpw/w640-h558/calf.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Calf</i> (undated)</td></tr></tbody></table><p>There seems to have been no notice of Sibyl's death in January 1933. Less than two years before, she had been the toast of the Royal Academy, but I wonder if it was the subject rather than her that caused the interest. Her father had died at the end of the 1920s and so she left her money, over £6K, to her mother. It is thanks to Sophia that we have the beautiful images in this post as when she died in 1952, she left these pieces to the Russell-Cotes Art Gallery. The three cart horses were out recently in support of the Lucy Kemp-Welch exhibition earlier this year.</p><p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDbKbWZE6sERoJlkFprFfOaKuwr8UW61dMt-c1FK2lZ6TnQ7o3bTOsmvNftG8W-IA5szOD2kS0Hh4vXRYRDbdf-nug-Cr0vMJd_sKRQy0ccwVFH-JFiPAZBraex7jeWaFgOjG5EAuYWUEpNKbfpPKkj1sxdpZxWz-SSN4PvpcMqhOipv486fvQdiEIIvA/s1200/nude%20figure.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="655" data-original-width="1200" height="350" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDbKbWZE6sERoJlkFprFfOaKuwr8UW61dMt-c1FK2lZ6TnQ7o3bTOsmvNftG8W-IA5szOD2kS0Hh4vXRYRDbdf-nug-Cr0vMJd_sKRQy0ccwVFH-JFiPAZBraex7jeWaFgOjG5EAuYWUEpNKbfpPKkj1sxdpZxWz-SSN4PvpcMqhOipv486fvQdiEIIvA/w640-h350/nude%20figure.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Nude Study</i> (undated)</td></tr></tbody></table></p><p>I think there a couple of issues at work here - firstly, our idea of fine art is very 2D. Very few people can name sculptures let alone sculptors beyond Michelangelo's <i>David. </i>It's just not the first thing mentioned when we talk about art. Also, exhibitions that are sculptural are very few - I absolutely loved Sculpture Victorious<i> </i>at the Tate in 2015 but I can't think of another purely sculptural exhibition I have ever been too. Mr Walker also pointed out that lending and borrowing sculpture is a damn sight harder than a painting. Our appreciation of sculpture is really hampered by the fact that day to day, we see art either on a screen or in a book. That's not the best way to appreciate something that is 3D. Maybe virtual reality is waiting for sculpture. All this goes to explain why sculptors don't, on the whole, get to be the stars that painters do. However, I'm guessing we all see far more sculpture in real life, every day, than we do fine art. How many statues (contested though they are) do we walk by without knowing who they were created by? That is sometimes the reason that they are preserved, even though the figure is now reviled. My sister-in-law is descended from the models lending their forms to some of the wonderful figures decorating the buildings of London, including Selfridges, but how many of us look up and see exactly how gorgeous they are? Sculpture works much harder on a daily basis to make our world a little more beautiful, so I think we now owe it and the people who create it a bit more love.</p><br /><br />Kirsty Stonell Walkerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08342964877965021654noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1441164155286448763.post-79162923344942257102023-12-15T21:57:00.001+00:002023-12-15T21:57:28.462+00:00Friday 15th December - Mary Lightbody Gow (1851-1929)<p> As we get to the end of the second week, I have decided to pick a lady who has a brilliant middle name. We are also going to be visiting a family of artists again. I see patterns emerging (well, maybe not the awesome middle name bit) and so we better get on with meeting the marvellous Mary Lightbody Gow...</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjF82X1EtxYH6MYFPfmAsaH-lpNPHYC2WxgCqnQTMJdYsOwu_ta9WU_btoUbUarX_ouoprcWizrYqrUBxj3PVNpPo0r4_mY4vc6Vi2dh4z1vWEaQAXUSW14AGmMzLvwTbbDT35NVSiEfS34aZ7kmcLhRgoicgSyvpBxzK94k68j8eVpLsHdcjliQD7q3Oo/s2896/20231215_141928.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2896" data-original-width="2694" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjF82X1EtxYH6MYFPfmAsaH-lpNPHYC2WxgCqnQTMJdYsOwu_ta9WU_btoUbUarX_ouoprcWizrYqrUBxj3PVNpPo0r4_mY4vc6Vi2dh4z1vWEaQAXUSW14AGmMzLvwTbbDT35NVSiEfS34aZ7kmcLhRgoicgSyvpBxzK94k68j8eVpLsHdcjliQD7q3Oo/w373-h400/20231215_141928.jpg" width="373" /></a></div><br /><p>Oh yes, we are spoiled today as I have a photograph of our lady artist. Mary L Gow was so well known in her own life time she appeared in an article that also featured people like Louise Jopling and Laura Alma Tadema, whom she even did a portrait of, look!</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjitXGN2EdiHhClDeM7G0Q_wcZ2GlT1VjsBjGb4NCQBbVAaWYJfm5eE2CSFUI_6pCZEab97dQ-8VseykW6qHsvOyQo8ri4z70cg7ROpaXfJ2fas9A3pFUS9Tqrc8d53J8EArd1dChmSEpo5QOLWdmlJ4BA435covp48NHEx7rQOp536Ha5zKUIZTfI-Pc0/s3640/20231215_151442.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3640" data-original-width="2323" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjitXGN2EdiHhClDeM7G0Q_wcZ2GlT1VjsBjGb4NCQBbVAaWYJfm5eE2CSFUI_6pCZEab97dQ-8VseykW6qHsvOyQo8ri4z70cg7ROpaXfJ2fas9A3pFUS9Tqrc8d53J8EArd1dChmSEpo5QOLWdmlJ4BA435covp48NHEx7rQOp536Ha5zKUIZTfI-Pc0/w408-h640/20231215_151442.jpg" width="408" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Lady Alma-Tadema </i>(undated)</td></tr></tbody></table><p>But I'm getting ahead of myself. With a brother and father in the same business, you would think that Mary would not get forgotten but then who has recently seen an exhibition that involved either James Gow (1821-1886) or Andrew Carrick Gow (1848-1920)? The Victorian period is lucky to have so much media surrounding it, especially by the end of the century, but that can only tell us how many of these bright, popular artists are just lost in their pages.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQMulE3RKhpGOiBJ67JJMVwpdKjeeusCYtcj1m8u9z3oUjVQxDxJ5dyWgYGBBiWyM2GjhGm-OPuK85diqAkFoGyzhHdKZ3FknzDuziawHEo04sA19nDET-5H0Ncvwgyp04YwhWsmvVziUCJJKypz5yM151MOqv7fCjseh049-_B03m98JlavJ5VDJeY5A/s777/a%20kiss%20goodnight%201884.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="777" data-original-width="592" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQMulE3RKhpGOiBJ67JJMVwpdKjeeusCYtcj1m8u9z3oUjVQxDxJ5dyWgYGBBiWyM2GjhGm-OPuK85diqAkFoGyzhHdKZ3FknzDuziawHEo04sA19nDET-5H0Ncvwgyp04YwhWsmvVziUCJJKypz5yM151MOqv7fCjseh049-_B03m98JlavJ5VDJeY5A/w488-h640/a%20kiss%20goodnight%201884.png" width="488" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>A Kiss Goodnight</i> (1884)</td></tr></tbody></table><p>James Gow married Jane Carrick in their native Lanarkshire in Scotland in 1845. By the time their eldest son Charles arrived around a year later, the couple had relocated to London. They were living in Islington and by the looks of it, two of Jane's brothers had come with them, with Robert Carrick (1920-1905) listed as an artist, like James Gow, and Alex Carrick (1831-1895) listed as a lithographer. James and Jane's next son Andrew Carrick Gow was born in 1848, followed by Mary Lightbody Gow on Christmas Day 1851, taking her middle name from her maternal grandmother's maiden name. James Jnr followed next, then Jane Carrick Gow, named after her mother in 1856. Neither Jane senior or junior survived past the end of summer, leaving James with four small children.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgd3O7lJwz1mKLiLrvRFMyoO6xg_FF1WXNvHlMbbQL6pOc1i-Xg36uUXk_DD-Nj2jvhtN7ZsXIVCNyfnon4t4dkVyXUg4hy5q0_LRpmY5MwL4oouhtJrEDCpmkkPoUkOrAYGmfdsu8C3EYrcBiDFtakfON-fYuDCs-BW7U5Wm8O4uFjK1BO7Ngih1EIwWI/s400/harmony.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="306" data-original-width="400" height="306" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgd3O7lJwz1mKLiLrvRFMyoO6xg_FF1WXNvHlMbbQL6pOc1i-Xg36uUXk_DD-Nj2jvhtN7ZsXIVCNyfnon4t4dkVyXUg4hy5q0_LRpmY5MwL4oouhtJrEDCpmkkPoUkOrAYGmfdsu8C3EYrcBiDFtakfON-fYuDCs-BW7U5Wm8O4uFjK1BO7Ngih1EIwWI/w400-h306/harmony.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Harmony</i> (undated)</td></tr></tbody></table><p>By 1861, the children were all in school and the family still live in St Pancras, but moved to Bloomsbury in 1864 when James remarried, this time to a governess, Elizabeth Ann Worth. I wonder if it was her influence that led to Mary being recorded as a governess in the 1871 census, but she must have been studying art by that point, both at the London School of Art and Heatherleys (founded in 1845)...</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiizBZcx3gJzTfNu2BCHU95aNpODKRw2sgGwfqqT_sPgwZkKe65EMj-DppEvxGxMbybaoqft13fABNNv3XgKKV21Rv6xqUgD2WvyKPJVwsCStCL_o1E7kqWzTFpiRJgVVYZkaZmC1g9Zh85UVSWbLd_rj7kGCuCyP5ujSEXNgmcd-cGQe1YDlGE0Aloxk8/s1465/heatherleys.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1465" data-original-width="1000" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiizBZcx3gJzTfNu2BCHU95aNpODKRw2sgGwfqqT_sPgwZkKe65EMj-DppEvxGxMbybaoqft13fABNNv3XgKKV21Rv6xqUgD2WvyKPJVwsCStCL_o1E7kqWzTFpiRJgVVYZkaZmC1g9Zh85UVSWbLd_rj7kGCuCyP5ujSEXNgmcd-cGQe1YDlGE0Aloxk8/w436-h640/heatherleys.jpg" width="436" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Two students at Heatherley's School of Art, drawing from the antique</td></tr></tbody></table><p>The arrive of a step-mother, also resulted in two more Gow siblings, Elizabeth (1866-1924) and Edith (1868-1932), The 1870s brought the Royal Academy, and in 1873, Mary exhibited <i>Card Castles</i> in the same exhibition as her father and brother Andrew. This was followed the year after by <i>A Box at the Pantomime </i>and <i>A New Acquaintance</i>. Neither exhibition scored Mary any mentions, with only a couple for her father and brother. Her first mention seems to have comes from the <i>Art Journal</i> in 1875 - 'The Institute of Water-Colour painters has added three women to its membership, they are Mary Gow, Marian Chase and Miss Coleman.' The picture she had submitted to gain membership was <i>Enid's Wedding Morning</i> and fully justified her membership, according to reports.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxxZFYF9N8ZJZTFx0xAr0mKa37sYTimCR5D50pO8eShfd5XVV_8gdYrq6lIqk7yS7Qc8WwuIQWRWiCkBPO1FEiKma5mD37GzGN6F4OMbCsUENkqvrj0jyiy8QCTKNJlFX6J8d5NlkMA3rD0VBulZyd62kyjXzZOhFJLZ6RsbFJUbsAYFsekFXd-PUG2Xs/s450/the%20blue%20shawl%201911.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="450" data-original-width="247" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxxZFYF9N8ZJZTFx0xAr0mKa37sYTimCR5D50pO8eShfd5XVV_8gdYrq6lIqk7yS7Qc8WwuIQWRWiCkBPO1FEiKma5mD37GzGN6F4OMbCsUENkqvrj0jyiy8QCTKNJlFX6J8d5NlkMA3rD0VBulZyd62kyjXzZOhFJLZ6RsbFJUbsAYFsekFXd-PUG2Xs/w352-h640/the%20blue%20shawl%201911.jpg" width="352" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>The Blue Shawl</i> (1911)</td></tr></tbody></table><p>Mary did not submit another picture to the RA (or at least, didn't have one accepted) until 1880, but in the meantime she was busy with water-colours. The <i>Art Journal</i> reported on a 'more than ordinarily interesting' exhibition of the Institute of Painters in Water-Colour which included 'admirable examples' of her work. A small painting she exhibited was 'extremely competent,' according to the <i>Magazine of Art</i> and did 'credit to the artist and her family.' The <i>Art Journal </i>also noted a painting called <i>Convalescent</i> where a little girl with a doll was being read to by a friend, which the magazine considered 'clever, but needs attention to texture and colour.' She also drew attention for her work <i>Children's Garden Party</i> where the newspaper claimed she did 'well with both people and trees.'</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyL0_StHxMAtgRp7PGOKMd0t1N9NtOOonx5BCVwLjskTz9fOoxOaezXXqegVWw8azNVoFcrtCJrH2tvyS7FscxV63ZD0mkm9u7cNreOVzoAMZIF2xQuF4F1IIzUCcr1oFIO7AW7Oso30xilylDQ-_1MUKQt3l9PAvxmRHKmaqgyo5WiDwO-yojGeQMM3w/s1352/fairy%20tales%201880.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1352" data-original-width="1000" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyL0_StHxMAtgRp7PGOKMd0t1N9NtOOonx5BCVwLjskTz9fOoxOaezXXqegVWw8azNVoFcrtCJrH2tvyS7FscxV63ZD0mkm9u7cNreOVzoAMZIF2xQuF4F1IIzUCcr1oFIO7AW7Oso30xilylDQ-_1MUKQt3l9PAvxmRHKmaqgyo5WiDwO-yojGeQMM3w/w474-h640/fairy%20tales%201880.jpg" width="474" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Fairy Tales </i>(1880)</td></tr></tbody></table><div><br /></div><div>1880 saw Mary's painting <i>Fairy Tales</i> at the Royal Academy, which was described as the 'completest example of her work' that the <i>Evening Mail</i> could remember. They judged it full of childish charm. Also in 1880, Mary exhibited 'an agreeable portrait group of children' at the Institute of Painters in Water-Colour, which was mentioned in the <i>Pall Mall Gazette</i>. The <i>Daily News</i> was not quite so enthused, criticising the over-crowding of objects in the piece but admitting that 'the little girl is pretty with her abundant <i>chevelure</i>.' That's hair, by the way. T'uh, critics.</div><div><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXInNNNuN3DaD44ZbM3CQTAdmaDADlAfgFZj1DhZdnAdxfzG6kIj837qDzEwbW6VHv2k59uhWBB5j1C_97H-AdZt39fnfoFdjGCJk-PD-pG38gv6a7qzSqgeibs1LDxVK-wgV99PJjipfCSlU3UrLN8ShiMDi6oUh2f6NGX8fOhFHUR7h6RTx4cLvcyP4/s600/Mary_L_Gow_-_An_Invitation_-.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="412" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXInNNNuN3DaD44ZbM3CQTAdmaDADlAfgFZj1DhZdnAdxfzG6kIj837qDzEwbW6VHv2k59uhWBB5j1C_97H-AdZt39fnfoFdjGCJk-PD-pG38gv6a7qzSqgeibs1LDxVK-wgV99PJjipfCSlU3UrLN8ShiMDi6oUh2f6NGX8fOhFHUR7h6RTx4cLvcyP4/w440-h640/Mary_L_Gow_-_An_Invitation_-.jpg" width="440" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>An Invitation</i> (1881)</td></tr></tbody></table><p>1881 saw the Gow family living at a new address in Fitzroy Square after James Gow had been widowed again. At home were Andrew, Mary, James jnr, Elizabeth and Edith, together with three servants. Mary's painting at the Institute of Painters in Water-Colour, <i>An Invitation</i> caused the <i>London Evening Standard</i> to report that it was 'creditable for ease of posture and glow of colour' and the <i>Manchester Courier</i> praised it saying it 'shows a great improvement on her former works.'</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNaa4N6uOkCJWcYvpUKn71NvH7B_t9nciY_s36xyRuplKykzBz1gsOtoYHNP0eStISxAT85TUuQDhT0CQN7BCHK7fBkAsR1GBKCjjvZl3hJliMhZl5bZMWgJqZtUz9cND55AdYqqLJ0jpC2icGCWzEzyXmcB3TPVELp_nOyFDyHYg0SgxwkmKvek6rPqc/s1024/Mary%20L%20Gow%20-%20The%20Godmother.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="828" data-original-width="1024" height="518" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNaa4N6uOkCJWcYvpUKn71NvH7B_t9nciY_s36xyRuplKykzBz1gsOtoYHNP0eStISxAT85TUuQDhT0CQN7BCHK7fBkAsR1GBKCjjvZl3hJliMhZl5bZMWgJqZtUz9cND55AdYqqLJ0jpC2icGCWzEzyXmcB3TPVELp_nOyFDyHYg0SgxwkmKvek6rPqc/w640-h518/Mary%20L%20Gow%20-%20The%20Godmother.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>The Godmother</i> (1883)</td></tr></tbody></table><p>1882's work <i>Something Interesting</i> showed children reading storybooks again and the <i>Art Journal</i> described it as 'a good little canvas.' Continuing the pretty domestic scenes, her 1883 work <i>The Godmother</i> was described in the <i>Magazine of Art</i> as 'especially pleasing,' She continued her good spell with works in the Grosvenor Gallery exhibition, where most of the pieces were described by the <i>Magazine of Art</i> as 'below average', but it was noted that Mary had submitted some good drawings.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixB0jTW24f2Urzx3gCpSRUNCY_HYsSPTOCK4mlu3iFxNaK5Gt5MApbSbdLvbAs0ub0JKxmYJCINhNGxsL1n8Di3DW6doFZa-ww1gk1IzEE1T8psFjaLYNtdc-TShDIEvL-j6yMsHHG0CfIxQwDIHDzKtuLG0nYLL0L9obiqT7X9kXLc6REUg0PsMirw8M/s1024/Mary%20L%20Gow%20-%20Afternoon%20Tea%20in%20Regent%20Street.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1024" data-original-width="765" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixB0jTW24f2Urzx3gCpSRUNCY_HYsSPTOCK4mlu3iFxNaK5Gt5MApbSbdLvbAs0ub0JKxmYJCINhNGxsL1n8Di3DW6doFZa-ww1gk1IzEE1T8psFjaLYNtdc-TShDIEvL-j6yMsHHG0CfIxQwDIHDzKtuLG0nYLL0L9obiqT7X9kXLc6REUg0PsMirw8M/w478-h640/Mary%20L%20Gow%20-%20Afternoon%20Tea%20in%20Regent%20Street.jpg" width="478" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Afternoon Tea in Regent Street </i>(1885)</td></tr></tbody></table><p>Her final appearance at the Royal Academy seems to be 1885 and <i>Tea Time</i> which could possibly be the same as <i>Afternoon Tea in Regent Street. </i>Whilst not a very regular contributor to the RA, as opposed to the water-colour societies, I wondered if her withdrawal and the death of her father around the same time were connected. I don't know her reasoning for not appearing at the RA - maybe it was intentional, maybe she couldn't get accepted - but the newspapers mention her water-colour societies works far more than any appearance at the RA, so maybe she just didn't see the point in chasing the RA as opposed to other galleries such as the Grosvenor or the Dudley. </p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh66nmJriLywUu1ET-7hkGl0dRD6tFLrn6F8GVSz2gBkgJFxxS_nds7a8mVnJ8BP1Bh9XvfXBV5b3zssc2AtCOT4SybT8B_e73Bqmayk0GB1nlyxKiPWZRlXH7xZFhVkpBbEvT3rAJvSzZzy1T8uAuokHOaoK0t-D7cyj4yey5e95122NIBbbmlGQun41U/s664/willow%20pattern%20plate%201886.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="664" data-original-width="441" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh66nmJriLywUu1ET-7hkGl0dRD6tFLrn6F8GVSz2gBkgJFxxS_nds7a8mVnJ8BP1Bh9XvfXBV5b3zssc2AtCOT4SybT8B_e73Bqmayk0GB1nlyxKiPWZRlXH7xZFhVkpBbEvT3rAJvSzZzy1T8uAuokHOaoK0t-D7cyj4yey5e95122NIBbbmlGQun41U/w426-h640/willow%20pattern%20plate%201886.png" width="426" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>The Willow Pattern Plate</i> (1886)</td></tr></tbody></table><p>Mary's work <i>The Willow Pattern Plate, </i>shown at the Royal Institute<i>, </i>shows a mother using a willow pattern plate as a story book, telling her daughter the story behind the design. The <i>Magazine of Art</i> reported that the 'composition, design, and colours are so good that although the subject is a trite one, the picture avoids sentimentality.' She also appeared at Messr Cassell's Black and White exhibition at the Memorial Hall, Farringdon Street alongside <a href="https://fannycornforth.blogspot.com/2022/07/alice-havers.html" target="_blank">Alice Havers</a> and was one of the plates in the Christmas edition of <i>The Graphic</i>.</p><p>By the 1891 census, the siblings are down to Andrew, listed as a 'Royal Academician', Mary, merely an 'artist', Elizabeth and Edith, together with their servants at 15 Grove End Road. Her appearances in the newspapers and art magazines continued with mentions of her regular appearances at the Black and White exhibitions, likening her to Louis-Maurice Boutet de Monvel, a French water-colourist who had a similar style in works such as this one...</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyuhWF0xqcTajz8vQM_Bec63VJ_3zuaizhW3-bT0VpeCvct0pvw7JSE1CqzQ1Y3wInp-87-j1_4209fQKrZcMrpnEVOrhzn3T8vZKWtsCP6ZtxmS0Q5AaE9T2h9lrUpQRf__oWeWzPfPHPDhlgJrlk4Z34GN581DtUp6wFNaeTpijY0imfE1sbyTFhcpQ/s600/Louis_Maurice_Boutet_de_Monvel_-_The_Pupils_of_Mademoiselle_Genseigne_illustration_from_Nos_Enfants_by_Anatole_France.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="485" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyuhWF0xqcTajz8vQM_Bec63VJ_3zuaizhW3-bT0VpeCvct0pvw7JSE1CqzQ1Y3wInp-87-j1_4209fQKrZcMrpnEVOrhzn3T8vZKWtsCP6ZtxmS0Q5AaE9T2h9lrUpQRf__oWeWzPfPHPDhlgJrlk4Z34GN581DtUp6wFNaeTpijY0imfE1sbyTFhcpQ/w324-h400/Louis_Maurice_Boutet_de_Monvel_-_The_Pupils_of_Mademoiselle_Genseigne_illustration_from_Nos_Enfants_by_Anatole_France.jpg" width="324" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>The Pupils of Mademoiselle Genseigne </i>(undated) Louis-Maurice Boutet de Monvel</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZsq5AOSrG9vB7sBdm7OAUwDKJm_XU78GRstc_EMS5Ah1i8lbcBcwDnjBDr4WoYO7sZ0G4_HdP_K7W_SDlgtxc13mrbvytdpT3MVxE0_cZJrRGYpUSyHOB3sv9eN_UxYVhk1GXst78aNYEkts2JXnqor5RViFB1E4h6bS-HV5A7dFAo_Yohssn_EEQs5c/s400/fair%20rosamund.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="289" data-original-width="400" height="462" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZsq5AOSrG9vB7sBdm7OAUwDKJm_XU78GRstc_EMS5Ah1i8lbcBcwDnjBDr4WoYO7sZ0G4_HdP_K7W_SDlgtxc13mrbvytdpT3MVxE0_cZJrRGYpUSyHOB3sv9eN_UxYVhk1GXst78aNYEkts2JXnqor5RViFB1E4h6bS-HV5A7dFAo_Yohssn_EEQs5c/w640-h462/fair%20rosamund.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Fair Rosamund's Bower</i> (undated) Mary L Gow</td></tr></tbody></table><p>It was added that her work was 'well-nigh too dainty' which I'm not sure if that is praise or criticism. 1896 seems to have been a busy year for Mary in the newspapers, appearing at the New Gallery in a sea of Symbolists where her pictures <i>The Sampler</i> and <i>An Interlude </i>would 'appeal to everyone with an eye for delicate colour and a feeling for simple sentiment.' Meanwhile, her appearance at the Royal Institute of Painters in Water-Colour with <i>A Portrait Sketch </i>assured the reader 'that the author of those extraordinarily dainty things in the New Gallery can be very vigorous and offhand when necessary.' </p><p>In 1897, the Berlin Photographic Company published a photogravure of Mary's painting <i>Your Majesty</i>...</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="314" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3d-bc4BIrXsBrHJ0aV37xjRKCmc9-BDgpbD3CMJS1ww_B4jC3ym7V7DGbq0jDMwUVI__sT3mWsCK2liKO-m_9fEfAICM2kNprIRLEwymzLNOEkqrNFB6IB99Fzaat99jU_bfh-KAI2B2s-6ev0Eko-GNIq-i7GCp0dDwbLO9qPkaFe190cg-MWKS5vQ4/w402-h640/queen%20victoria.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="402" /></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Your Majesty</i> (1897)</td></tr></tbody></table></div><div><br /></div><div>The moment illustrated was the early morning call paid on Princess Victoria by the Archbishop of Canterbury and the Lord Chamberlain to announce the death of King William and her accession to the throne. The <i>London Evening Standard</i> described the scene thus - 'The girlish Queen, loosely and hastily arrayed in deference to their summons, receives the intimation of her august destiny, and its tremendous responsibilities with the simplicity and youthful inexperience that was her charm then, and with the dignity that sixty years have but heightened and sustained.'</div><div><br /></div><div>By the end of Queen Victoria's reign, Mary had become a member of the female art establishment, cemented by pieces like Arthur Fish's article in 1901. Fish wrote 'Miss Gow's delightfully delicate drawings are always a feature of the exhibitions of the Royal Institute of Painters in Water-Colour ... As an illustrator she has few equals.'</div><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXtn_0LNQtJSspW7tC7VATa-iTObf97-dVO73r3_aRTmTci6_fJMl3PAucW9CLFSyVOx6e_t79opVm0Fk2Urj7w_LftsRF0wu4gm3SYtTyRmvNgM9ZJN_FWaHUySxMOxcvlDz6Sp2wjZg6-o23L-CsQ3S1Ef_o9lGItEIYZLJOR-9-jH-CaGR9UJRI5VY/s500/sydney%20prior%20hall.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="323" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXtn_0LNQtJSspW7tC7VATa-iTObf97-dVO73r3_aRTmTci6_fJMl3PAucW9CLFSyVOx6e_t79opVm0Fk2Urj7w_LftsRF0wu4gm3SYtTyRmvNgM9ZJN_FWaHUySxMOxcvlDz6Sp2wjZg6-o23L-CsQ3S1Ef_o9lGItEIYZLJOR-9-jH-CaGR9UJRI5VY/w414-h640/sydney%20prior%20hall.jpg" width="414" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Sydney Prior Hall</i> (1890s)</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div>In 1906, aged 54, Mary married fellow artist Sydney Prior Hall, who was also the child of an artist (animal painter Harry Hall). He was a widow, his first wife dying over a decade before and his work echoed Mary's, including black and white illustrations, which he did for <i>Tom Brown's School Days </i>in 1885. Mary's own illustration work appeared in books such as William Wordsworth's <i>We Are Seven</i>...</div><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHfwTjOxctuLtdMAc089n6c4sHu6RaagSX_jW-wDJzc21EV7CwCPq2oN4XKCV0pjDGVErhu90NKmyn7sXYjqEWz5msPUNXPEvmGoQK31WX3KM9U559-zk_Gda16VSHg-K5Ze4OdU0evcRmkTuGuqPBkAeh4QauWKes-J8h0j7XOb9UFGZcyT_NEjhyphenhyphenGTM/s588/we%20are%20seven.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="588" data-original-width="470" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHfwTjOxctuLtdMAc089n6c4sHu6RaagSX_jW-wDJzc21EV7CwCPq2oN4XKCV0pjDGVErhu90NKmyn7sXYjqEWz5msPUNXPEvmGoQK31WX3KM9U559-zk_Gda16VSHg-K5Ze4OdU0evcRmkTuGuqPBkAeh4QauWKes-J8h0j7XOb9UFGZcyT_NEjhyphenhyphenGTM/w512-h640/we%20are%20seven.png" width="512" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>We Are Seven</i> (1889)</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div>In terms of her later art, I think one of the most touching images she painted came from 1914 entitled <i>The Gow Brothers</i>...</div><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRcHc6KBAK10p-KpCp96iwooRD-A8BkbES-vUvCW4V1VEeFNLk5ta3_23yb2QtZ-mu8uL57OmXYXU2kFaHqWqYSIStEjiBq2gLoe75JoQUb11o-Y1CVPdONz5HZCNY1UO-j3UCJHbSbKhBdrgx_NQdI9dZzRfzTyIVF9KOpqqM1tYXDXfgklig_TTfre8/s1024/Mary%20L%20Gow%20-%20The%20Gow%20Brothers%201914.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="664" data-original-width="1024" height="416" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRcHc6KBAK10p-KpCp96iwooRD-A8BkbES-vUvCW4V1VEeFNLk5ta3_23yb2QtZ-mu8uL57OmXYXU2kFaHqWqYSIStEjiBq2gLoe75JoQUb11o-Y1CVPdONz5HZCNY1UO-j3UCJHbSbKhBdrgx_NQdI9dZzRfzTyIVF9KOpqqM1tYXDXfgklig_TTfre8/w640-h416/Mary%20L%20Gow%20-%20The%20Gow%20Brothers%201914.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>The Gow Brothers</i> (1914)</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div>This one baffled me to start with - was it meant to be her own brothers Charles, James and Andrew? Or was it James's sons, Andrew (1887-1978), James (1890-1929) and Roderick (1893-1916). I'm going to plump for the second option as all three boys were old enough to go off to war, poor Roderick dying in the Battle of Jutland. If I was feeling fanciful, I would suggest this is a couple of years after its 1914 date, as the youngest child in the image is seperated from his brothers, as he would be by death.</div><div><br /></div><div>Royal Academician Andrew died in 1920, followed in 1923 by James. Mary lost Sydney in 1922, then she and Charles both died in 1929, Charles in March and Mary on 27th May. In her probate, she left everything, all £28K, to her half-sister Edith.<br /><p>We only have nine more days of Blogvent to go and I think we can see very strong patterns forming about what it means to be a female painter in the last decades of the nineteenth century, what damage or benefit there is in having a father or brother in the art world, what opinions, prejudices and expectations your predominently male audience and critics are going to have and how any woman can breakthrough all that and make her mark. We'll see how the rest of the Blogvent ladies do...</p></div>Kirsty Stonell Walkerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08342964877965021654noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1441164155286448763.post-45062546748017909842023-12-14T22:15:00.000+00:002023-12-14T22:15:20.346+00:00Thursday 14th December - Millicent Etheldreda Gray (1873-1963)<p>Today was my last day at work this year, hurrah! Unfortunately, that means I have been rushing around all day and have only just sat down to address today's lady artist. Yikes, but I have a lady in mind who I will add to my Byam Shaw circle (which has to be an exhibition, if anyone wants to give me a call, I am available) and it is thanks to Byam Shaw that I solved a little mystery about her death date. You will also be pleased that the amount of information I have about Millicent Etheldreda Gray is not reflected in the number of beautiful illustrations we will be looking at, so let's crack on with what we have...</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlX8vYK23ctSps72e7XRwDLKSuIbBRvhDMwFy5kgbJgZyzr-uNyXe0zWT1Th6YLITL8HNC44_rzW_5L3ScBU2lFVxpJEsJshN7PlUJ61z5pkQwXdVn0AuJo4JyluE7w8mKUESYS1ht26BVywFkraC4bngqhGPKw_edIjkr4oQDDgdLx9ERse9fnk2cQAA/s640/the%20hat.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="480" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlX8vYK23ctSps72e7XRwDLKSuIbBRvhDMwFy5kgbJgZyzr-uNyXe0zWT1Th6YLITL8HNC44_rzW_5L3ScBU2lFVxpJEsJshN7PlUJ61z5pkQwXdVn0AuJo4JyluE7w8mKUESYS1ht26BVywFkraC4bngqhGPKw_edIjkr4oQDDgdLx9ERse9fnk2cQAA/w480-h640/the%20hat.jpg" width="480" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>The Hat</i> (undated)</td></tr></tbody></table><p>There is actually a bevy of Gray sisters who took up art, but apart from Etheldreda (she seemed to go by M. Etheldreda Gray, so we'll stick to that) and her sister Monica, I can't find any pictures by the others. Anyway, The Grays were extremely well-off; father Horace had been a civil servant and was Colonel, as well a secretary to a political party. Etheldreda's mother, Julia, was the daughter of a master brickmaker employing 30 men, and their first census after their marriage in 1869 was under the same roof as her parents (but it was a very nice roof). Their first child, Hilda Mary was born in 1870, followed by Monica in 1871, then Etheldreda, then Mary in 1875, Naomi in 1876, Agatha in 1878, Annie in 1880 and Marjory in 1889 (a surprise no doubt). They all lived at 2 The Boltons in Kensington.</p><p>I have no information really about Miss Gray but I am about to make an assumption (which I will extend to her arty sisters) that she went to school with Byam Shaw. Now, you all know how much I love Byam Shaw (I am willing to set up the Byam Shaw fan club if you want to join, we'll have badges and everything) and her name has been linked with him in various places. She is listed as a 'student' with all her sisters in 1891, so as she was only a year younger than him and Eleanor Fortescue Brickdale, I think she was known to them (for reasons that will become obvious). </p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4tvaW_PylshaA30XCCx93a5Q7DsE3jkmVilFhkh5ESVSxNZG5CuTg2wp70Dsa4ff0lQaKqTa-lZvWCSv1DnNcpqh_T0Z3o8cQ8H8CgaBxmSCaPoeyP4vWK0g-r3KHgOYf2szJOnMvybSgIu_Wv4FVhrsXBsVB9zrmzklMVF6NomP50KhdY4aXmXs9Kno/s1024/Millicent_Etheldreda_Gray_-_Instructing_her_dolly_in_the_art_of_going_off_nicely_to_by-byes_1914.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1024" data-original-width="719" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4tvaW_PylshaA30XCCx93a5Q7DsE3jkmVilFhkh5ESVSxNZG5CuTg2wp70Dsa4ff0lQaKqTa-lZvWCSv1DnNcpqh_T0Z3o8cQ8H8CgaBxmSCaPoeyP4vWK0g-r3KHgOYf2szJOnMvybSgIu_Wv4FVhrsXBsVB9zrmzklMVF6NomP50KhdY4aXmXs9Kno/w450-h640/Millicent_Etheldreda_Gray_-_Instructing_her_dolly_in_the_art_of_going_off_nicely_to_by-byes_1914.jpg" width="450" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Instructing her dolly in the art of going off nicely to Bye-Byes </i>(1914)</td></tr></tbody></table><p>She began her RA career in 1899 with the work <i>Royden Water Splash, New Forest</i>. She didn't exhibit in 1900, which I wonder is why she did not list herself as an artist in the 1901 census, despite her sisters Monica and Naomi listed 'artist' as their professions. Agatha merely had her profession as 'Art', which is awesome. Monica had exhibited in 1900, a picture entitled <i>Hook Heath, Surrey</i>. Strangely, both of them were present at the 1901 RA, so possibly it was a mistake that Etheldreda was left out of the art party on the census rather than a moment of existential doubt. I must just include one of Monica's dog pictures as she seems to have specialised in them...</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBgIHiPRJYBXijquIv26LPH6-Xz3ykpABMoIYCTrhJaBHoJKO5e6e6lBR8K4MmywoFZqD7G4jX3eP_8ajxhix4BT9ATkosdpEy4hUCQ1Z5U_DVvvApduqfZV1W2v3k10z5vL_AbOj9MQzDzfrXs8mqzUzNzDP1CVOczpflU1LHTDe02NarvsiSIMRZY8Q/s600/dog%20monica%20gray.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="525" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBgIHiPRJYBXijquIv26LPH6-Xz3ykpABMoIYCTrhJaBHoJKO5e6e6lBR8K4MmywoFZqD7G4jX3eP_8ajxhix4BT9ATkosdpEy4hUCQ1Z5U_DVvvApduqfZV1W2v3k10z5vL_AbOj9MQzDzfrXs8mqzUzNzDP1CVOczpflU1LHTDe02NarvsiSIMRZY8Q/w560-h640/dog%20monica%20gray.jpg" width="560" /></a></div><br /><p>Blimey. Moving on.</p><p>Etheldreda had three portraits in the RA in 1901, <i>Peggy, a portrait</i>, <i>The Children of J F L Brunner</i> and a portrait of her father <i>Colonel H W Gray VD 2nd South Middlesex VRC.</i> In case you didn't guess the RA illustrated catalogue didn't have her work, which hacked me off, but because she did illustrations, we have some of her work at least. I'm hacked off partly because her 1903 image "<i>The Fool hath said in his heart, There is no God" </i>was described in <i>St James' Gazette</i> as of 'the Neo-preraphaelite school, which follows in the footsteps of Mr Byam Shaw.' Well now, 'the neo-preraphaelites'! There is a nice phrase which I will start overusing on a regular basis (which is so neo-preraphaelite of me).</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqHS4zlMaCpFhA1WvEyyVFSxgqDKotqJ_SXRvI6LEehHPXsD7Yu407Oaas2Tas8f0jpiHjiDcn8kspnDSW1tp2SdrCb4j7BSGaux0ymnKKXiDIbDWRXIXbk9jj924HKJ49MkX5vTfHtB_4O_sv_k_H3XAvCfqve18RvxiV-9y39Pdlasthoy_2a5hB_tw/s1500/child%20at%20play.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1500" data-original-width="1059" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqHS4zlMaCpFhA1WvEyyVFSxgqDKotqJ_SXRvI6LEehHPXsD7Yu407Oaas2Tas8f0jpiHjiDcn8kspnDSW1tp2SdrCb4j7BSGaux0ymnKKXiDIbDWRXIXbk9jj924HKJ49MkX5vTfHtB_4O_sv_k_H3XAvCfqve18RvxiV-9y39Pdlasthoy_2a5hB_tw/w452-h640/child%20at%20play.jpg" width="452" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Child at Play</i> (1938)</td></tr></tbody></table><p>Her other piece from 1903 was another portrait, and I'm surprised she went all neo-preraphaelite for the RA, but she is listed with <a href="https://fannycornforth.blogspot.com/2023/12/friday-8th-december-jessie-macgregor.html" target="_blank">Jessie Macgregor</a> as the followers of Byam Shaw. Looking at her RA record she seems to have interspersed her portraits with moreimaginative (and neo-preraphaelite) pieces. 1906 saw <i>Percy G Gates</i> then 1907 brought <i>The Skylark</i>. 1911's RA featured a portrait of her sister Marjory, which described her pose as 'so perfectly natural and characteristic of girlhood that one instantly recognises its appropriateness in a study of unaffected intimate life.' The year after, a non-portrait year, came <i>The Book</i>. Maybe there is a pattern that she was adhering to, where she liked to mix it up and not get typecast as one sort of painter. We all know that portrait painters don't tend to get too much enthusiasm in the reviews of the RA. Mind you, here we come to 1914's portrait and I'm really hacked off about this one's lack of illustration. Etheldreda's Royal Academy portrait of 1914 was of Eleanor Fortescue Brickdale. Rats, no illustration. Here's that lovely photograph of Byam Shaw and EFB...</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjh_lh7b3wvRcZElBFRc6guA9hTa7yScHeocMZgZ94C97NNQ0kvGj551_5jizUlkPBDlj0qitGZExE_xabnGJKePNZpmf8j-YOgP0LfLUW08FW4DWA0rftq_w1YhlL-Z98gmm4ycPQP9h4F9_t5sBLERfCoR2fcYatQlHtNv8csyVc7bW4NIGYZq4sjm9I/s225/efb.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="225" data-original-width="225" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjh_lh7b3wvRcZElBFRc6guA9hTa7yScHeocMZgZ94C97NNQ0kvGj551_5jizUlkPBDlj0qitGZExE_xabnGJKePNZpmf8j-YOgP0LfLUW08FW4DWA0rftq_w1YhlL-Z98gmm4ycPQP9h4F9_t5sBLERfCoR2fcYatQlHtNv8csyVc7bW4NIGYZq4sjm9I/w320-h320/efb.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><p>Ah, such a lovely photo. Anyway, my second link to the Byam Shaw circle. As far as I can see Etheldreda didn't have anything to do with the Byam Shaw school as either pupil or teacher, but obviously had some link with the families (there is another thing that indicates this, hang in there until the end). In the meantime, brace yourself, as I found one of her RA images...</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAkJKYHcMq1YeMGEpxGYFOqKVn2FdAQz7ZJnK964NEbOOHA2KeZSs7sfRmAkRiZqzllXU9SmzmKPpCqhKF-71U65bUBDnz1pS04TZeVKJ57nsIJMhg7sCJB-oM-e0lfjFrrhOsWeNR_ZF2SWUKJ58t_RR3OcenEUzGvYaAGmcKWViApivrT-bTOXd2Zns/s1983/mothers%20work.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1983" data-original-width="1520" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAkJKYHcMq1YeMGEpxGYFOqKVn2FdAQz7ZJnK964NEbOOHA2KeZSs7sfRmAkRiZqzllXU9SmzmKPpCqhKF-71U65bUBDnz1pS04TZeVKJ57nsIJMhg7sCJB-oM-e0lfjFrrhOsWeNR_ZF2SWUKJ58t_RR3OcenEUzGvYaAGmcKWViApivrT-bTOXd2Zns/w490-h640/mothers%20work.png" width="490" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>The Treasure</i> (1925)</td></tr></tbody></table><p>Finally, from the RA, I found <i>The Treasure</i> painted by Etheldreda for the 1925 exhibition, illustrated and praised in <i>The Sphere</i> - 'A clever piece of work by a woman exhibitor "The Treasure" painted by Miss Etheldreda Gray ... Miss Gray contributes a delightful study of a woman and child, the composition of which has been very cleverly arranged.'</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAEyLNpqRG13Fs1N-cALNPYAX8mIi28Vn1SmbPSqWzWfdqk2QjwfnnOaoMS2sAhXGL0N6FlshbMxuJr5oI5gxtnXaU3z5msgLMsCbByzwB_59PfPHsvhVrvb1HwCXD6RclLopwTpmsI1WofAEljOC25Fd5L2Hi0igkJ5R-Xy7r6jofJcN3spuZyrOi5SU/s1024/inside.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1024" data-original-width="663" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAEyLNpqRG13Fs1N-cALNPYAX8mIi28Vn1SmbPSqWzWfdqk2QjwfnnOaoMS2sAhXGL0N6FlshbMxuJr5oI5gxtnXaU3z5msgLMsCbByzwB_59PfPHsvhVrvb1HwCXD6RclLopwTpmsI1WofAEljOC25Fd5L2Hi0igkJ5R-Xy7r6jofJcN3spuZyrOi5SU/w414-h640/inside.jpg" width="414" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="text-align: left;">Those are all the RA pictures I can find, but Etheldreda also had another string to her bow as we can see. She, like many of her contemporaries, did book illustrations. In 1911, </span><i style="text-align: left;">The Treasure Book of Children's Verse</i><span style="text-align: left;"> by Mabel and Lilian Quiller-Couch was 'adorned with a series of very conscientious and beautiful colour plates of child life by Miss Etheldreda Gray' (according to the </span><i style="text-align: left;">Nottingham Guardian</i><span style="text-align: left;">). She also did the images for another of the Quiller-Couch sisters' books, </span><i style="text-align: left;">A Book of Children's Verse </i><span style="text-align: left;">in 1920. The </span><i style="text-align: left;">Children's Paper </i><span style="text-align: left;">of 1922 list her as an artist (along with </span><a href="https://fannycornforth.blogspot.com/2020/03/olive-allen.html" style="text-align: left;" target="_blank">Olive Allen</a><span style="text-align: left;">) of </span><i style="text-align: left;">Children's Reward Books. </i><span style="text-align: left;">Etheldreda also provided the illustrations for an edition of </span><i style="text-align: left;">Little Women</i><span style="text-align: left;"> in 1923 and </span><i style="text-align: left;">Peter's Adventure </i><span style="text-align: left;">by Evelyn Maud Whitaker in 1925.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="text-align: left;"><br /></span></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghaVQsgj_MIGn09pLkit-8VEE4LBGPl1TYR2spEf0nQec9F_9RvYrNLkrem0Ba-dqZ2H4wCc7YhMJcGx1EjlIGhJOTzAFT_BJjEumnu19S3BAlCFcObgB_LQjbn2oUjuwAXcoc2tfVJ7VDnv-mnl9j9N0tu98JOMp4rRZP-_3ysq323BqSw6u4aV7H8To/s1200/Arthur%20William%20James%20Russell.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="888" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghaVQsgj_MIGn09pLkit-8VEE4LBGPl1TYR2spEf0nQec9F_9RvYrNLkrem0Ba-dqZ2H4wCc7YhMJcGx1EjlIGhJOTzAFT_BJjEumnu19S3BAlCFcObgB_LQjbn2oUjuwAXcoc2tfVJ7VDnv-mnl9j9N0tu98JOMp4rRZP-_3ysq323BqSw6u4aV7H8To/w474-h640/Arthur%20William%20James%20Russell.jpg" width="474" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Arthur William James Russell</i> (1923)</td></tr></tbody></table><p>There are some notices in the newspapers of paintings done for commissions such as this one of Arthur Russell, the town clerk of Paddington who, it was reported in the <i>Marylebone Mercury</i>, retired after 52 years of service to the borough, 21 of which were as town clerk, and was presented with this portrait by Etheldreda. She also did a copy of the portrait by Alma-Tadema of Mr Whitaker Thompson, the late Mayor of Kensington, which was presented to the Council for their collection of portraits of Mayors by his widow.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_4z6avfxvUJHq2Mxl2ea7QdVIZJpjdmozAsyscRv4TfN3c8Jd0jxJr5xFQXTFgaml1o-5NjBRNcyv6zkK1EO0052lZK3fdWkrmiQ9SNoFPp53k2aVo3wqGM4ijEMFQOpSld3nOTtyroDj1H2auotrzq0taMCbo7efGsA7_uAfRvgJBwzgNgyR_hmF7SA/s800/Sir%20Frederick%20Harrison,%20General%20Manager,%20London%20and%20North%20Western%20Railway.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="614" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_4z6avfxvUJHq2Mxl2ea7QdVIZJpjdmozAsyscRv4TfN3c8Jd0jxJr5xFQXTFgaml1o-5NjBRNcyv6zkK1EO0052lZK3fdWkrmiQ9SNoFPp53k2aVo3wqGM4ijEMFQOpSld3nOTtyroDj1H2auotrzq0taMCbo7efGsA7_uAfRvgJBwzgNgyR_hmF7SA/w492-h640/Sir%20Frederick%20Harrison,%20General%20Manager,%20London%20and%20North%20Western%20Railway.jpg" width="492" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Sir Frederick Harrison, General Manager, London and North Western Railway </i>(undated)</td></tr></tbody></table><p>She also painted Sir Frederick Harrison, as did <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flora_Lion" target="_blank">Flora Lion</a> in around 1912, although I can't find a mention of Etheldreda's painting in the newspapers (unlike Flora's) so I don't have a date. Being a member of the Royal Society of Portrait Painters, she exhibited with them including a 1935 portrait of Juliet, the daughter of Glen Byam Shaw (there is still more, trust me).</p><p>Back to Etheldreda's life, and she continued to live at home through all the census up to 1911. The family moved about a bit, seen through Etheldreda's RA addresses, but they are all together, Horace and Julia, with Hilda, Monica, Annie, Marjory and Etheldreda (and their three servants). Missing were sister Mary, who had died and Naomi, who had married, with Agatha seemingly off on her own. Monica and Etheldreda were recorded as artists and Annie was a teacher, but everyone else was just wealthy enough to not bother with an occupation.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimbFmwKX_RKQm4clP1330LIE3cFkVXww_BfWZ8UXrzGwv5DVn0_r6Zlv4jZjPx0NrjzYC-3U4Y7IPx-ysCsUcCeSNqzlAnAJh59_eMN5obUWU4gZrmndX4gA0Xkjby3ezBzRI-5o-Ok4Ra4MDRLiva5W7GXojaS4yw9MFvW0gQ3NKG_R8Pox63GgcDCDM/s1759/Treasurebookofchildrens%20verse%20illustration.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1759" data-original-width="1300" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimbFmwKX_RKQm4clP1330LIE3cFkVXww_BfWZ8UXrzGwv5DVn0_r6Zlv4jZjPx0NrjzYC-3U4Y7IPx-ysCsUcCeSNqzlAnAJh59_eMN5obUWU4gZrmndX4gA0Xkjby3ezBzRI-5o-Ok4Ra4MDRLiva5W7GXojaS4yw9MFvW0gQ3NKG_R8Pox63GgcDCDM/w472-h640/Treasurebookofchildrens%20verse%20illustration.jpg" width="472" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Illustration from <i>The Treasure Book of Children's Verse</i> (1911)</td></tr></tbody></table><p>I got slightly frustrated this afternoon as I thought I had got lucky in picking an artist who had her dates all over the internet - 1873-1957 - but then I couldn't find her death certificate or her probate (I do love a bit of probate). Not only that, on the 1939 register (which I love even more than probate) someone had crossed out her surname and written 'Adams.' Hmmmm....</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMAZhzg-5EpCSiLi6Kstpow9JBU5d1-11sQa_xZS9z3qmqNz_fndtzQg42eGPJawXc5SRmt7v3_nJ70cKd7hRGnvPQbDV0ujoMKWaIC8UXniyPTnPLP2YROQMtBjR13n1R1sdaRyj3OSIsO4HdoZnsVTBGaYyi704Kk8CqBMs1NR-sQfybg04D3zwPZr8/s1200/the%20lodge.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="907" data-original-width="1200" height="484" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMAZhzg-5EpCSiLi6Kstpow9JBU5d1-11sQa_xZS9z3qmqNz_fndtzQg42eGPJawXc5SRmt7v3_nJ70cKd7hRGnvPQbDV0ujoMKWaIC8UXniyPTnPLP2YROQMtBjR13n1R1sdaRyj3OSIsO4HdoZnsVTBGaYyi704Kk8CqBMs1NR-sQfybg04D3zwPZr8/w640-h484/the%20lodge.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>The Lodge</i> (1919) William Dacres Adams</td></tr></tbody></table><p>So, in 1939, Monica and Etheldreda were still living together as retired artists in Cuckfield in Sussex. Less than a year later, 66 year old Etheldreda married 76 year old William Dacres Adams. He was widowed a couple of months beforehand (at 76 you obviously can't hang about) and as he was also an artist, I wondered how long the couple had known each other. They moved to Lewes where William died in 1951 aged 86, and Etheldreda died in 1963, aged 89. </p><p>My final Byam Shaw link is her will, where she left some of her £11K wealth to John James Byam Shaw, fine art dealer and son of John Byam Liston Shaw. </p><p><br /></p>Kirsty Stonell Walkerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08342964877965021654noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1441164155286448763.post-68727950332067102072023-12-13T15:33:00.002+00:002023-12-13T15:33:46.346+00:00Wednesday 13th December - Emma Squire 1836-1932<p>Today's lady is a bit of a gamble as I could have chosen her marginally better-known sister, yet I found one solitary image by this woman and loved it so much that I had to pursue her. That's right, there is only one image by her available online so if you know of any others, give me a shout. Say hello to Emma Squire...</p><p>Who? Well, exactly, and yet look at her dates! She lived to 96 and was a busy and reasonably popular artist ('reasonably' is doing a lot of heavy lifting here) so why has she vanished? I will tell you what I know about her and we'll see if we can make Emma Squire popular again! Come on now, I'm feeling optimistic, humour me.</p><p>So, Emma Squire was born on 13 February 1836 to George (1805-1870) and Catherine (1810-1895). George was a baker who made his way up to 'Master Baker' with his own company of people and I'm guessing he did very well for himself financially which was handy as the couple went on to have an unfeasibly large number of daughters and one son. Starting nine month after their marriage (well done) in the autumn of 1833, they had daughter Kate (1834-1900), followed by Emma, followed by Elizabeth (1837-1931), then George jnr (1839-1931), then Alice (1840-1936), Clara (1842-1929), Julia (1846-1934), and finally Laura (1853-1921). I know eight children is not unusual for his Blogvent but I was astonished by how long most of them lived, seemingly being killed off wholesale by the 1930s. Well done Squire family, that's very impressive.</p><p>What is also quite interesting is that not many of the siblings got married. Kate married in 1872, and George married in 1875 (his son was John Herrman Squire, who did very well out of the 1930s due to being the only child in the family), but the rest of the girls remained single and for the most part, all living together in 28 Tavistock Road, Westbourne Gardens, London.</p><p>I decided to see if I could pick a random woman from a copy of the 1890 Royal Academy catalogue and see how well/badly she had faired, and I landed on Emma. I have been using the RA catalogues, as you know, to track addresses, and I was astonished that Emma stayed put in the same address from 1877 to 1916. Not only that, all her sisters lived there too. If you look at Tavistock Road on Google Earth you will be relieved to see that it is reassuringly massive. If you have a spare £6M I'm sure you can live there too - I go excited when I saw a place on Tavistock Road was up for a mere £1M but then realised that was a flat...</p><p>I'm getting ahead of myself and we've yet to reach Emma's one and only image. In the 1851 census, the Squire family are living on Jermyn Street in London - they are at 78 and around 30 years later, Fanny Cornforth would be at 97 running the Rose Inn, such a small world. George Snr was a baker who employed one person and it might be Charles Halse who also lives with them and is a journeyman baker (which means a baker qualified to work in the employment of others). They are still there in 1861 and none of the girls have any occupation listed but George Snr now has 6 people working for him in his bakery.</p><p>Sadly, George died in 1870 leaving Catherine and George jnr (now a bookseller) under £6000, which isn't bad but I wonder how far it stretched among that many unmarried women? Kate and George moved from the family home but that still left Catherine, Elizabeth, Emma, Alice, Julia, Clara and Laura at home. Despite a few books giving her first exhibition at the RA as 1862, Emma started her Royal Academy journey in 1872 with <i>Hoping for the "Yes" Word,</i> which I wondered was inspired by her sister Kate's marriage. Her address given in the catalogue was 35 Clarendon Road in Notting-Hill which had become 28 Tavistock Road (less than a mile away) by 1877 when Emma and Alice appeared again at the Royal Academy. Emma's picture was <i>Meeting an Old Friend, </i>the only one of her pictures I can find on the internet, so make the most of it...</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQBIBleU_XJElI7rAOg4D3vwlgq8cYwBVR9zioM3PNcA7OVZAe6l1KHMA6TaWXLJ73Q-HVfsqKD-YoSL9_N_BRna73BlCOIW4VlEqmJXY6wpHN2gYxv3sAgnnPtKxdl9Ddd4XedRlXXeClSMjVLrbXAHzKFtwBPd0Oj6MRk04fQoHx_jw39pYeINEFRDY/s640/Meeting%20an%20old%20friend%201893.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="389" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQBIBleU_XJElI7rAOg4D3vwlgq8cYwBVR9zioM3PNcA7OVZAe6l1KHMA6TaWXLJ73Q-HVfsqKD-YoSL9_N_BRna73BlCOIW4VlEqmJXY6wpHN2gYxv3sAgnnPtKxdl9Ddd4XedRlXXeClSMjVLrbXAHzKFtwBPd0Oj6MRk04fQoHx_jw39pYeINEFRDY/w390-h640/Meeting%20an%20old%20friend%201893.jpg" width="390" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Meeting an Old Friend </i>(1877/1893) Emma Squire</td></tr></tbody></table><p>Now, this painting lives in New Zealand <a href="https://christchurchartgallery.org.nz/collection/91-4/emma-squire/meeting-an-old-friend" target="_blank">at the Christchurch Art Gallery</a><i> </i>and as you will see on the bottom left-hand corner, it is dated '93'. However, as we will see, Emma tended to do the same piece over and over again so I'm guessing it is very similar to her 1877 piece and honestly, it's all we have. I really liked this painting when I saw it - the glee in finding an old book, the ridiculousness of the umbrella - it reminded me of Walter Dendy Sadler.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLnXj3p14RPXojDzmWUdDrNUR7MubR-hTD1gunHVXIp0HgCk7fKzKkiViW9BaHXhA31X10BiaIDe6-sYU0IJQPEDZ7Y0CeR22ZIDszal0hrvJd1U6ECkOhqoRmQRyS0_BBuTU660Q7QgMzjf8dm5cPuX1y_jIrTflihYc3gtKK4tqSq3f-szs6Oy5GUfI/s570/alice.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="570" data-original-width="439" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLnXj3p14RPXojDzmWUdDrNUR7MubR-hTD1gunHVXIp0HgCk7fKzKkiViW9BaHXhA31X10BiaIDe6-sYU0IJQPEDZ7Y0CeR22ZIDszal0hrvJd1U6ECkOhqoRmQRyS0_BBuTU660Q7QgMzjf8dm5cPuX1y_jIrTflihYc3gtKK4tqSq3f-szs6Oy5GUfI/w492-h640/alice.jpg" width="492" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Child Holding a Cat </i>(1880) Alice Squire</td></tr></tbody></table><p>A quick word about Alice - you can find any number of Alice Squire's paintings online as they seem to come up for auction regularly. They all look like this, which is madly unfair of me but it's all quite Helen-Allingham-watercoloured-cottagecore stuff and it's not for me. I have to thank Alice because her dates were available online and she led me to Emma's dates and family tree. The proliferation of Alice's pastel-rural images makes me weep for the fact that I can't see Emma's paintings which (no offence, Alice) sound infinitely more interesting.</p><p>There was no RA for the sisters in 1878, but they did appear in the Norfolk Fine Arts Exhibition, where it was reported that 'the pen and ink drawings of Miss Alice and Miss Emma Squires have been deservedly admired.'</p><p>Emma and Alice returned in 1879 to the RA, this time Emma exhibited <i>Poor Folk</i>. This might have been the same picture she displayed at the Dudley Gallery in the same year, which was described as 'a study, full of devotional feeling, of an old man with head bent down in prayer.'</p><p>Emma's 1882 RA piece <i>Spinning </i>was also shown at the 1887 Society of Lady Artists exhibition where it was described as a 'small rustic love-making scene.' The <i>Globe</i> went on to report 'Emma Squire has treated a trite subject with great taste and skill. The two figures are well grouped, expressive in gesture, and painted with elaborate completeness.' From now on, I will try to do everything with 'elaborate completeness.'</p><p>Interestingly, Emma's 1886 piece was also called <i>Spinning</i>. I have so many questions and would welcome the input from those that know - could you submit the same painting more than once to the RA? How did people feel about people submitting copies of previous paintings? It's not just <i>Spinning</i> that she submitted more than once. In 1897, 1899 and 1915, Emma submitted paintings entitled '<i>To be or not to be?'</i> which I think we can assume is a Hamlet piece, or maybe it isn't and is just a general ponder about mortality taking the Hamlet quote as the frame. She also showed <i>Singing the Psalms of David</i> in both 1891 and a decade later. It also was the colour plate in the magazine <i>Quiver</i> in January 1892. Emma's painting <i>Wanderers</i> made two appearances, once in 1898's RA and the other in 1911's RA. I would be fascinated to know how submitting a painting works in regard to repeat performances.</p><p>Maybe, of course, they are completely different paintings and she just liked the titles, felt they were lucky, and so used them again. The problem is, with no illustrations we have no idea. This brings me on to my gripe about the Royal Academy illustrated catalogues which remained determinedly male even as the exhibitions themselves fill with lady artists. I am now frankly astonished if I find one of our paintings in the books, and for an awful lot of the women we will meet this Blogvent, they never got a sniff of a black and white plate. That again affects how we see them; the bias of the past, consciously or not, affects the thinking now. Either we are left frustrated, not knowing if the two <i>'To be or not to be?' </i>paintings are the same, so we move on to someone who has images we can talk about, or we are left subconsciously feeling that if you don't get an image, you are not important, therefore we move on once more. Either way, the majority of the time, it will be women we move on from, unable to garner the information we need.</p><p>Actually, brace yourself, I have a little information on <i>'To be or not to be?'</i> which was mentioned in <i>The Athenaeum</i> in 1915 (after its appearance in that RA) - 'this is also the place to notice Miss Emma Squire's little costume piece <i>"To be or not to be?"</i> which seems to date from the period when Baron Leys ruled in his atelier - with possible slight influence of Stevens.' I think they are referring to the Belgian artists Jan August Henrik Leys (1815-1869) and Alfred Stevens (1823-1906) which is an interesting combination. Sorry, that really doesn't tell us anything about the subject, other than it is a 'costume piece' - do they mean Shakesperean? So many questions.</p><p>Emma seems to have finally retired in 1916. Her final piece at the Royal Academy, aged 80, was <i>An Old Man's Rest</i>. Her paintings seemed to cause a bit of a stir in the <i>Gentlewoman</i> magazine who reviewed it thus: </p><p>'"An Old Man's Rest" by Emma Squire, really belongs to the great school of Pinwell, Walker, Millais, which we see with delight reviving in the works of our ultra-modern women ... Just now the admirable painting and admirable sentiment of this little canvas bridges a gulf between a great past and an adventurous present and makes, to our eyes, which have learned to value beauty of balanced patterning and tenderness of colour harmony, the suggestion of the eternal quality of unforced sentiment: all the more acceptable because it is a model of craftsmanship.'</p><p>For an artist that was admired so much, who had dedicated her life, into her 80s, to creating art, having only one image available on all of the internet seems a bit mean. There might be more but not discoverable - none of her watercolours have made it to ArtUK (expanded from merely oil paintings now) so I don't know if any are even in public collections in this country.</p><p>The first of the siblings to die was the eldest Kate in 1900, then Julia and Clara in the 1920s, followed by everyone else in the 1930s at very grand old ages. Emma went on Halloween 1932 and left her only nephew, John Herrman Squire, now an architect, over £32K. That is an impressive amount for a lady-artist who is barely remembered. All the siblings seem to have left vast amounts that they don't seem to have received from their parents (George Snr left under £6K and Catherine left around £900). The first sibling, Kate's probate was £84K which is incredible, mind you she had inherited £75K off her late husband. Maybe they were all really good at investments? However they managed it, I think that is the most impressive wealth we are likely to see this Blogvent. And they all were buried in Brompton, near Alexa Wilding, which is rapidly becoming compulsory.</p><p>Unlike many, especially later, women we will meet this month, the Squire sisters do not appear to have been formally trained, nor moved seamlessly from art school to the Royal Academy. I'm guessing Emma exhibited at other venues before she hit the RA but they don't have the same pull for the press as that big May exhibition, and even if the press are at the Society of Lady Artists exhibition, the column inches are less, so the chances a young, unknown artist is going to get a mention is less likely. Again, we are left with the impression that Emma is not important in the history of art, but everyone who makes a contribution has a place in the story of art. I wonder if we need to start looking at the categories and movements within art, because although I am delighted how excited people are about Pre-Raphaelite art, we need more groupings, more descriptions, in order to speak about the other influences, the other paths that artists took. We also need to love watercolour more. Maybe then artists like Emma wouldn't get left behind.</p>Kirsty Stonell Walkerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08342964877965021654noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1441164155286448763.post-52203316323851757282023-12-12T18:32:00.000+00:002023-12-12T18:32:33.681+00:00Tuesday 12th December - Winifred Sandys (1874-1944)<p> We are half-way through already! Today is a strange one as I don't normally know my subject's parents, but on this occasion I do. I even put her Mum in one of my books...</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8ltbI-jIjA0P-NQvQyJRdNZE7w1WgsXK5isYZDjI9NVPzBgr9n3svkVeQgQIMwzDo7_sqHv44yhEGC2X8olHXVaYR381ntt5EGFeBE9PTFiqE_e31yEEmUjT_PcFzHtCUnaiwLB3PqPXAz16LhOB5Rc1EwYbvUPL-bFFAB2YzMILDI5yBs-S6KGNe3uI/s443/LovesShadow_Sandys.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="443" data-original-width="330" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8ltbI-jIjA0P-NQvQyJRdNZE7w1WgsXK5isYZDjI9NVPzBgr9n3svkVeQgQIMwzDo7_sqHv44yhEGC2X8olHXVaYR381ntt5EGFeBE9PTFiqE_e31yEEmUjT_PcFzHtCUnaiwLB3PqPXAz16LhOB5Rc1EwYbvUPL-bFFAB2YzMILDI5yBs-S6KGNe3uI/w476-h640/LovesShadow_Sandys.jpg" width="476" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Love's Shadow</i> (1867) Frederick Sandys</td></tr></tbody></table><p>Mary Jones Sandys (1845-1920) was one of my Girl Gang as the model of Frederick Sandys, and she had eight children with him, the eldest of whom is our subject today. Say hello to Winifred Sandys...</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9jjbQs8NVdAPDgDjruxH6lEj59f2RJ6UDUkEh1JUBsdgdXLprc4P8KzOVspCSuGgjd1atWtwfG68e7kOIagBq5O_WYxBqMz5JQxzNqyecYWn1_8mHM-4XLcWcwNlhaatFTOOwMfZgHS5avhzkN61C7WdKo30jTT_nBGT8AxGCoESu_BsxISDIjXDn_mw/s327/winifred.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="327" data-original-width="250" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9jjbQs8NVdAPDgDjruxH6lEj59f2RJ6UDUkEh1JUBsdgdXLprc4P8KzOVspCSuGgjd1atWtwfG68e7kOIagBq5O_WYxBqMz5JQxzNqyecYWn1_8mHM-4XLcWcwNlhaatFTOOwMfZgHS5avhzkN61C7WdKo30jTT_nBGT8AxGCoESu_BsxISDIjXDn_mw/w306-h400/winifred.png" width="306" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Winifred, from the collection of the Delaware Art Museum</td></tr></tbody></table><p>I have a lot to love Delaware for - they have a splendid Fanny Cornforth collection - but today I am grateful for their online resources about the splendid Winifred Sandys, eldest daughter of Frederick and Mary, artist, poet, puzzle-setter and someone who obviously appreciates the power of a giant bow, if that photo is anything to go by. I wondered why the photograph was so dark but then realised that she was in her father's shadow. There is definitely a book and exhibition (I'm available for work) in fathers and daughters of the Victorian period where they daughter ends up grappling with her father's legacy, for better or worse. So, let's go back to the beginning...</p><p>Winifred was Fred and Mary's eldest, born 14 January 1874. As you will recall, Fred Sandys had a pretty complex love life - I always think of him whenever anyone is complaining about Rossetti's shenanigans. Winifred was not Frederick's eldest child - he had around four children with Keomi Gray in the 1860s. The only person he seems not to have had children with was his actual wife Georgina, who he never technically divorced. I love a set of divorce papers but those are particularly messy, but I digress. There is a bit of overlap and grey (or should I say Gray) areas in who was Frederick Sandys' common law wife and when but Keomi married Charles Bonnet in 1875, so she had well and truly gone when Winifred came along. </p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifFUzzN9vE3qEXWGtXNza3LeZJ-wEzq8L4sr6w45V6SToU0man40E9HB0Z_dOgcgcrqWpcf_0ocQQJs25vGLi2tSf2J5Nu4cMkv5lydwLNOXSHIwDbdD1jhEqxoGv06XxZHb5f7V_ZhdteVH_zcY6SpnJdFPU47VM_wOc28KQB_3Om_YOFi6B2Szn4Aew/s488/touch.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="488" data-original-width="419" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifFUzzN9vE3qEXWGtXNza3LeZJ-wEzq8L4sr6w45V6SToU0man40E9HB0Z_dOgcgcrqWpcf_0ocQQJs25vGLi2tSf2J5Nu4cMkv5lydwLNOXSHIwDbdD1jhEqxoGv06XxZHb5f7V_ZhdteVH_zcY6SpnJdFPU47VM_wOc28KQB_3Om_YOFi6B2Szn4Aew/w344-h400/touch.png" width="344" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Touch</i> (1911-12) Winifred Sandys</td></tr></tbody></table><p>I have to say, this does not look like it will be a very long post as there is a disturbing lack of information on Winifred, but I will give you all there is. I wonder if that is because she was working in such a Victorian (and more to the point, her father's) style well into the twentieth century. And she was a woman, so double strike. Here we have a keynote for women in art of this period - they are not seen as important as men (this seems amplified if they have a man in the family in the same career who is famous) and so not so much is written and therefore the weight of the writing becomes the weight of their worth. We're not idiots, I think we can all agree that the worth of an artist, or in fact anyone in history, is not linked to how many critics or biographers think they are important. Oh dear, this one feels like it's going to be a ranty post. I apologise.</p><p>Winifred's first census is a bit of a puzzler, as she, Mildred, Algernon and Maud (her brother and sisters) are all staying at the home of Alphons Beck. Winifred and Mildred appear to be around the same age as Beck's daughter Margaret, but all the Sandys children are sporting the surname 'Neville'. That was the name that Mary Sandys adopted as her surname when she passed herself off as a widow to explain why she had children, but wasn't married to the already-married Fred Sandys. The same is true in 1891, when even Fred Sandys became Frederick Neville, which seems insane or massively feminist of him. I'm opting for the former.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEganZDjOi9LuDP6nKBDltZVmOcPgASZR-epYlhEtxFGr7SLvXguZVpxaVmHs7PwoW5BUbe9y9aFDcNPb0W23iVBoOHqXbVuQsfabVLxPgMggZeCJ88yhu33Hk5xwkcmkN8A3FeReCX1o9COjHUpCCQ8kN92SWy2ZGbsbnd6TqGKsbWdJvHnlJqeV3DkMKE/s491/hearing.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="491" data-original-width="410" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEganZDjOi9LuDP6nKBDltZVmOcPgASZR-epYlhEtxFGr7SLvXguZVpxaVmHs7PwoW5BUbe9y9aFDcNPb0W23iVBoOHqXbVuQsfabVLxPgMggZeCJ88yhu33Hk5xwkcmkN8A3FeReCX1o9COjHUpCCQ8kN92SWy2ZGbsbnd6TqGKsbWdJvHnlJqeV3DkMKE/w334-h400/hearing.png" width="334" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Hearing</i> (1911-12)</td></tr></tbody></table><p>The turn of the century brought a bit of sanity to the situation, when Winifred Sandys, her parents and brother Algernon are all sporting the right surname and boarding together in Kensington. The rest of the children are living in Pevensey in West Sussex, and 17 year old Guy Sandys is the head of the household 'living on own means'. That is a puzzle indeed.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTAOh-BGYEJt8udJexU3OiY-RPabLcqZqdDy3vSll0rQtiYy8vxNhevSF_59Eyl3OGBtZ_3kyZ8IxPAKpe8YFGiLPo9N3M0bKnJOqfYvJ2CaucC58lhiFfGUuOC9t7nkI3s8wKvLlz9pgUB9FZ_jAPBIuQJxCxRZmDE5DTV1BFSUMu7Nck8nU5U3BfNNE/s1200/Anthony%20Frederick%20Sandys%20daffodils.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="852" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTAOh-BGYEJt8udJexU3OiY-RPabLcqZqdDy3vSll0rQtiYy8vxNhevSF_59Eyl3OGBtZ_3kyZ8IxPAKpe8YFGiLPo9N3M0bKnJOqfYvJ2CaucC58lhiFfGUuOC9t7nkI3s8wKvLlz9pgUB9FZ_jAPBIuQJxCxRZmDE5DTV1BFSUMu7Nck8nU5U3BfNNE/w284-h400/Anthony%20Frederick%20Sandys%20daffodils.jpg" width="284" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Olive Margaret Slaughter</i> (1899) Frederick Sandys</td></tr></tbody></table><p>Frederick was always proud of Winifred's talents. She won a honourable mention in <i>The Studio</i> award for a window Bill in no more that 3 colours for her design 'Clive' (another surname her mother used) in 1894. She not only drew and painted but also wrote poetry, and her father included her poem 'Daffodils' around the frame of one of his pictures (I wondered if it was the portrait of Oliver Margaret Slaughter as that has a load of daffs in it.) She also copied his paintings in miniature, for example <i>The White Mayde of Avenel</i> from c.1902 which is even smaller than one of Frederick's preparatory drawings...</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLO2REJ4WRp7lOj45UgxpaQCvq0dBkqj4hBlbKPqNh5-9dpEp2jmIOCDgAJ48InPUhqmGbLWt_X3ZnLaH-lsMuSTTju03Dg5gPhmd7NA3vk-E_XS81qB4gUPPTx18y8nfAHtO_RPBOMCHhQ17Gg7x5GdQA3glVmzOrXbkJw-vc_jWlfbeRyW8EDtpo2XQ/s1200/white%20ladie.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="916" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLO2REJ4WRp7lOj45UgxpaQCvq0dBkqj4hBlbKPqNh5-9dpEp2jmIOCDgAJ48InPUhqmGbLWt_X3ZnLaH-lsMuSTTju03Dg5gPhmd7NA3vk-E_XS81qB4gUPPTx18y8nfAHtO_RPBOMCHhQ17Gg7x5GdQA3glVmzOrXbkJw-vc_jWlfbeRyW8EDtpo2XQ/w305-h400/white%20ladie.jpg" width="305" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sketch for <i>The White Ladie of Avenel</i> (c.1902) Frederick Sandys (25x33cm)</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtGnj6BlgArHv76iJ0bZArOSteIWYXP3JKlGNknGCZn5NzvmefAoklo0HIbBrcuUlMW9a_MSwf2R6nNCbLYsLVkZpHgJDrA2CN0yAn_4i0B3mM85EU9CTSeVIwBuYQROo4cIXlzE3mcXFXEsP6JOs35kNwqOomB-aRPgJg3KaN5_UbqS2cJHSjIDOo79w/s476/white%20mayde.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="476" data-original-width="362" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtGnj6BlgArHv76iJ0bZArOSteIWYXP3JKlGNknGCZn5NzvmefAoklo0HIbBrcuUlMW9a_MSwf2R6nNCbLYsLVkZpHgJDrA2CN0yAn_4i0B3mM85EU9CTSeVIwBuYQROo4cIXlzE3mcXFXEsP6JOs35kNwqOomB-aRPgJg3KaN5_UbqS2cJHSjIDOo79w/w486-h640/white%20mayde.png" width="486" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>The White Mayde of Avenel</i> (after 1902) Winifred Sandys (20x15cm)</td></tr></tbody></table><p>Frederick died in 1904 when Winifred was 30, which must have been a strain on the family finances. Mary organised her children into a cottage industry, making arts and crafts that could be sold to support them all. It must have seemed a godsend to them when Samuel Bancroft jnr came looking for Pre-Raphaelite memorabilia (as it was for Fanny Cornforth) and Winifred started a correspondence with him and he in turn bought Fredericks work and became a patron to Winifred. The Delaware Art Museum page on <a href="https://emuseum.delart.org/people/167/winifred-sandys/objects" target="_blank">Winifred</a> is marvellous as not a lot of her art seems to be available on the internet otherwise.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-rJg12eUpBHbQ0TsLQNJZaoJv7gWpN0c1CX086DZg4Gm3EYq2cBTul9BVCmQscNI0Bg_bpG0e9l9Ipfsly33KE655SBBLEovpz1Vm_QHu_024LXpuEVLv1HvVVQd37hvTHVSj8J-ndNVU4ggqmXLqsxqa8mLQ3H2JewqihMWUb69ywu8BeOqDrgugO84/s633/sam%20bancroft.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="633" data-original-width="500" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-rJg12eUpBHbQ0TsLQNJZaoJv7gWpN0c1CX086DZg4Gm3EYq2cBTul9BVCmQscNI0Bg_bpG0e9l9Ipfsly33KE655SBBLEovpz1Vm_QHu_024LXpuEVLv1HvVVQd37hvTHVSj8J-ndNVU4ggqmXLqsxqa8mLQ3H2JewqihMWUb69ywu8BeOqDrgugO84/w506-h640/sam%20bancroft.jpeg" width="506" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Samuel Bancroft Jnr</i> (1909) Winifred Sandys</td></tr></tbody></table><p>I think this is my favourite portrait of Sam Bancroft, a miniature on ivory, which seems to capture his generosity and humour. I like to think he was meant to be looking forward, but then spotted a Pre-Raphaelite painting he fancied.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJ5T4-i2ugQ6meufQh7aSXBjGJmnQQrpNeZK0gcMtQLig3aiGi13zGzrqWKsFXRsiBddvE1gf6kJuTCqQbfvlj5bmBOxhX1Nc2Fq4y4tvuQcOxwMaBmhA2c77JeESagX8enD2Eqk9CSPp0ozoUB3n6vvAoon53UNlcAPnPOxsmjW_TLCoAlHs09Kf78Jw/s670/1935-70.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="670" data-original-width="500" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJ5T4-i2ugQ6meufQh7aSXBjGJmnQQrpNeZK0gcMtQLig3aiGi13zGzrqWKsFXRsiBddvE1gf6kJuTCqQbfvlj5bmBOxhX1Nc2Fq4y4tvuQcOxwMaBmhA2c77JeESagX8enD2Eqk9CSPp0ozoUB3n6vvAoon53UNlcAPnPOxsmjW_TLCoAlHs09Kf78Jw/w478-h640/1935-70.jpeg" width="478" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>George Meredith</i> (c.1909) Winifred Sandys</td></tr></tbody></table><p>If I was feeling a bit 'pop-psychologist', I might venture that Winifred strikes me as a woman in search of a father figure, but that might be because she was surrounded by such towering personalities that it was impossible not to succumb to paternal influences. I don't mean anything dodgy by this, but she does seem to have had good and strong relationships with many older men. Her wreath at George Meredith's funeral was reported on in the news as it carried the poetic message 'bay for victory; roses for love; pansies for thoughts.' I am also struck by how neither Bancroft or Meredith are looking at her in their portraits. It's very artistic but I now need to see if any of her portraits of men are looking at us. Did she feel ignored by them? Was she a big fan of <i>The Death of Chatterton</i>?</p><p>Her own career started to take off in 1910, when she was part of an exhibition of the members of the Little Salon of Art, Life and Literature at the Gallery van Brakel. The artists involved were all seen as young 'dilettantes' but Winifred's painting <i>Autumn</i> was mentioned in the <i>Queen</i> magazine - 'so good in colour and pattern that one would urge her to submit to the severe discipline of training in drawing.' At the Royal Academy that year, she appeared for possibly the first time with a portrait of <i>Sydney Gordon Roberts Esq</i> and a picture entitled <i>The Blue Turban</i>.</p><p>In 1911, Winifred is recorded as living with her mother and sisters Ruth and Gertrude in Hogarth Road by Earls Court. For the Royal Academy she had painted <i>Gold and White </i>and gave her address as Audrey Road on Campden Hill. She followed that up in 1912 with a portrait of her sister Gertrude...</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYxQVRXVW1UPuVfw602LJhJQZ5h7k9et3k3xTgOVJu58lBWVbKOsFIo-lQZKMjl7ymdRrhUeZiGTcrsl1UFplhyphenhyphenbrnvSX572JeOsCzPiEljLXS4-6-oq9cLNcINv7ayOokhue9IDk5im0_c_b7pjuXtEbb8LzYiQesWFRgYbrStGl_O2SzrM4ZjGsgems/s513/gertrude.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="513" data-original-width="385" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYxQVRXVW1UPuVfw602LJhJQZ5h7k9et3k3xTgOVJu58lBWVbKOsFIo-lQZKMjl7ymdRrhUeZiGTcrsl1UFplhyphenhyphenbrnvSX572JeOsCzPiEljLXS4-6-oq9cLNcINv7ayOokhue9IDk5im0_c_b7pjuXtEbb8LzYiQesWFRgYbrStGl_O2SzrM4ZjGsgems/w480-h640/gertrude.jpg" width="480" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Gertrude</i> <i>Sandys</i> (1906) Winifred Sandys</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhni3odqURqzm5BrGow5EW5sHf2Qn2GQwwjrEDmxuQvRQTkk7ral7mTUsdvCKSuZ9R1pT2ianifkF4mjGRWLEhvSEG1lmYVI1DwztOkhbMQGzDZWFwFKi-Rf1y1UnO-89h0CN1UjTMdxphKcGJStkTcWUfC2B3Mc4lywfKcyPwyhDYjNVzlwBuFM2uCFQg/s796/girlie.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="796" data-original-width="594" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhni3odqURqzm5BrGow5EW5sHf2Qn2GQwwjrEDmxuQvRQTkk7ral7mTUsdvCKSuZ9R1pT2ianifkF4mjGRWLEhvSEG1lmYVI1DwztOkhbMQGzDZWFwFKi-Rf1y1UnO-89h0CN1UjTMdxphKcGJStkTcWUfC2B3Mc4lywfKcyPwyhDYjNVzlwBuFM2uCFQg/w478-h640/girlie.png" width="478" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Gertrude 'Girlie' Sandys</i> (c.1910) Winifred Sandys</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="text-align: left;">Winifred actually did a few images of her sister Gertrude, also known as 'Girlie', who seems to be remembered as the prettiest of the Sandys girls (which is appalling but very Victorian). As it happens, Gertrude was also the subject of Winifred's 1913 RA piece too, coinciding with Gertrude's marriage to Lionel Crane, son of Walter. I see in various places that they married 'against the wishes of her parents' but seeing as Frederick was dead and Mary would have been grateful for one less mouth to feed I wonder if the objections came from the Crane side. The newspapers, however, loved it - The </span><i style="text-align: left;">Sheffield Daily Telegraph</i><span style="text-align: left;"> went with 'A Pre-Raphaelite Engagement' and the following gush of sentiment 'In nothing was the Pre-Raphaelite movement in English art more notable than in the life-long comradeship of its leaders,' which is one way to announce an engagement. It obviously continued to the wedding day when the </span><i style="text-align: left;">Daily Citizen</i><span style="text-align: left;"> reported 'an interesting wedding took place in Kensington on Saturday when Miss Gertrude Sandys was married to Mr Lionel Francis Crane. The bride is the daughter of the late Frederick Sandys, a friend of Rossetti, and a painter and draughtsman of high repute. The bridegroom is the son of Mr Walter Crane, black and white artist, decorator, engraver, poet and Socialist.' Come on now, don't envoke the name of Rossetti at a wedding, that can only end in tears.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="text-align: left;"><br /></span></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgTCXLLHlRf8O_xHznQOeek7N6xJdqs_uqtaBSulXkSM-4dl56yQ-SJSygGSI8Xje0AtSQVHgO4txb37RC4b5yLe51YFfQVBpocfthZGwMFvJAXPmpHyZ9pQJWqA3_JY7OFOoNpW9_JiWCBQgJI8yVRwv9xj1vv9yc8BhHa_L6spuBhpEB2cEd4z16m-A/s671/gertie.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="671" data-original-width="512" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgTCXLLHlRf8O_xHznQOeek7N6xJdqs_uqtaBSulXkSM-4dl56yQ-SJSygGSI8Xje0AtSQVHgO4txb37RC4b5yLe51YFfQVBpocfthZGwMFvJAXPmpHyZ9pQJWqA3_JY7OFOoNpW9_JiWCBQgJI8yVRwv9xj1vv9yc8BhHa_L6spuBhpEB2cEd4z16m-A/w488-h640/gertie.png" width="488" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Gertrude, 1918 from the <i>Tatler</i></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div>The above picture of Gertrude was featured in the <i>Tatler</i> in an article entitled 'The Daughter in Law of a Famous Artist' with no mention of Frederick Sandys, which is rude.<br /><div><br /></div><div>The Cranes were a complicated family, art aside. Lionel's mother was the artist Mary Frances Andrews (of course she doesn't get a mention in the newspaper reports) who walked out in front of a train the year after her son's wedding. Walter died the year after and Lionel's brother Lancelot (excellent name) died in the Great War in 1918. In the midst of this death came Gertrude and Lionel's son, Anthony...</div><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEga-H-lWwarWF_B-K0Y5hu79TaqIHUTYovosuaw4W84c22EiO-CVZ9nZ4EtEvNPD0hyaJFAJMhZKMnaQtLYFSqFkSIomNT8Of7pTd0aTAc2HTk3BG4twVN_F7s2uX_i0vNyUdtbL18h519xH03SocDf-9vmQHKuhhwDGeUX6cIMWtvXnLVJkgus6gP3tKI/s590/tony%20and%20gertrude.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="590" data-original-width="481" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEga-H-lWwarWF_B-K0Y5hu79TaqIHUTYovosuaw4W84c22EiO-CVZ9nZ4EtEvNPD0hyaJFAJMhZKMnaQtLYFSqFkSIomNT8Of7pTd0aTAc2HTk3BG4twVN_F7s2uX_i0vNyUdtbL18h519xH03SocDf-9vmQHKuhhwDGeUX6cIMWtvXnLVJkgus6gP3tKI/w522-h640/tony%20and%20gertrude.png" width="522" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Gertrude and Anthony Crane (c.1917)</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div>Excuse the meander into Crane family business, it will make sense in a moment. It seems that Winifred was very much attached to the Crane family, which makes sense as she was so close to her sister. I found a beautiful set of cards online that Winifred had hand-painted for Walter Crane to keep in his copy of <i>The Canterbury Tales</i> because she knew he loved it so much...</div><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4C6_U22Sn045COuk_WFRs1B9BAZYfhyyTYKOuYN-01zPl68WmlNihzNvzyq1QFMHeo2F67Lx_cXXyOZJeTQWVOoG1NkvMgvWDlBRJSUEmSTy7Wp9TImZbRq4zFKONIqKKb8wfO8W_LZH1I4oz6qr45UekBiWlH1VCzUCSnLzcAds2ByIJ63JNCECcIuY/s964/images%20from%20the%20Canterbury%20Tales%20c.1900.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="762" data-original-width="964" height="506" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4C6_U22Sn045COuk_WFRs1B9BAZYfhyyTYKOuYN-01zPl68WmlNihzNvzyq1QFMHeo2F67Lx_cXXyOZJeTQWVOoG1NkvMgvWDlBRJSUEmSTy7Wp9TImZbRq4zFKONIqKKb8wfO8W_LZH1I4oz6qr45UekBiWlH1VCzUCSnLzcAds2ByIJ63JNCECcIuY/w640-h506/images%20from%20the%20Canterbury%20Tales%20c.1900.png" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cards from <i>The Canterbury Tales</i></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div>When Walter Crane died, Winifred published a poem for him:</div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">Come hither, soft, and with you bring</div><div style="text-align: center;">The darling nurslings of the Spring - </div><div style="text-align: center;">Pale hyacinths, white tulips strew,</div><div style="text-align: center;">Primroses, violets, wet with dew,</div><div style="text-align: center;">March daffodils, and lilies fair,</div><div style="text-align: center;">Neat willow-buds, and almond rare,</div><div style="text-align: center;">Anemones, fresh laurel too,</div><div style="text-align: center;">And sacred bay, all are his due - </div><div style="text-align: center;">These hither bring, for they express</div><div style="text-align: center;">The tender grief and soothfastness</div><div style="text-align: center;">Of all the earthly babes that here</div><div style="text-align: center;">Are left to mourn their painter dear.</div><div><br /></div><div>In terms of her art, Winifred did a series of miniatures based on the five senses, but it is hard to date her other images, if you can find them. I have no doubt that she continued to work at least until 1920 when her beloved Gertrude died of influenza. Winifred moved to support four year old Lionel, which led to her marrying her sister's husband (which, to be fair, is really Pre-Raphaelite). She then became Mrs Lionel Crane which the newspapers <i>really</i> found interesting.</div><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtvllGnFBNKOiWBi5_lggbZrHWr_fNyi90FROK1sihoFC2Sr5i5Lkp9ZLEuTFnKS_4lzH99Ws-8oIWINPv0w5LnJqgTUemFPQpYhLg1Xc3V6MttPpPmyttFA0ca-iAVPCE8hVxRSSTVQs4sSqjMdEKHlHeH_xQaXo2IkqcEq7IUyTsyh4S0o5N8R5G0R0/s491/seeing.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="491" data-original-width="408" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtvllGnFBNKOiWBi5_lggbZrHWr_fNyi90FROK1sihoFC2Sr5i5Lkp9ZLEuTFnKS_4lzH99Ws-8oIWINPv0w5LnJqgTUemFPQpYhLg1Xc3V6MttPpPmyttFA0ca-iAVPCE8hVxRSSTVQs4sSqjMdEKHlHeH_xQaXo2IkqcEq7IUyTsyh4S0o5N8R5G0R0/w333-h400/seeing.png" width="333" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Seeing</i> (1911-12)</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div>I'm afraid that is almost all I have except I found an interesting puzzle that she set in the newspapers in 1915. It was called 'A Geographical Square' and the clues are - 'A town in Tuscany. A river in Germany. A lake in the North of Scotland. A river in Italy.' Answer at the end...</div><div><br /></div><div>As a side note, can I just say how grumpy I am that the British Museum (who have their own problems at the moment, I admit) have a vast amount of Walter Crane material that they purchased from <a href="https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection/term/BIOG23959" target="_blank">Mrs Lionel Crane</a> in 1933 (she gave more in 1936) and the only details about her on the website is that she was the daughter-in-law of Walter Crane. I can hear the blessed Mr Walker saying that a documentation assistant isn't going to know that Mrs Lionel Crane is also the artist Winifred Sandys, but I would therefore encourage museum websites to have a place where you can suggest additions to a record. I would also suggest that museums are given more money so that they can pay documentation assistants to add information like this because it adds dimension and context.</div></div><div><br /></div><div>Anyway, Winifred and Lionel lived on to the 1939 register (the bloggers friend) and there they are in old age, living in Twickenham, Lionel, an architect and Winifred, an artist. Anthony worked at Bletchley and received an MBE. Lionel died in February 1943 with Winifred following less than a year later at the beginning of 1944. She left her money to her nephew/step-son, Anthony.</div><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTxIao06VSQa9TDlAEDrxXD6aOZJBb9ea6PPA9lFK9tEXzU8mbe1On-01kQOYt8YYEceUDZCQroNK_fJehOrvM7xVbk7WFFDN6POnyHA_sAtEqs31N4bd9A8yNHmnNmi9Z32MkXWM2nVbOzpb811TbLUQ_nX5NuxYKJ6dGaCoJBC61dRzbZg7VZZBMLUo/s491/taste.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="491" data-original-width="404" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTxIao06VSQa9TDlAEDrxXD6aOZJBb9ea6PPA9lFK9tEXzU8mbe1On-01kQOYt8YYEceUDZCQroNK_fJehOrvM7xVbk7WFFDN6POnyHA_sAtEqs31N4bd9A8yNHmnNmi9Z32MkXWM2nVbOzpb811TbLUQ_nX5NuxYKJ6dGaCoJBC61dRzbZg7VZZBMLUo/w526-h640/taste.png" width="526" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Taste</i> (1911-12)</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div>The answer to Winifred's puzzle is:</div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">P I S A</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">I S A R</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">S A N N</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">A R N O</span></div>Kirsty Stonell Walkerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08342964877965021654noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1441164155286448763.post-91910281721696257642023-12-11T21:06:00.000+00:002023-12-11T21:06:10.508+00:00Monday 11th December - Helen Cordelia Angell (1847-1884)<p>Here we are, starting the second week! My daughter breaks up from college at the end of this week and I finish work on Friday, so it's all hands to the pumps until then. I'm quite excited about today's lady as she had a fair number of contemporary accounts written about her brief life and there are some lovely images, although I must add that a fair number of them are of dead birds, but you can't have everything. Say hello to Helen Cordelia Angell...</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqhTIYUYzHO8rdWTWVRmb4HcnpTGiS1WUAoVdRXkg9PmSDK-cbhlziXmtG1db9oQjjpgm2zg5iqaDdaylKjMXVNZGgXMabfj9t6FHTDlxUlzyvHWQCsuKHFPDIroiCBi7TJcLYZrDqixGnGfB99wl04NXlZEEk0b2zGnNO7EfDnRDaHwR0Rj0sA-91qGU/s717/chrysanthemums_stoneware_jug.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="717" data-original-width="450" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqhTIYUYzHO8rdWTWVRmb4HcnpTGiS1WUAoVdRXkg9PmSDK-cbhlziXmtG1db9oQjjpgm2zg5iqaDdaylKjMXVNZGgXMabfj9t6FHTDlxUlzyvHWQCsuKHFPDIroiCBi7TJcLYZrDqixGnGfB99wl04NXlZEEk0b2zGnNO7EfDnRDaHwR0Rj0sA-91qGU/w402-h640/chrysanthemums_stoneware_jug.jpg" width="402" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Chrysanthemums in a Stoneware Jug</i> (undated)</td></tr></tbody></table><p>Helen started her life as Helen Cordelia Coleman, born in 1847 to William (1800-c.1865) and Henrietta (1808-1885) in Horsham, Sussex. William was a surgeon and physician and the family was a sizeable one, boasting around a dozen children, of which Helen was the third youngest. Her eldest brother William Stephen (1828-1904) was also an artist and has his own <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Stephen_Coleman" target="_blank">Wikipedia page</a>. As the girls of the family were obviously privately educated, it was handy having an artist brother around to deliver the art class.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiM89THkHwN9Uk6Ci20xgPQwJPQq5fKDDTV_6iJ94byB2QwTh-XLugelQ5wsNz2GyC-1imh-pgB9_8_JUYEx-6DDHsfTvodgegotHBYgkfOzW83jBuVkpVPn0dR-P4LlM6aInaC8lG5E0ATNbdThmOIs9JQ3X6iUwh4DsnjHkSpeSyIoJTlzKVDBhgz75I/s1478/Helen_Cordelia_Angell,_Study_of_Convolvulus.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1478" height="469" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiM89THkHwN9Uk6Ci20xgPQwJPQq5fKDDTV_6iJ94byB2QwTh-XLugelQ5wsNz2GyC-1imh-pgB9_8_JUYEx-6DDHsfTvodgegotHBYgkfOzW83jBuVkpVPn0dR-P4LlM6aInaC8lG5E0ATNbdThmOIs9JQ3X6iUwh4DsnjHkSpeSyIoJTlzKVDBhgz75I/w640-h469/Helen_Cordelia_Angell,_Study_of_Convolvulus.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>A Study of Convulvulus</i> (undated)</td></tr></tbody></table><p>When Helen expressed an interest in art, legend has it that her brother gave her a sprig of flowers to copy when she was twelve, and she was so good that he recommended that she seriously study flowers from nature. She did just that and became proficient by the age of 15 that according to <i>English Female Artists</i> (1876) by Ellen C Clayton, she had gained 'a local reputation which heralds a brilliant future' (not the sort of reputation that is written on a bus shelter in the market place, but wouldn't that be smashing? 'Helen Coleman is a massive flower painter' - wouldn't complementary graffiti be a lovely change?)</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWHrEvWyyJ70dvn1HjMBoP3xywPd6KHuYDh1uLWTKt2u_2aLnGpWH_QlP0VrYSmqIzE1yqrcVLVXhVJDS5GpAgMizhVZn9LfKJtqcr6NAM-J1lWxwm90VWBL3onjTpE5iyazA-Q561JKtlJpifTNLipZD_6ckRaRAPgaj_Z6CHVAWDrvXQKmFSxF3YgDI/s800/ColemanPlate1869.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="788" data-original-width="800" height="630" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWHrEvWyyJ70dvn1HjMBoP3xywPd6KHuYDh1uLWTKt2u_2aLnGpWH_QlP0VrYSmqIzE1yqrcVLVXhVJDS5GpAgMizhVZn9LfKJtqcr6NAM-J1lWxwm90VWBL3onjTpE5iyazA-Q561JKtlJpifTNLipZD_6ckRaRAPgaj_Z6CHVAWDrvXQKmFSxF3YgDI/w640-h630/ColemanPlate1869.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Minton Plate (1869)William S Coleman</td></tr></tbody></table><p>Just to return to brother William for a sec, he had attempted to follow his father into medicine but found he was better at art. He specialised in natural history paintings and woodblock prints, in which he was assisted by their sister Rebecca (1836-1882), and would go on in 1871 to open the Minton art pottery studio in Kensington, to which he sisters also contributed.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgW8G1jGpl5ttLlOxvUamMrKT9FKoL_cTnfF_e-eTI_aGBT-pOtda9mv0Ym68pk68RIxHnf12CulxstMsX07sBmRMZ3E9l2r5z-_Lw0yoPyQlSdU8g5zsrTHt9gsO3egA2Gqqqeih7OzQ5_f483YKbJXloaVcnYMBnE_aUAE01rAS19mIv1JDdvSrHwg0o/s1500/hazel-nuts-and-berries%201865.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1092" data-original-width="1500" height="291" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgW8G1jGpl5ttLlOxvUamMrKT9FKoL_cTnfF_e-eTI_aGBT-pOtda9mv0Ym68pk68RIxHnf12CulxstMsX07sBmRMZ3E9l2r5z-_Lw0yoPyQlSdU8g5zsrTHt9gsO3egA2Gqqqeih7OzQ5_f483YKbJXloaVcnYMBnE_aUAE01rAS19mIv1JDdvSrHwg0o/w400-h291/hazel-nuts-and-berries%201865.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Haxel Nuts and Berries</i> (1865)</td></tr></tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="text-align: left;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="text-align: left;">Helen's artistic break came in 1865, at an exhibition at the Dudley Gallery in the Egyptian Hall, Piccadilly. The </span><i style="text-align: left;">Morning Herald </i><span style="text-align: left;">mentioned her in rather glowing terms 'for a perfect gem, in its way, we might point to a trifle by Miss H Coleman. The subject is a bunch of "Hazel Nuts."' Helen remained grateful to the Dudlley Gallery for the rest of her career as they were one of the few places that a watercolour artist could exhibit and she credited them with enabling her to get works out to the public. Her brother William may or may not have been instrumental with her inclusion as he was on the committee of management, but her talent enabled her to make the most of the opportunity when it was presented. In that exhibition she showed a full range of her works in flower studies, fruit studies and birds. Oh, the birds...</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="text-align: left;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCyGjualo4OmNZfFDMs6DI-CJnZcEZXAta7njbrDc4e-DFw3Xj8dW_2fMpyol0ecSAffIV-iuc2wbV-wSjZpWtr9EONjM9ccocMPOWWEnPDs-sfZ2nNlvk9Uu8Z0lmhMH4UJOni7xi9a3RYamz9df-Pn8pPevjFlEkHMoTeEvrNBjcLoHjwRADQ6rh5zo/s750/dead%20kingfirsher.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="562" data-original-width="750" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCyGjualo4OmNZfFDMs6DI-CJnZcEZXAta7njbrDc4e-DFw3Xj8dW_2fMpyol0ecSAffIV-iuc2wbV-wSjZpWtr9EONjM9ccocMPOWWEnPDs-sfZ2nNlvk9Uu8Z0lmhMH4UJOni7xi9a3RYamz9df-Pn8pPevjFlEkHMoTeEvrNBjcLoHjwRADQ6rh5zo/w640-h480/dead%20kingfirsher.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Kingfisher </i>(1860s)</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><span style="text-align: left;">What is it with Victorians and dead birds? I saw this and for a split second I thought 'such vibrant colours!' then thought 'euw.' Helen wasn't the only one with a dead bird art collection, it was common practice, and obviously there were artists who also painted them alive, but quite obviously dead birds does seem to be a genre. Is it because they keep still? Is it about the transience and beauty of life and death? Also, where did she get them from as I'm guessing Helen wasn't roaming the countryside and lurking in hedgerows in order to strangle sparrows. It is one of those Victorian things that baffles me. I do love a Kingfisher though.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="text-align: left;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjObVNMCxsOzK9iBYwLAS6IIszat39PH4dykXIVCdcLmUBaO47arHcZn0bBTxdvX4gvwkM2CiWbqInpc5cnrOR_5sxcdLXmblDQ3BrlolLC_qEREzxkrA43Pcnkb-RAe75ffcDnOJbjy69j9r2F-Pd-1BDgzpcXGlapRkKKihT0eSeCLHYqgZIn_4djaw/s768/hedge%20sparrow%20nest%20and%20hawthorn.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="597" data-original-width="768" height="498" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjObVNMCxsOzK9iBYwLAS6IIszat39PH4dykXIVCdcLmUBaO47arHcZn0bBTxdvX4gvwkM2CiWbqInpc5cnrOR_5sxcdLXmblDQ3BrlolLC_qEREzxkrA43Pcnkb-RAe75ffcDnOJbjy69j9r2F-Pd-1BDgzpcXGlapRkKKihT0eSeCLHYqgZIn_4djaw/w640-h498/hedge%20sparrow%20nest%20and%20hawthorn.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Hedge Sparrow Nest and Hawthorn (1860s-70s)</i></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><span style="text-align: left;">I'm going to be a bit useless on dates for most if ot all of these as she did the same subject multiple times in different ways but unless a critic described the piece minutely, I'm just going to give a date range or say undated. Helpfully, the critic at the Dudley rhapsodised about three nuts being the perfect number, so I could guess which of those it was. Anyway, in the 1867 winter exhibition at Arthur Tooth's Fine Art Gallery (which sounds remarkably Dickensian), Helen was popular again with 'subjects peculiar to ladies, "birds-nests and wild roses," "filberts and sloes," ... rendered with marked success by Miss H C Coleman.' Likewise, the <i>Illustrated London News</i> in 1868 commented 'In still life there are contributions touched with extreme delicacy by Miss H C Coleman.'</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="text-align: left;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVDIoYtU7CSes1an0B6h75qhseW3sjgXkz2OCetBdtoOqzsB6AzOwOjLPebajlwJhvtwn1f-SKebHFFFan6vXm8A0Yyob4zHlJWEuf7_-NXp6JNVs34PZfRGKXZWXdVEVTO1lzmTaFgzg3tLzK844pzVx52uIW6KMOXk0Y-MWOo7Vv3ll8UHYsx4YNjtQ/s936/William_Henry_Hunt,_Chaffinch_Nest_and_May_Blossom,_c.1845.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="615" data-original-width="936" height="420" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVDIoYtU7CSes1an0B6h75qhseW3sjgXkz2OCetBdtoOqzsB6AzOwOjLPebajlwJhvtwn1f-SKebHFFFan6vXm8A0Yyob4zHlJWEuf7_-NXp6JNVs34PZfRGKXZWXdVEVTO1lzmTaFgzg3tLzK844pzVx52uIW6KMOXk0Y-MWOo7Vv3ll8UHYsx4YNjtQ/w640-h420/William_Henry_Hunt,_Chaffinch_Nest_and_May_Blossom,_c.1845.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Chaffinch Nest and May Blossom</i> (c.1845) William Henry Hunt</td></tr></tbody></table><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">You will probably recognise the work of William Henry Hunt, and Helen was compared to him for obvious reasons. Hunt died the year before Helen made her Dudley Gallery debut but had learned of her art and declared her his only true successor. By the end of her life, one newspaper reckoned her, 'at her best, surpassed William Hunt himself.' (<i>John Bull</i>, 13 Mach 1884).</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">As far as I can see, Helen did not bother the Royal Academy until 1876 and then only for a couple of years, showing <i>Wallflowers</i> and <i>Roses</i> in 1876, <i>Azaleas</i> and <i>Roses</i> in 1877 and <i>Roses</i> and <i>Wallflowers</i> in 1878 (see what I mean about the same titles?). Her main focus was the various societies that specialised in watercolour; Institute of Painters in Water Colours invited her to become a member in 1875, but she resigned her membership in 1878 and was elected an associate of the Old Water Colour Society in 1879.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeOdM6Mwyns5XwC_Dbco6HkHceGA6ZCWTHZy_KpYipzUaHlll4_lbhkonyT_BYiQNopJqg_OaDXLaU1YZZViOcwbcKApue5Anx9EYc4wQnxHkoBf6LnnVsE0jwUu9Q52u_na-Qfhppg11la49r4-9Z3ddNbfUyu67ut1mS3cwM4f-3DX8a9ptYVvfKmKg/s773/jack%20wentworth%20angell%20with%20a%20net.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="773" data-original-width="553" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeOdM6Mwyns5XwC_Dbco6HkHceGA6ZCWTHZy_KpYipzUaHlll4_lbhkonyT_BYiQNopJqg_OaDXLaU1YZZViOcwbcKApue5Anx9EYc4wQnxHkoBf6LnnVsE0jwUu9Q52u_na-Qfhppg11la49r4-9Z3ddNbfUyu67ut1mS3cwM4f-3DX8a9ptYVvfKmKg/w286-h400/jack%20wentworth%20angell%20with%20a%20net.png" width="286" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Jack Wentworth Angell with a Net </i>(1880s)</td></tr></tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">The 1870s also saw Helen's marriage to amateur artist and postmaster for the south west district of London, Thomas William Angell on 15 October 1874 at St James, Westminster. He was 20 years her senior. Their first son, John Wentworth (also known as Jack) was born 1877, quickly followed by Robert 1878, then finally Thomas in 1880. Not letting a little thing like three births get in her way, Helen became Flower Painter in Ordinary to Queen Victoria after the death of Valentine Bartholomew in 1879. In the 1881 census, the Angell family lived at 55 Holland Road in Kensington (handy for the Design Museum).</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcNnQcSn7engp2KcNmdBPifEuqPq5Y-XHF5aZklEbQ_kUA_XJh22uQc4SYAGxoIHK8kAuVgdl0gcyxVpKiNXHk6MZpqVhj5rkb7VgzkYQDuaO894MrPFknFq6_5RcEIK3QV8yJ2f_A6gjWD2yCfhYh92f5gQnkFtYYwXz41NOxqqKGx_iF7pCYqvGa4Nc/s512/study%20of%20dead%20birds.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="294" data-original-width="512" height="368" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcNnQcSn7engp2KcNmdBPifEuqPq5Y-XHF5aZklEbQ_kUA_XJh22uQc4SYAGxoIHK8kAuVgdl0gcyxVpKiNXHk6MZpqVhj5rkb7VgzkYQDuaO894MrPFknFq6_5RcEIK3QV8yJ2f_A6gjWD2yCfhYh92f5gQnkFtYYwXz41NOxqqKGx_iF7pCYqvGa4Nc/w640-h368/study%20of%20dead%20birds.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Study of Dead Birds</i> (undated)</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">All of a sudden in 1884, Helen died, aged 37 and the shock was palpable. The <i>Liverpool Mercury</i> called her death 'a serious loss' to the Society of Painters in Water Colour, saying 'she painted with a loving minuteness, a richness of colour, and an accurate realisation of substance and texture hardly to be surpassed.' The occasional publication mentioned her famous brother, but not as many as I feared. She was famous enough in her own right, and her watercolours were loved by the public and critics alike. She was buried at Brompton cemetery, just a month before Alexa Wilding. I promise I'm not trying to link all of Blogvent to Alexa, it's just turning out like that.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">It's taken 11 days and I've actually found a female artist who was appreciated properly in her own lifetime. <i>English Female Artists </i>(1876) by Ellen C Clayton (in two volumes) is a revelation. A little after her death in 1892, Helen got a very sizeable mention in Gilbert Richard Redgrave's <i>A History of Water-colour Painting in England</i>. Of course she is in Walter Shaw Sparrow's <i>Women Painters of the World</i>. The <i>Art Journal</i> wrote in 1884 'Cruel death has snatched from us Helen Cordelia Angell, whilst in the prime of life and in the midst of work of an exceptionally delightful character.' That's not a bad note to end on.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="text-align: left;"><br /></span></div>Kirsty Stonell Walkerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08342964877965021654noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1441164155286448763.post-5609026695883008332023-12-10T21:13:00.001+00:002023-12-10T21:14:12.067+00:00Sunday 10th December - Florence White (1857-1932)<p> Well, we have made it to the 10th which is brilliant, and today's lady is from Steyning in East Sussex. For those of you who don't have to spend time with me, Steyning is of course the birthplace of Fanny Cornforth, but it seems that our subject came into the world just as Miss Cornforth was having her hair faffed about with by Rossetti so it seems unlikely they met. So far, I have one great painting and some miniatures and not a vast amount of information, so say a nervous hello to Florence White...</p><p>'I always drew ... and my "girls of the period" were very popular with my school fellows.'</p><p>This is how one of the few substantial mentions of Florence White begins, interviewed in the <i>Queen</i> in August of 1895. At that point, Florence had been a regular exhibitor at the Royal Academy, as well as the Society of Lady Artists, Society of British Pastellists and other such groups, as well as a frequent flier in the <i>Queen</i>, the <i>Gentlewoman</i> and other publications of the period. She is praised for her miniatures and her portraits, so it is a little puzzling that one of the few pictures we still have electronic access to is this one...</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgPGI163WJEYtbi4gjOT66Kvw7lCkPBwZqmFoY6wZrgVknJleBnQhebsh7welsIE1e09-ThkihtZfD2BnwQx1i9EDF56TXjyBsfejqiYzzh5D82zFRAHtJhH2kQ8yveP3W9xBbJjtKN-qYzFLRKEtNlzSzNmZT6lfftkbTBCjmVx33JrWKDHA4VuQVoI0/s898/Florence_White_-_White_Treasures%201905.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="898" data-original-width="640" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgPGI163WJEYtbi4gjOT66Kvw7lCkPBwZqmFoY6wZrgVknJleBnQhebsh7welsIE1e09-ThkihtZfD2BnwQx1i9EDF56TXjyBsfejqiYzzh5D82zFRAHtJhH2kQ8yveP3W9xBbJjtKN-qYzFLRKEtNlzSzNmZT6lfftkbTBCjmVx33JrWKDHA4VuQVoI0/w456-h640/Florence_White_-_White_Treasures%201905.jpg" width="456" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>White Treasures</i> as seen in Walter Sparrow's book on Women Painters</td></tr></tbody></table><p>A problem I have with this rather lovely picture is that I cannot find any further information on the damn thing. In 1904 Florence exhibited <i>Treasures</i> at the Royal Academy, but I can't find any mention of her in the reviews so have no idea if the two paintings are the same. What doesn't help is that there are two other famous Florence Whites, alive at the same time - one formed the Spinster Society, uniting women who were left after the First World War with no chance of marriage and unequal working conditions. The other wrote cook books, but painting Florence is neither. So who is she?</p><p>I can tell you a bit of her story as she had a famous brother, the author Percy White (1852-1938) and she gave a very vague hint of her family in the piece in the <i>Queen</i> so here are her origins. Miss Florence White seems to have been born in Steyning near Brighton in 1857. In all subsequent census returns, she always claimed to have been from either Brighton or Hove, but seeing as all are fairly geographically close, I give her the benefit of the doubt. Her father was Charles (1801-1876), a school master who had taught Tsar Nicholas the English language. In the first census they appear in, 1861, the White family are settled in Hove, comprising of Charles, Elizabeth (1813-1884) and their eight children, of whom Florence was the youngest.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbTkIBxA_ksHPQ0gfpUlTQapVanNRk0LIg5BgOguSNRGU_1KBqoRLsUFDpBtNWDGDhtmWWZcJ1M1aJXvuFICyAG42AYFDdpOquWTu3ftVY5iYMArJCMKvAABppuZNT6yUgfDEAIaiEb9oA-XHt6JWiEttMbPqINzSSy5qGmchdJr5IGFABg2UxQerek0U/s1600/girl%20and%20dog%2015k%20ebay.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1004" data-original-width="1600" height="402" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbTkIBxA_ksHPQ0gfpUlTQapVanNRk0LIg5BgOguSNRGU_1KBqoRLsUFDpBtNWDGDhtmWWZcJ1M1aJXvuFICyAG42AYFDdpOquWTu3ftVY5iYMArJCMKvAABppuZNT6yUgfDEAIaiEb9oA-XHt6JWiEttMbPqINzSSy5qGmchdJr5IGFABg2UxQerek0U/w640-h402/girl%20and%20dog%2015k%20ebay.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>A Girl and a Dog</i> (undated) (currently on eBay if you fancy it)</td></tr></tbody></table><p>Unlike some of the other young ladies we have met with this month, Florence did not seem to have pursued the arts for anything other than amusement to begin with. Deciding she enjoyed it more than most other things, she attended the local art school classes in Brighton. It was there she met with other girls who were working towards entry to the Royal Academy schools. Something competitive stirred in Florence and her future was set.</p><p>She gained entry to the Academy school with a full-length figure drawn from the antique and spent many happy, industrious years working her way through the school. She told an anecdote of being in a painting class, painting a helmet and a gauntlet, when she became aware that a well-known and imposing Academician was in the doorway. He came across the room and planted himself behind Florence who tried to keep painting with a very shaky hand. He finally exclaimed 'You'll never do any good dabbing on paint in that meaningless way!' He moved forward and gave her a full lesson, returning every so often to offer more helpful advice on the pieces she was working on. His interest in any student's work was seen as unusual as Academicians were never seen in the school, but she said that she gratefully remembered the man her school fellows referred to as her 'pantomime giant'.</p><p>Florence entered her first painting into the Royal Academy in 1884, which was also the year her mother died, shortly after the May exhibition. Her work <i>The Little Messenger</i> did not get any mentions in the newspapers, but she fared better the year after. Her work <i>Margaret</i> sold at Manchester Art Gallery for £15 15s in the October of 1885 and her painting for the Royal Academy was <i>Mrs Charles White</i>, presumably a posthumous portrait of her mother.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsIHtmahppha36LHRMg4kishMWuJmLUULrEgUW1DcMiYd4ZOtBHnm3txD8LrBYpdQg4jXqaRQZjc5-jsG3p_kI8ZhaGWRIUHOcAuV9QhvYo4blP-wqADsTJ9JQehrSirvuebHo_1PrVHmE5abhhzY0bFIApYTgOaNqgU3zZtJ12x4D68GTxEQ1sDVv1i4/s250/child%20in%20a%20sailor%20suit.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="250" data-original-width="250" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsIHtmahppha36LHRMg4kishMWuJmLUULrEgUW1DcMiYd4ZOtBHnm3txD8LrBYpdQg4jXqaRQZjc5-jsG3p_kI8ZhaGWRIUHOcAuV9QhvYo4blP-wqADsTJ9JQehrSirvuebHo_1PrVHmE5abhhzY0bFIApYTgOaNqgU3zZtJ12x4D68GTxEQ1sDVv1i4/w320-h320/child%20in%20a%20sailor%20suit.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Child in a Sailor Suit</i> (undated)</td></tr></tbody></table><p>In 1887, Florence had a piece entitled <i>Chrysanthemums</i> at the Royal Academy, which was also shown and admired in at least two regional exhibitions, and <i>The George Inn, Charmouth</i> at the Society of Lady Artists, described as 'a work painted with much care' in the newspapers. She was also commissioned to paint the President of the Amersham Conservative Club, a painting which was (according to the <i>Bucks Herald</i>) 'remarkable and life-like' and was 2 1/2 feet by 3 feet, enclosed in a handsome gilt frame. I wonder as her flower painting had been a comparative success, if that was the reason she followed <i>Chrysanthemums</i> up with <i>Tulips</i> in 1889 and <i>Azaleas</i> in 1894.</p><p>1890 saw no entry into the Royal Academy, but the <i>Globe</i> reported on the Society of Lady Artists exhibition at the Egyptian Hall in Piccadilly where Florence showed a large pastel drawing of a lady reclining 'in an attitude of spontaneous grace.' They went on to say that the work 'deserves notice for its excellent quality and skillful arrangement of colour, its refinement of style and finished workmanship.' The <i>Gentlewoman</i> also mentioned her portrait of Mrs Stoball in the Society of British Pastellists at the Grosvenor Gallery which was 'one of the prettiest portraits in the gallery.'</p><p>Florence's output for the 1890s was a combination of miniatures and portraits, including 1897's <i>Peggie</i> and 1898's <i>Priscilla</i>. Her 1892's Society of Portrait Painters exhibition piece was <i>Mrs Cecil Lee</i>, a woman in a white brocade evening dress and a grey opera cloak trimmed in fur and lined with pink. The following year, she was awarded a medal by the Calcutta Art Society for the best life-size head in any medium. I'm convinced Florence seemed to pick up speed as she approached the end of the century as there were four entries in the 1898 Royal Academy, then another four in 1900, which include three miniature portraits - <i>Mrs Walter Richardson</i>, <i>Baby, Son of Coster Edwards Esq </i>and<i> Portrait of a Child</i>. From her studio at Redcliffe Road, she became known as a portrait painter of talent, especially when it came to female subjects. If we start a drinking game for Blogvent, I want one of the conditions for a drink to be 'lives on Redcliffe Road, like Alexa Wilding' because it seems to have been a very popular road indeed.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9dSOKr5Mby7ZsqFbErhBqB6BMwI2viUL_cEyB-MZoEEmL0mZXU0qzlbavc7BtzmZV9bG_fjEXg_1BhdovTW72t5AtxC04L9i5KUoFRVleLl97z4X-HaZUvbZzdxcilMbRrN9wreU6a_C3KGB8KojVX1m7TFCNES-Zem9kb1ORGmbnbvRHb1WpnfFbnz0/s800/lena%20ashwell.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="524" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9dSOKr5Mby7ZsqFbErhBqB6BMwI2viUL_cEyB-MZoEEmL0mZXU0qzlbavc7BtzmZV9bG_fjEXg_1BhdovTW72t5AtxC04L9i5KUoFRVleLl97z4X-HaZUvbZzdxcilMbRrN9wreU6a_C3KGB8KojVX1m7TFCNES-Zem9kb1ORGmbnbvRHb1WpnfFbnz0/w420-h640/lena%20ashwell.jpg" width="420" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Lena Ashwell</i> (unknown photographer)</td></tr></tbody></table><p>At an exhibition of miniatures at Mr Bonner's Gallery in Kensington in 1904, Florence won praise for her 'individuality of style and skill of execution.' Her portrait of rising actress Lena Ashwell won much attention in 1901, 'in which the rapt expression of that artist - an expression which could never be arrested by a camera - is most feelingly interpreted.' She also did the occasional 'fancy piece', such as the intriguingly titled <i>"Where as in silk my Julia goes"</i>, exhibited at the Royal Academy twice, once in 1907 and again for the War Relief exhibition of 1915. It is during this period that <i>White Treasures </i>appeared in Walter Shaw Sparrow's book on women painters with no context given at all other than she is an example of a modern female painter. As she was, at this point, well-known for being a portraitist, and there is no listing or mention of any painting called <i>White Treasures</i> in the newspapers (even 1904's <i>Treasures</i> didn't exactly make a splash if it is indeed that painting), why this fancy, late renaissance-styled painting was judged as typical of her work or a popular modern piece is somewhat of a mystery.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioe_fcZdxnQoPPJXxyjo_ZiEKuo5oZ9PBcrw3tsd4JRZT9eAE6Wnhz1V9tXxX2pxeYvY8RM1bwUzBszk_b3k96EjW_LweFH74BVnvDd-vGpu8faBNS8RXf5BxHy-4HjqAXor8mctjbpNhyphenhyphenlXuqHHfr4Q0k8q43CRjQD_sryDP19bu4A5ay5FIH_z4PXNw/s678/miniature%20of%20an%20edwardian%20lady.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="678" data-original-width="550" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioe_fcZdxnQoPPJXxyjo_ZiEKuo5oZ9PBcrw3tsd4JRZT9eAE6Wnhz1V9tXxX2pxeYvY8RM1bwUzBszk_b3k96EjW_LweFH74BVnvDd-vGpu8faBNS8RXf5BxHy-4HjqAXor8mctjbpNhyphenhyphenlXuqHHfr4Q0k8q43CRjQD_sryDP19bu4A5ay5FIH_z4PXNw/w520-h640/miniature%20of%20an%20edwardian%20lady.jpg" width="520" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Portrait of a Lady</i> (no date)</td></tr></tbody></table><p>Florence's last years in the Academy are by-and-large miniature portrait based. She was missing from the 1912 Royal Academy and it is tempting to think that she might be the same 'Florence White, artist', who was arrested for suffragette-related criminal damage to the amount of £10 in Coventry Street and received 4 months imprisonment along with other like-minded professional women. However, the suffragette gave her age as 48 in 1912 which would make her a few years younger than our Florence. It's not out of the question that she lied about her age but I need more info.</p><p>I think Florence died around 1930. By that time Florence White and her Spinsters were in full revolt and Florence White and her cook book were published so it is difficult to see if there is any mention of artist Florence, who hadn't really been exhibiting for a while. Florence suffers from the problem facing many unmarried artists, there are no family members writing them up and reminding us all. If anyone has any information on <i>White Treasures</i> or knows of its whereabouts, I'd love to know. I bet it's smashing in colour and it was enough to get into Walter Sparrow's book, so we definitely need to know more.</p>Kirsty Stonell Walkerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08342964877965021654noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1441164155286448763.post-12039122584088484362023-12-09T20:42:00.001+00:002023-12-09T20:42:23.064+00:00Saturday 9th December - Blanche Jenkins (1851-1915)<p> Hurrah, it's the weekend! I should get more time to do these posts, although nothing works out like that, especially at Christmas. We are off seeing people, delivering cards and presents while I try and remember who I am meant to be writing about. I'm a bit worried about today's lady as she did portraits and we know how the Royal Academy illustrated supplement felt about portraits. Let's brace ourselves and dive in...</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPK2pV96F4mfDOQtHkSC_y0aT6mq8G-eVpb03blnhyphenhyphenaPLvrvguDB0G_fhM8sBsQxwWzRN6Y_BemqhKt4bbIxZuDkRgEeFk4eWlX5DiOMQc47UimfBWgj36KCiWNwYpwePcQoJmZQsTCKsDC8SdGR_ffmcVqprYHeFTtiFfR1ZmhfZFHmta9JS09ub_sgY/s698/cupid%20with%20roses.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="698" data-original-width="634" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPK2pV96F4mfDOQtHkSC_y0aT6mq8G-eVpb03blnhyphenhyphenaPLvrvguDB0G_fhM8sBsQxwWzRN6Y_BemqhKt4bbIxZuDkRgEeFk4eWlX5DiOMQc47UimfBWgj36KCiWNwYpwePcQoJmZQsTCKsDC8SdGR_ffmcVqprYHeFTtiFfR1ZmhfZFHmta9JS09ub_sgY/w364-h400/cupid%20with%20roses.png" width="364" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Cupid with Roses</i> (no date)</td></tr></tbody></table><p>Okay, I possibly should have warned you how sugar-laden today's post is likely to be. There will be all manner of cutie-pies, little moppets and kiddiewinks, so feel free to pace yourself. The sweetness levels are going to be through the roof. Welcome to the world of Blanche Jenkins...</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEim2vfVKT1Rfcj5emg2NtP1vaShXQWK8jAL33410EF42SOv4LdqtfR-ODeH1g_p79kgrII8xkvBYDsI5QByjSbhZawvsQR5Op_tSPnRPeJNEnFasnpjxalOZ5F68lLvA2OPhuY9iZy_IE7ECWmPCg6F6XnvIafb41okjzwQJ8IaDxT1CzdT8Dg_r6AXLRg/s476/portrait.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="476" data-original-width="319" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEim2vfVKT1Rfcj5emg2NtP1vaShXQWK8jAL33410EF42SOv4LdqtfR-ODeH1g_p79kgrII8xkvBYDsI5QByjSbhZawvsQR5Op_tSPnRPeJNEnFasnpjxalOZ5F68lLvA2OPhuY9iZy_IE7ECWmPCg6F6XnvIafb41okjzwQJ8IaDxT1CzdT8Dg_r6AXLRg/w268-h400/portrait.png" width="268" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Portrait from <i>Look and Learn</i> (c.1890s)</td></tr></tbody></table><p>I am in the debt of the <i>Queen </i>magazine, who ran a piece on Blanche in 1888 and gave me some very searchable facts to find her family tree. Blanche was born in the summer of 1851 to George (1799-1871) and Emma (1816-1904). As a side-note, it sometimes surprises me how old parents could be at the birth of their children in the olden days. My grandparents were in their 40s when they had my mother, and I see George was 52 when Blanche came into the world. I was made to feel like a museum piece at 32 when Lily was born - 'geriatric pregnancy' and 'elderly primigravida' were mentioned, even though I had a good 3 years before either of those applied. I digress. </p><p>Anyway, Blanche was the middle of 5 siblings, starting with Emma junior (1847-1936), Anne (1850-1926), Rose (1853-1931) and finally Arnold (1859-1926). Yet again we have another girl exposed to art at an early age (when will we ever learn?), this time through her mother's cousins <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Lionel_Wyllie" target="_blank">William Lionel Wyllie</a> (lots of boats), his brother Charles William Wyllie (not so many boats and no Wikipedia page) and their half brother <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lionel_Percy_Smythe" target="_blank">Lionel Percy Smythe</a> (practically no boats but a Wikipedia page). According to the <i>Queen</i>, Blanche loved to draw from an early age, and by 11 years old was top of her class in art. As the family lived in London, as a reward for her talent Blanche was allowed to attend the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Royal_Female_School_of_Art" target="_blank">Female School of Art</a> in Queen's Square for two afternoons a week. She was already winning prizes at 12...</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFJFGns6sCx6eHUPAyBNT38xU_wuzY0Lx0359o3Vx4U7I_Qyd21bmlh5bW2PVu8b70inkXiFzBcGEhIkirInOhElpnWy-Ru1JXBJa72BURB_lRlY8zryjCXjVxwcozF7g4FLkAabSKxfdviO4Rbf-89OqHikhpZoP-oI7zRN6kEMcHt1z7bUzaDY4tmF0/s1600/little%20elsie.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1068" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFJFGns6sCx6eHUPAyBNT38xU_wuzY0Lx0359o3Vx4U7I_Qyd21bmlh5bW2PVu8b70inkXiFzBcGEhIkirInOhElpnWy-Ru1JXBJa72BURB_lRlY8zryjCXjVxwcozF7g4FLkAabSKxfdviO4Rbf-89OqHikhpZoP-oI7zRN6kEMcHt1z7bUzaDY4tmF0/w428-h640/little%20elsie.jpg" width="428" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Little Elsie</i> (1899)</td></tr></tbody></table><p>She went to the Royal Academy School under Mr Pickersgill and while at the school, painted a study of a head entitled <i>Madeline</i>. She entered it into the 1873 Royal Academy exhibition and it appeared in the same room as John Everett Millais (although I'm guessing slightly higher). I was disappointed (yet somehow unsurprised) to see that it gained no interest in the newspapers. Nevertheless, she followed it in 1874 with <i>A Captive</i>, again no press reviews. Although her 1875 RA picture, <i>Merry Christmas Time</i> gained no press interest, she appeared in the <i>Liverpool Mercury's </i>review of the exhibition of paintings at the Free Library, where her picture <i>Sunbeam in Granny's Chair</i> was described thus 'a sweet laughing cherry-cheeked sunbeam it is - Some mother's darling, beautifully portrayed.' She also appeared in the December exhibition at the Dudley Gallery where she had two paintings described by the <i>St Pancras Guardian</i> as 'agreeably-painted little portraits.'</p><p>1876 started with a mention in <i>Building News</i> who I think employed art critics who hated Victorian art (so it's traditional, <i>Guardian</i>) which is unfortunate if you are Victorian. It considered the Dudley Gallery exhibition as having no watercolour painting on its walls that was of any consequence 'to anyone but the painter and his frame-maker.' They caveat their review with 'the specimens we commend are only commendable because they are not quite so bad as some others in the exhibition.' Marvellous. With this in mind, they commented that Blanche's piece <i>How Tommy Does His Sums</i> was recommended to the visitors' attention. Thanks, I think...</p><p>1876 was also important because not only did Blanche get away with not being too badly reviews in <i>Building News </i>but also at the Royal Academy in May, she was joined on the walls by her sister Anne. Blanche had two paintings on show, <i>A Study</i> and <i>Playmates Asleep</i>, which also showed at the Royal Scottish Academy's exhibition in March of 1877, and Anne had a still life.</p><p>Brace yourself, because in 1877 Blanche's RA work was finally mentioned by a newspaper! In <i>The Era</i>, Blanche's work <i>Slyboots </i>was called a 'meritorious little work' and 'a clever work' and Blanche was called 'a promising young artist.' Another exhibition saw Blanche sell her work <i>Lilian</i> for £7 7s which seems an average price of a painting sold on that occasion. Sadly, there is no mention in 1878, where Blanche showed two portraits <i>The Widow</i> and <i>Portrait of a Lady</i>. It is easy to see Blanche as merely a poppet painter, but she did a fair number of portraits of women too. The Royal Scottish Academy did not let us down and the <i>Edinburgh Evening News</i> mentioned <i>An Attentive Listener</i> as 'a fine study of a young girl in modern costume.' However, it was not all good news - 'It is marred by some defects of colour, and by a slight carelessness of drawing in the right arm.' Despite a wonky arm, she sold it for £15.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqFKvjiDXBMFjVOln-2rtTxk0dYr4SPEnoVe-AS1JFxqPKX3mQmjz4I_WhrHzDF3OwVBLUHNRo9Rg1lAOW0DfwPUAm3dYiPCOB6DbwDlon_nxbmUXLND_w0OUT_2S2o2Dty1Wi-sxEqk5FjnfQJTv4sGCkV_dZFKMeaEKUVKlCUX1EDVfrWxXxis8Vcgk/s721/hon%20henry%20howard.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="721" data-original-width="599" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqFKvjiDXBMFjVOln-2rtTxk0dYr4SPEnoVe-AS1JFxqPKX3mQmjz4I_WhrHzDF3OwVBLUHNRo9Rg1lAOW0DfwPUAm3dYiPCOB6DbwDlon_nxbmUXLND_w0OUT_2S2o2Dty1Wi-sxEqk5FjnfQJTv4sGCkV_dZFKMeaEKUVKlCUX1EDVfrWxXxis8Vcgk/w532-h640/hon%20henry%20howard.png" width="532" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>The Hon Mrs Henry Howard</i> (1879)</td></tr></tbody></table><p>Blanche ended the 1870s with another mention of her Royal Academy efforts in the newspaper. The<i> Morning Post</i> awarded praise to her portrait of <i>The Hon. Mrs Henry Howard </i> and <i>The Graphic</i> reported 'Miss Blanche Jenkins's head of the Hon. Mrs Henry Howard is one of many portraits which do honour to our lady painters this year.' As you will see, Mrs Howard is very dignified and non-poppety and I can see why it caught the critics eye. Her other picture, <i>Mrs Sneyd of Keele</i> received no mention in the press, but outside the Royal Academy, her piece <i>Little Rustic</i> was called 'an apple-cheeked country lassock' by the <i>Dundee Advertiser</i> and her portrait <i>Dolly</i> sold for £8 8s.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBamlihcQtZ5qWMnrg2oqKTJPmsEjV9OmdqxfDJCVnJUG8miAu7BYqz9iTzX602cuggz-6yvzNBuITGRm_CuW95YPjkTXYSpwP9MhaO3P5GyfcWutN90-fO5m3tMjF6nMr-woHQekJUQf9NwCzQolVHBJmXX07Qxget1y__3zQx67NKSnZhMhbyPQmoOI/s659/first%20kiss.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="659" data-original-width="476" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBamlihcQtZ5qWMnrg2oqKTJPmsEjV9OmdqxfDJCVnJUG8miAu7BYqz9iTzX602cuggz-6yvzNBuITGRm_CuW95YPjkTXYSpwP9MhaO3P5GyfcWutN90-fO5m3tMjF6nMr-woHQekJUQf9NwCzQolVHBJmXX07Qxget1y__3zQx67NKSnZhMhbyPQmoOI/w289-h400/first%20kiss.png" width="289" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>The First Kiss</i> (1881)</td></tr></tbody></table><p>Although Blanche did not show at the London Royal Academy in 1880, <i>Phillis</i> appeared at the Scottish RA, selling for £36 15s. She was back at the RA in 1881 with her sister Anne and three pictures, <i>Going Out</i>, <i>Mrs Lyttleton Annesley </i>and <i>Little Sunshine</i>, none of which were covered in the newspapers. Blanche had an impressive four paintings accepted in 1882, <i>Little Frank</i>, <i>Captain A G Corbet</i>, <i>Nearly Bedtime</i> and <i>The First Kiss.</i> The last on the list made the news, with <i>The Era</i> describing 'There are few nicer works of [pretty children] than "The First Kiss" by Blanche Jenkins. The fair artist has been most successful in depicting the pretty shyness of the little girl who is being so demurely kissed by a cavalier of about her own age.' The <i>Evening News</i> commented 'it is uncommonly well done, and it does one good to look at it.' The painting was bought by the artist T O Barlow who produced an engraving of it and entered it into the 1886 Royal Academy show.</p><p>1883 saw three more paintings at the RA, and what the <i>Queen</i> magazine called an advance in her art style. Other than that, and a brief acknowledgment that she had portraits in the May exhibition, there were no reviews of <i>Daisy, daughter of G T R Preston Esq, A Little Coquette </i>and <i>The Queen of the Fisher Maidens. </i>The latter was reviewed well the following year when it appeared in a Society of Lady Artists exhibition where it was described as 'remarkable for the youthful beauty of the head, and its animated expression.' The <i>Penny Illustrated Paper</i> had Blanche's <i>Sly Puss</i> as its colour plate for Christmas the same year, described as a picture of a 'pretty little girl and a no less pretty kitten.'</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0cL21FxQDoJZe3HY73J7yajCUZwH_fsA4mN6wNDFXHMRrWAFBHOT90GPQt5tIEtpY_b88YdIkLWGAKXWSrc46NHuw0L3A4eYgZW8U_8rTveGOXIUxOAuXLAw6SzEz93k_6CklyeUV8cA5mD8aUEW4Wxe77Qfe-EjbjFHAHKl0KRqunSf5DhNEbHTEkcw/s553/hush_colour.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="553" data-original-width="450" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0cL21FxQDoJZe3HY73J7yajCUZwH_fsA4mN6wNDFXHMRrWAFBHOT90GPQt5tIEtpY_b88YdIkLWGAKXWSrc46NHuw0L3A4eYgZW8U_8rTveGOXIUxOAuXLAw6SzEz93k_6CklyeUV8cA5mD8aUEW4Wxe77Qfe-EjbjFHAHKl0KRqunSf5DhNEbHTEkcw/w520-h640/hush_colour.jpg" width="520" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Hush!</i> (1887)</td></tr></tbody></table><p>In 1885, Blanche sold <i>His Mother's Darling</i> at an exhibition in Manchester for £6 6s and <i>The Youngest</i> for £12 12s at the Walker Gallery in Liverpool. Her picture <i>Christmas Eve</i> was mentioned in a review of the Royal Academy exhibition in the <i>Stratford Upon Avon Herald</i>. In 1887, Blanche's work <i>Hush!</i> reminded the <i>Queen</i> magazine of the work of Joshua Reynolds, whilst other publications likened her child portraits to those of Millais, with whom she shared gallery space. <i>Hush! </i> proved so popular that it appeared as an engraving in 1888 in <i>The Graphic.</i> One painting which prompted the comparison with Millais was <i>The Primrose Dance</i> which, from descriptions, I think is this one...</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgSgD5FNoVlZLqhGuhyphenhyphenE1eX9dAz88fNqNIeASW02pbphE8TGNuivtkk5BsnF8IzPZdep2867tCl56i2c9Aa53RaGVBacY7H5EAD_YPwzSaEicUJQKkKZp9fQsEOedzeP-6a8SuFfl5Ie5BPO6crd-EB0u-md8oyrSa6nMfGz7-qL0XgwZF7kqZLTFbydA/s600/Blanche_Jenkins_-_Portrait_of_a_young_girl_in_a_green_dress.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="373" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgSgD5FNoVlZLqhGuhyphenhyphenE1eX9dAz88fNqNIeASW02pbphE8TGNuivtkk5BsnF8IzPZdep2867tCl56i2c9Aa53RaGVBacY7H5EAD_YPwzSaEicUJQKkKZp9fQsEOedzeP-6a8SuFfl5Ie5BPO6crd-EB0u-md8oyrSa6nMfGz7-qL0XgwZF7kqZLTFbydA/w398-h640/Blanche_Jenkins_-_Portrait_of_a_young_girl_in_a_green_dress.jpg" width="398" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Girl in a Green Dress (The Primrose Dance)</i> (1887)</td></tr></tbody></table><p>The likeness to Reynolds appeared again in 1888 with <i>A Simple Child</i>, one of two paintings Blanche had in the Royal Academy that year. The <i>Bath Chronicle</i> remarked that Blanche's portraiture possessed 'a singular charm of tenderness.' The painting she exhibited at the Grosvenor Gallery, <i>The Tiff, </i>won her the prize of 20 guineas at the Wolverhampton exhibition.</p><p>In 1889, the <i>Queen </i>magazine ran the interview with Blanche, listing her successes, but reporting that ill health had prevented her from exhibiting that year. The Jenkins family had moved into their new home (and studio) in Abbey Road, which would become known as Blanche's mature studio, only leaving it towards the end of her life when the railway bought the land for extension of the London and North West railway line. </p><p>In 1890, Blanche was back, exhibiting <i>Early Spring</i> with the Society of Lady Artists, and an 'exceedingly lovely little girl' (according to the <i>Queen</i>) in her RA piece, <i>Lilies</i>. together with another charming child study <i>Ruby</i>, at the New Gallery. In 1891, Blanche exhibited a portrait of her cousin Mrs Charles Wyllie praised by<i> John Bull</i> for its 'charming sprightliness as well as for its fine and harmonious colour.'</p><p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjm0UXOOW4ZzbxNI4hn6SaiUqIAnSjjGaAQG9t8daIefm0XCM9U7jMck7R33ivqqqKfXcwlfSWutqqSiVSaQ4Nciy4b3s5YRwnlwpFEuClre-q2TlJEUZtYeT9TJsD-wG4hXor3bByKfkVFFJspHKz3S8Vhf1gwdGpFh39goV33bvtg29N6R373tLgoGgY/s769/her%20morning%20ride.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="769" data-original-width="630" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjm0UXOOW4ZzbxNI4hn6SaiUqIAnSjjGaAQG9t8daIefm0XCM9U7jMck7R33ivqqqKfXcwlfSWutqqSiVSaQ4Nciy4b3s5YRwnlwpFEuClre-q2TlJEUZtYeT9TJsD-wG4hXor3bByKfkVFFJspHKz3S8Vhf1gwdGpFh39goV33bvtg29N6R373tLgoGgY/w524-h640/her%20morning%20ride.png" width="524" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Her Morning Ride</i> (1892)</td></tr></tbody></table></p><p><i>Father's Little Comforter</i>, Blanche's1892 Royal Academy painting featured the same little girl who had appeared in <i>Lilies </i>and who liked by critics who had come to expect certain subjects and emotions from Blanche's work. At the Dundee Fine Art Exhibition in the March, Blanche sold her painting <i>A Simple Child</i> for £200. She also exhibited <i>Her Morning Ride</i>, a painting that appeared in Walter Sparrow's 1905 classic <i>Women Painters of the World</i>. In 1893, another child portrait <i>Through the Woods</i> appeared at the New Gallery, Blanche's portrait of Mrs Wyllie graced the Royal Academy, while an engraving of <i>Lilies</i> appeared in Christmas annuals in December. Her portraits of girls including <i>Miss Isabella Wilson</i>, <i>Meriel, daughter of A E Perkins</i>, together with an engraving of <i>The Morning Ride</i>, filled the Royal Academy in the1890s, culminating with a portrait of her mother, Emma in 1899 , surprising some critics but reminding others that Blanche was not just a painter of little girls. </p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWu-7dEBfWzmtBlFykaj179d0bbC4NFTzxGH-klH_pazirtf528IaGgeq3fxyzGyvKB9vP62tpRzSMSPPaWXaxh9oAZ-NXgxn5oiMhGWkSjrLXsB5aC8vDvWuTVzH4e3HpPUujF9X6brvMlQLuxpR1N0LpdXClssQo0z55ZPc_WB6JW23xrtrdyRQUwII/s825/wreaths%20and%20smiles%201897.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="825" data-original-width="598" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWu-7dEBfWzmtBlFykaj179d0bbC4NFTzxGH-klH_pazirtf528IaGgeq3fxyzGyvKB9vP62tpRzSMSPPaWXaxh9oAZ-NXgxn5oiMhGWkSjrLXsB5aC8vDvWuTVzH4e3HpPUujF9X6brvMlQLuxpR1N0LpdXClssQo0z55ZPc_WB6JW23xrtrdyRQUwII/w464-h640/wreaths%20and%20smiles%201897.png" width="464" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Wreaths and Smiles</i> (1897)</td></tr></tbody></table><p>Although obviously, a lot of it was little girls.</p><p>At this time, Blanche, together with her sister Emma, Anne and Rose, all still lived at home with their mother, in Abbey Road. Anne was listed as a painter in the 1901 census, with Blanche listed as a portrait painter. Sister Emma was a professor of music and Rose, a professor of elocution. Not much changed after the death of Mrs Jenkins in 1904, the sisters continuing to live together, with the addition of a servant. Interestingly, Anne seems to stop claiming artistic status somewhen in the first decade of the twentieth century, becoming the only one of the sisters without a profession.</p><p>You can see the interest in Blanche's art slip away in the early years of the twentieth century. She was regarded as a figure of authority, a trail-blazer in female portraiture, with her famous pictures repeatedly used as illustrations in magazines, but she became very much pigeonholed as a child portrait painter, even adding that detail to her 1911 census return. This ignores the large number of portraits of adults she was praised for. In the years before her death in 1915, her sparse output became narrowed to just what was expected of her - portraits of girls, including an image of <i>The Fairy Queen</i> at the War Relief Exhibition in 1915, a few months before her death in the autumn.</p><p>So, what do we take away from Blanche Jenkins? She definitely suffers from the general disinterest in portraiture and I can see why - if you don't know the person in the picture, where is the pull other than to look at the skill involved. Such works are also done for commission, so lack the need to capture the general imagination, which is fair enough. The fashion for the sort of child portrait she was so good at has definitely not come back around, and I fear her retrospective might be a while away, unless anyone fancies a saccharine poppet exhibition that concentrates on that sugary genre in an attempt to understand it. Why, for example, did Millais reach back to Reynolds? That is certainly who I feel Blanche is emulating, and was it a conscious reaching back to the Georgians? That Victorian celebration of childhood, which by the end of her life in the Edwardian period and beyond is what Blanche had boiled down to, deserves our attention because it is so intense. Maybe those poppets aren't as sugary as they first appear. We owe it Blanche to take another look.</p><p><br /></p>Kirsty Stonell Walkerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08342964877965021654noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1441164155286448763.post-41713841919714341662023-12-08T19:14:00.000+00:002023-12-08T19:14:51.317+00:00Friday 8th December - Jessie Macgregor (1846 -1919)<p> Here we are at the end of the first full week of Blogvent and almost into double figures. Today's lady is so prolific and well-illustrated that I am oddly optimistic. She seems to have had a fairly quiet life that revolved around her work, exhibiting from 1873 to 1913, which is 40 years worth of RA pictures to get through! Buckle up for a picture extravaganza to end the week! Say hello to Jessie Macgregor...</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0ev_YflqOi5SdBIzOoH5KwPlv4W8h2uwpC5Re2MrdglyMIYJnOijAEZURvDFkhKjwqrKyW-XdFx1fq4Ocv6Evcge-vZEQh6af1Eex7TRvgeSJnXIEdYOev9DynjSLHj4IxigF2JqwNEQ4ggz4XRwQR508ePpm8QwRW494maDzcqh7ePRnoDosMGSq_l4/s600/fireside%20warmth%201872.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="525" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0ev_YflqOi5SdBIzOoH5KwPlv4W8h2uwpC5Re2MrdglyMIYJnOijAEZURvDFkhKjwqrKyW-XdFx1fq4Ocv6Evcge-vZEQh6af1Eex7TRvgeSJnXIEdYOev9DynjSLHj4IxigF2JqwNEQ4ggz4XRwQR508ePpm8QwRW494maDzcqh7ePRnoDosMGSq_l4/w350-h400/fireside%20warmth%201872.jpg" width="350" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Fireside Warmth</i> (1872)</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div>Jessie was born in the autumn of 1846 to Alexander (1820-1898) and Sarah (1820-1894). She had one older brother, Charles and seven younger siblings, including Archibald (1857-1909) who will appear later on. Handily for young, arty Jessie, her grandfather Andrew Hunt (1791-1861) was an artist and ran the drawing academy in Liverpool. Her uncle was Alfred William Hunt (1830-1896), who did beautiful landscapes, and her father was a lithographer (rapidly becoming my favourite job for this Blogvent) so the poor lass was surrounded by art from a young age. By 1855, Alexander and Sarah relocated to London and Jessie was destined for the Royal Academy school where she was taught by Lord Leighton, Philip Homogenised Calderon and John Pettie. Yes, I know that wasn't Calderon's middle name, but it's close enough.</div><div><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiy9RCsCLKKnUopHWTvS4U7UVJNl4YOlQ3X-79L99oG-eh8N4DCkE0Z18ns3FRDrmKjVUttnjY3MFURYFfShKt_cGQ5soX_rupqerh0c-cqZrAETndE3BvhdehulluRkBDwCppRZLbqje2ikc9EdPhH1VbBFil5jE5VOzZxGcl3J7dtxt8B_3nv7FjnpV4/s685/ralph%20creyke%201909.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="685" data-original-width="404" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiy9RCsCLKKnUopHWTvS4U7UVJNl4YOlQ3X-79L99oG-eh8N4DCkE0Z18ns3FRDrmKjVUttnjY3MFURYFfShKt_cGQ5soX_rupqerh0c-cqZrAETndE3BvhdehulluRkBDwCppRZLbqje2ikc9EdPhH1VbBFil5jE5VOzZxGcl3J7dtxt8B_3nv7FjnpV4/w236-h400/ralph%20creyke%201909.jpg" width="236" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Ralph Creyke </i>(1909)</td></tr></tbody></table><p>While at the Royal Academy, Jessie won the gold medal for best historical painting for her piece <i>An Act of Mercy</i>. Now, if you did art history at school, you too would know that history painting is the best (followed by portraiture, landscape, stil life and right at the bottom 'genre' which means paintings of normal people, yuck). My favourite report of the prize giving comes from the snide ratbags at <i>Building News</i> (the clarion of truth) who reported that Francis Grant, the President of the RA, gave an address that was 'as usual, feeble and uninteresting' and the remarks he made to each of the prize winners 'when audible, were singularly infelicitous.' Ouch. However, they finished by saying 'Exception must, however, be made to his complement to Miss Jessie Macgregor ... which had the additional recommendation of being thoroughly deserved.' She was only the second woman to win the award and another would not win the award until 1909.</p><p>In 1873, I saw that Miss M S Tovey exhibited a portrait of <i>Miss Jessie Macgregor</i> at the Royal Academy and I wondered if that was our Jessie. Meanwhile in 1873, Jessie exhibited the splendidly titled "<i>And the Veil of Thine Head Shall be Grief, and the Crown Shall be Pain"</i> which the <i>Liverpool Daily Post</i> declared 'a good picture, but difficult to understand.' It would have been handy to have a picture so we could have a go, but it seemed to be a tall lady in black, so it sounds jolly...</p><p>Jessie was made an Academician, excuse me a Lady Academician for the Liverpool Academy of Art in 1874 (because obviously Liverpool is more advanced than London, or maybe just a little sooner if you go alphabetically). The <i>Prescot Reporter</i> wrote a piece on 1875's Liverpool Autumn Exhibit at the Walker, and mentioned Jessie's work <i>Idly Touching the Strings</i>, but said it had no 'ease or grace ... carefully painted but shows no advance on previous works. It is sold.' Someone liked it then.</p><p>In the 1876 Royal Academy, Jessie appeared with <i>The Gardener's Daughter</i> and <i>Under a Spell</i>, the latter described as 'powerful and original' by the <i>Liverpool Daily Post</i>. This really heralded her run at the Royal Academy, exhibiting (as we will see) almost every year. I also noticed the newspaper reports of her jump from only a couple a year to considerably more after 1877 which shows the impact of her breakthrough, aged 31. Not everyone needs to be in the '30 under 30' lists to make an mark.</p><p>Her piece for the 1877 RA was <i>Service in the Chancel </i>and she also exhibited with the Watercolour Society, showing <i>On the Edge of the Pond</i>, described by the <i>Liverpool Mercury</i> as a 'picturesque, well-selected scene.' In 1879, she had two pictures accepted by the RA, <i>A Crown of Golden Daffodils</i> and <i>May Morning</i>. Using the RA catalogues, you can see that Jessie splits her time between Liverpool (where she is often described as a 'local artist') and London. I also like that when her pictures appear in the Royal Academy, Scottish papers such as the <i>Glasgow Herald</i> describe her as a Scottish Lady Painter. I know her father was Scottish, but being from Liverpool and living in London does not make you a member of the White Heather Club.</p><p>By 1880, Jessie had settled into her studio on Elm Tree Road (like Ethel Wright) and had <i>Tick-Tick</i> at the Royal Academy, followed in 1881 with a triple-bill on the subject of <i>The Mistletoe Bough</i>...</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqr42ZM2PZkGTVccPeawLopWSXCMwvBd1qlFIUL95yvYTHwbb316JNbBiykD_huM8HE083drgjcQANlDnUEFW1MqjZHNiP8h6LHDQa_OiFwHPhdT5-RaE3mwH-Vm4pDM4et2DE85UZe6FnRPprOw1uXuUsS49zwTJhLBfsY4eI4qEd_bHs85qbOePfTBg/s739/the%20coffer%20the%20mistletoe%20bough.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="739" data-original-width="615" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqr42ZM2PZkGTVccPeawLopWSXCMwvBd1qlFIUL95yvYTHwbb316JNbBiykD_huM8HE083drgjcQANlDnUEFW1MqjZHNiP8h6LHDQa_OiFwHPhdT5-RaE3mwH-Vm4pDM4et2DE85UZe6FnRPprOw1uXuUsS49zwTJhLBfsY4eI4qEd_bHs85qbOePfTBg/w333-h400/the%20coffer%20the%20mistletoe%20bough.png" width="333" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>The Coffer</i> (1881)</td></tr></tbody></table><p>Now, the above image is on the internet as <i>The Coffer</i> but it is patently a scene from The Mistletoe Bough, which I wrote a blog post on in 2011's Blogvent. It concerns a bride playing hide and seek on the night of her wedding and being trapped in a giant chest and dying. Happy Christmas! I'm guessing this is the middle image with her wedding and the discovering of her skeleton being the bookends. Smashing. For 1882, I regret to inform you I am unable to bring you <i>The Wail of the Valkyrs</i>, her picture at the RA, also known as <i>The Valkyr Maidens Weeping the Death of Baldur</i> which was judged 'ambitious' by the <i>Eastern Morning News</i> and 'Scandinavian' by the <i>London Evening News</i>. I look forward to being called both.</p><p>I found it interesting that Jessie's RA picture for 1883 <i>Amber</i> first appeared in Liverpool in their 1882 Autumn exhibition. I was used to the paintings travelling in the other direction (if it didn't sell in London, it went to Liverpool) but being a 'local painter' maybe Jessie had no problem showing Liverpool first. I also assume that any purchaser in Liverpool would have no problem with their painting also being shown at the Royal Academy afterwards, as that definitely has bragging rights. She also exhibited <i>Lily Worship</i> described as 'an aesthetic picture' by the <i>Cheltenham Examiner</i> and <i>The Wanderings of Freyja (Norse Goddess of Love and Beauty) in search of her husband, Odur the Immortal</i>. I bet he's a devil at hide and seek. Anyway, the <i>Cheltenham Examiner</i> remarked that <i>Lily Worship</i> had a great spot on the wall, whereas the other two had been skied. I think I'd rather have it hanging in Liverpool because it probably had a better chance of being sold if people could actually see it.</p><p>By 1884, her brother Archibald, also an artist, was sharing her studio in Elm Tree Road and both of them had pictures in the Academy that May. Jessie exhibited <i>"For Those in Peril on the Sea" </i>which was very popular as it showed a group of girls singing the hymn round a piano while their mother looks out of the window at a stormy scene, no doubt at their drowning father. It was also popular in the Glasgow Institute exhibition of 1885 where it was considered the best painting in Gallery 2. She also showed another painting entitled <i>Tick-Tick</i> which I can't imagine was the same picture as 1880, but maybe a similar subject. She finally hit the Royal Academy picture supplement in 1885 with her painting <i>The Twenty Fourth of December</i>...</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqOnB2aoNW13-Ly1LeuqgNlpMYgfpFq6obRuHhqmmzfzn37vcYVigNolOPcAcLMmw-_oqfsN3jOg7i_mfg5mJqEgKMCAvnDSfw8HlCtfXNLzf4zpR21QTWkd4Oj8kjS5yO-EE6qAlwZc5AJd1ahkyXfqNKkAuNX9jaxXr41DZhkNybcymZhA7MzqMMDC4/s600/24th%20december.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="446" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqOnB2aoNW13-Ly1LeuqgNlpMYgfpFq6obRuHhqmmzfzn37vcYVigNolOPcAcLMmw-_oqfsN3jOg7i_mfg5mJqEgKMCAvnDSfw8HlCtfXNLzf4zpR21QTWkd4Oj8kjS5yO-EE6qAlwZc5AJd1ahkyXfqNKkAuNX9jaxXr41DZhkNybcymZhA7MzqMMDC4/w476-h640/24th%20december.jpg" width="476" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>The Twenty Fourth of December</i> (1885)</td></tr></tbody></table><p>She was back in 1886 with two portraits, one of <i>Cedric, Son of Sir Francis Imlach Esq MD</i> and the other a <i>Portrait of a Lady</i> which might be this one...</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBBYV-ZAitCtLpqVxH9NhO96UvJUAfOtEsci8jBVvj0musB95VRO4jn_gs-RBriBKGfGorEd1DYKG8nyhIetvVVMb3SAvwk1o6XeNhXAnhdOmN0qYeGlhOZ1xOan1yWKtZutCghHxtHaV7yU3qTkE5BVawvqHG4pAvZsm2QVo6ze0OgOuoZ1iO_4DSPtk/s480/portrait%20of%20a%20lady%201886.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="365" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBBYV-ZAitCtLpqVxH9NhO96UvJUAfOtEsci8jBVvj0musB95VRO4jn_gs-RBriBKGfGorEd1DYKG8nyhIetvVVMb3SAvwk1o6XeNhXAnhdOmN0qYeGlhOZ1xOan1yWKtZutCghHxtHaV7yU3qTkE5BVawvqHG4pAvZsm2QVo6ze0OgOuoZ1iO_4DSPtk/w486-h640/portrait%20of%20a%20lady%201886.jpg" width="486" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Portrait of a Lady</i> (?1886)</td></tr></tbody></table><p>Sadly, I can't find an image for 1887's <i>"Thro' the brambles and the bracken" Nora, daughter of W B Turner Esq</i> as that sounds like a charming portrait and I'd love to know the context of why Nora is scrabbling through the undergrowth. Similarly, 1888 <i>Three Little Mates from School</i> could be a play on <i>The Mikado</i>'s Three Little Maids From School, but is puzzlingly reported as 'a most successful garden picture' in the <i>North Wales Chronicle</i>, but whatever it was, it was hung on the line, which is an achievement in itself. It also marked Jessie's move from Elm Tree Studios to 10 Hill Road in St John's Wood.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqG0CXg02zs4isy-19klMQ2DIqMKjr6W0h3heojXEeIGWaBB7VtrUUDY98SRe_eIcGrm3HHiY-kayuot-bVeb7OV3KU5DgrrCkzvyoA8gUq6zTS0PWkzbQ1eFOnDmSntme0K57VfjreeMSYmrS2WwMue4gYBhaforNlPsgvM_aHtr5_zEFqKfwf64INBU/s1000/jephthah%201889.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="577" data-original-width="1000" height="370" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqG0CXg02zs4isy-19klMQ2DIqMKjr6W0h3heojXEeIGWaBB7VtrUUDY98SRe_eIcGrm3HHiY-kayuot-bVeb7OV3KU5DgrrCkzvyoA8gUq6zTS0PWkzbQ1eFOnDmSntme0K57VfjreeMSYmrS2WwMue4gYBhaforNlPsgvM_aHtr5_zEFqKfwf64INBU/w640-h370/jephthah%201889.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Jephthah - Judges xi.34</i> (1889)</td></tr></tbody></table><br /></div><div>The large and impressive <i>Jephthah</i> was commissioned by the Corporation of Liverpool and given to the Walker Art Gallery. It was one of two paintings at the RA of that year on the subject of Jephthah's Vow (if he won his battle, he'd sacrifice that first thing he saw when he returned and of course he saw his daughter) and was considered well-drawn but cold in tone.</div><div><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMTId9O19Ku2XXna0d4Z8cPL54W35PXUrnLzMAY9vIJeuVImU3fnfsHzwdxra0pob54x9zMwSVIzEUYh6uCE6dTBIYGZjbk_unuMb7xEpT8L5xu-Xu-kH8oqDnspi-ysjXzzHJm9SNCOXOTZmc9x1edAlaTCgObYpIDcGTFH_WjjSBoXbFrJadccCKJdQ/s1200/In%20the%20Reign%20of%20Terror%201889.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="981" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMTId9O19Ku2XXna0d4Z8cPL54W35PXUrnLzMAY9vIJeuVImU3fnfsHzwdxra0pob54x9zMwSVIzEUYh6uCE6dTBIYGZjbk_unuMb7xEpT8L5xu-Xu-kH8oqDnspi-ysjXzzHJm9SNCOXOTZmc9x1edAlaTCgObYpIDcGTFH_WjjSBoXbFrJadccCKJdQ/w524-h640/In%20the%20Reign%20of%20Terror%201889.jpg" width="524" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>In the Reign of Terror</i> (1891)</td></tr></tbody></table><p>1888 through to the 1890s saw Jessie illustrate <i>Como and Italian Lake Land</i> by T W M Lund which the <i>Publishers Circular </i>judged thus 'The Author is to be congratulated on having been aided by an illustrator of Miss Jessie Macgregor's talents.' Jessie continued her reign at the RA with two more portraits in 1890, <i>Mamie, daughter of W Parker Esq</i> and <i>Miss Henderson</i>, but was back with a history painting <i>In the Reign of Terror</i> in 1891 which the <i>St James' Gazette</i> felt was 'pretty in colour and carefully drawn' but felt she looked too modern to be an 18th century lady fleeing Robespierre. Most newspaper reviews loved the rich red of her dress and I get the impression that the reviewers loved it if they got their money's worth in pretty colours.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2R56vHm2a69ZjguQBJfeuEI57VSOlsdO9Wkk3SXEJoNJNrA7om7wlXLiHho0kUdz6m6dGb6HWBw9POqnJGlDThl0amuOxY9AdAfpe2UwrLQPLc4E4VyLB8IU0d9GR4KWY5ZMWzdLbGhhPiHo62nxQzFdtmBCOQxi-B8XhE7JfjxehEBGyXA-k7ijof1g/s1024/Jessie%20MacGregor%20-%20The%20Childhood%20of%20Dante.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="668" data-original-width="1024" height="418" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2R56vHm2a69ZjguQBJfeuEI57VSOlsdO9Wkk3SXEJoNJNrA7om7wlXLiHho0kUdz6m6dGb6HWBw9POqnJGlDThl0amuOxY9AdAfpe2UwrLQPLc4E4VyLB8IU0d9GR4KWY5ZMWzdLbGhhPiHo62nxQzFdtmBCOQxi-B8XhE7JfjxehEBGyXA-k7ijof1g/w640-h418/Jessie%20MacGregor%20-%20The%20Childhood%20of%20Dante.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>The Childhood of Dante</i> (1892)</td></tr></tbody></table><p>In 1892, she had two paintings at the RA. The first was a portrait of <i>Miss Phyllis Eden</i> and the second, <i>In the Childhood of Dante</i>. This was described as 'a fresh bit of Italian Childhood and harmonious colour grouping' by the <i>Western Daily Press</i>. I find it interesting that her portraits are barely, if at all, mentioned, possibly reflecting how unpopular they were in comparison with the narrative works. Portraits seem to have a decent showing in the RA supplements but there is hardly any mention in the newspapers. I think Phyllis was Jessie's niece, her sister Ella marrying William Eden in 1870. It's their address that Jessie used in the RA catalogue until the end of the century.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeVfhgr5BQ6TAlbPXOjs6hhalV_bPBqVXgfVmygTExdxQe9h4TQGXBVetHWCs-j-g5uDjTPPo2d2OkxWy6-Om1JqUWoN2ttqY74WbUbHJpnmoqNmQ8Lbj916ePH_gbZGfU4fh7Zqj-LSlMDQ6RFxr4cG2MTwrNi0v8ZrENESKznzK7yAVRkSZetvR3dYg/s1042/news%20from%20trafalgar%201893.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1042" data-original-width="723" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeVfhgr5BQ6TAlbPXOjs6hhalV_bPBqVXgfVmygTExdxQe9h4TQGXBVetHWCs-j-g5uDjTPPo2d2OkxWy6-Om1JqUWoN2ttqY74WbUbHJpnmoqNmQ8Lbj916ePH_gbZGfU4fh7Zqj-LSlMDQ6RFxr4cG2MTwrNi0v8ZrENESKznzK7yAVRkSZetvR3dYg/w444-h640/news%20from%20trafalgar%201893.png" width="444" /></a></div><p>The black and white images I will be using are from the Royal Academy catalogues, most of which can be perused for free on Archive.com. Jessie's 1893 RA entry <i>News from Trafalgar</i> came with the subtitle "<i>Officers killed and wounded on board the Ajax, none" - Vide Times, November 7th 1805. </i>The young lady at the spinning wheel is obviously awaiting news of her beloved and honestly when I heard the title 'News from Trafalgar', I also feared the worst. I think absolutely no losses is a bit optimistic though...</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhh6vZ7s3ChdkBUggPkLtkMH8tSPbdaUWcHrU0cTwD0xQeP9M_Uq5EVcnfJ8xwtCexP3e56W3kUoS0CJ7kqa6sO8tuDSxEngfdSbqrUVZ8g_3ikUSUehLBI5HzOZFT888cRJ4seUVUHTu8EncKZ-eMotfbbxpTKyMwDn8LKQUifD0yw_JE1qwnUYv4ZeRM/s1024/Jessie%20MacGregor%20-%20Arrested.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1024" data-original-width="606" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhh6vZ7s3ChdkBUggPkLtkMH8tSPbdaUWcHrU0cTwD0xQeP9M_Uq5EVcnfJ8xwtCexP3e56W3kUoS0CJ7kqa6sO8tuDSxEngfdSbqrUVZ8g_3ikUSUehLBI5HzOZFT888cRJ4seUVUHTu8EncKZ-eMotfbbxpTKyMwDn8LKQUifD0yw_JE1qwnUYv4ZeRM/w378-h640/Jessie%20MacGregor%20-%20Arrested.jpg" width="378" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Arrested</i> (1894)</td></tr></tbody></table><p>Also, when I heard the title <i>Arrested</i>, I certainly didn't expect this. I turn once more to the <i>Cheltenham Examiner </i>to help. The subtitle offers some context - <i>Last night Fedora Alexandrovna was surprised at midnight and arrested, </i>leading the viewer to believe the woman is a victim of the oppressive rule of the Tsar. It's hard to tell with the black and white drawing of the work but the effect of the lamplight was striking and some critics found it too challenging, possibly especially coming from a 'feminine brush' as one newspaper remarked.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTST4-47x5GEqI6pa75uUczWGgbf-b5MICOD5NALxX-4zUJjIJXiMXFQjQQtwAgErDv-fRIvTzBQLY0uRh6kqzl_GKi0rv70euUPaE7oKQu7RGg62dvMUnJNbVQQkda4k85F5nSGLTvMjx4e2JPw02nPl2mJhiNspP2LfSpnR3BrmbCAeLnZMfkA3rFgg/s786/music%20sweet%20as%20love.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="786" data-original-width="521" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTST4-47x5GEqI6pa75uUczWGgbf-b5MICOD5NALxX-4zUJjIJXiMXFQjQQtwAgErDv-fRIvTzBQLY0uRh6kqzl_GKi0rv70euUPaE7oKQu7RGg62dvMUnJNbVQQkda4k85F5nSGLTvMjx4e2JPw02nPl2mJhiNspP2LfSpnR3BrmbCAeLnZMfkA3rFgg/w424-h640/music%20sweet%20as%20love.png" width="424" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Music Sweet as Love</i> (1895)</td></tr></tbody></table><p>A girl in a yellow (apparently) robe is sung to by a minstrel boy, with the following lines to explain 'A high born maiden in a palace tower, / Soothing her love-laden soul in secret hour / With music sweet as love' from Shelley's poem 'To a Skylark'. The critics much preferred this romantic piece and one critic named it in his favourite 30 paintings of the Academy. Only Lady Butler, Elizabeth Forbes and Jessie featured in the list from the women's side and as the <i>Norfolk Chronicle</i> pondered 3 out of 30 seemed a bit stingy.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh41KerJP0WiBviHcXq7nkgb2RswXBTb5JGpXU9VNZelpHkHpf6ECAIJzfnnbEMFvOnFN3Uv3sVGcuV-rn8giImqXPhGkN8wL_iMYkkM5LRAGb4K5KveeEJndhB7obPliYFj_0aa-xulXKdzE1cizOmF-PjpUIn979oGZCSn1ffrd8KoTD53sFVW9B-EsM/s1077/the%20room%20with%20the%20secret%20door%201898.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="726" data-original-width="1077" height="432" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh41KerJP0WiBviHcXq7nkgb2RswXBTb5JGpXU9VNZelpHkHpf6ECAIJzfnnbEMFvOnFN3Uv3sVGcuV-rn8giImqXPhGkN8wL_iMYkkM5LRAGb4K5KveeEJndhB7obPliYFj_0aa-xulXKdzE1cizOmF-PjpUIn979oGZCSn1ffrd8KoTD53sFVW9B-EsM/w640-h432/the%20room%20with%20the%20secret%20door%201898.png" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>The Room with the Secret Door</i> (1898)</td></tr></tbody></table><p>I did wonder if the death of her parents, Alexander in 1898, Sarah in 1894, as well as the loss of at least one sibling unsettled Jessie's work. She moves around as well as not exhibiting as many images as she did previously or would do again in the twentieth century. The <i>Queen </i>magazine wrote a rather scathing review of <i>The Room with the Secret Door</i> - 'we have seen far better work form the brush of Miss Jessie Macgregor than her tragic looking maiden, with a hand to her bosom, <i>The Room with the Secret Door</i> (95) a subject that scarcely tells its own story and is not particularly interesting, even when puzzled out.' Ouch. Such mean press did not stop Jessie having her own solo exhibition in May up in Liverpool, admission free, to great success. I wonder if Jessie turned back to her home town when London proved too snippy in its criticism.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4a6COmsXaR2sP472VhN1_9ug4cysKkJ071WvsEmcA36FxGTshqTPRLrX5-G1Ebs67XImibN3qZz-bc0AWzjiimUSBgLYQP7xDIhY6HFlpyEfhdPUNE4TkZhjpHsXNUqFsRLZjQe9uTFYtRpNcv-78CJSL2inhuiCIufDozcGiFNH7ZGzfHv56EGJpLwk/s948/anno%20domini.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="948" data-original-width="559" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4a6COmsXaR2sP472VhN1_9ug4cysKkJ071WvsEmcA36FxGTshqTPRLrX5-G1Ebs67XImibN3qZz-bc0AWzjiimUSBgLYQP7xDIhY6HFlpyEfhdPUNE4TkZhjpHsXNUqFsRLZjQe9uTFYtRpNcv-78CJSL2inhuiCIufDozcGiFNH7ZGzfHv56EGJpLwk/w378-h640/anno%20domini.png" width="378" /></a></div><p>The turn of the century saw Jessie exhibit <i>The Silent Requiem: Anno Domini</i> from a new studio at Chalcot Gardens in South Hampstead. The <i>Liverpool Mercury</i> called the painting 'an important figure subject representing a girl seated at an organ.' It has an air of pensive preparation for the new century. 1900 also saw the publication of <i>Christmas Eve at Romney Hall</i>...</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQ93d2Q8dN-gDqYSWv9hPx_PUSGEaJm-Wc52P_CB3QDkgghtHzNA5ro2Kl2I2_HFkRX2SgsvMPa96ZoUpphFZNHXR1PGi-27sFxQauIMiIktAZzMgCMRGiIAhgPeV7-LoC3Bs2buKukpFuNBsF0vpDocBLi8HJvfsuk4WuKeeVNmd8mMl8ZoKYQSrVdQc/s1284/christmas%20eve%20at%20romney%20hall.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1284" data-original-width="1200" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQ93d2Q8dN-gDqYSWv9hPx_PUSGEaJm-Wc52P_CB3QDkgghtHzNA5ro2Kl2I2_HFkRX2SgsvMPa96ZoUpphFZNHXR1PGi-27sFxQauIMiIktAZzMgCMRGiIAhgPeV7-LoC3Bs2buKukpFuNBsF0vpDocBLi8HJvfsuk4WuKeeVNmd8mMl8ZoKYQSrVdQc/w598-h640/christmas%20eve%20at%20romney%20hall.jpg" width="598" /></a></div><p>Described in the <i>Bookseller</i> as a Christmas fantasy of a boy tiptoeing downstairs on Christmas Eve only to find all his favourite fictional characters down in the great hall. It can accessed <a href="https://digitalarchive.tpl.ca/objects/266973/christmas-eve-at-romney-hall" target="_blank">here</a> if you fancy a read.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhONd2d_HStDC16p_E3W7W7k-1McFvnbqXhPLFTAaEbyXjOCb_QcuIVUWSFC5XiznmxZh3qxl6PtsYyvHqGsHHgw9h8n80a3OZ4eNPFx3Q6RvcE9ocDhGhgC2Umv7ZcK7IYWRP4PgsrADa5rJRkG5odkTob__tSP-OgSR7tWjbpohNY3lAF3bd-wxgW05Y/s991/flight%201901.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="991" data-original-width="751" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhONd2d_HStDC16p_E3W7W7k-1McFvnbqXhPLFTAaEbyXjOCb_QcuIVUWSFC5XiznmxZh3qxl6PtsYyvHqGsHHgw9h8n80a3OZ4eNPFx3Q6RvcE9ocDhGhgC2Umv7ZcK7IYWRP4PgsrADa5rJRkG5odkTob__tSP-OgSR7tWjbpohNY3lAF3bd-wxgW05Y/w486-h640/flight%201901.png" width="486" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Flight</i> (1901)</td></tr></tbody></table><br /></div><div>Despite making it to the illustrated Royal Academy catalogue for the 1901 exihibition, <i>Flight </i>received no notice in the press, along with her other entry <i>"I Think I'm Sorry"</i>. I was sorry not to find an image of the latter as I'm not sure of the tone at all. They <i>think </i>they are sorry, but are they sure?</div><div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjn10by6L_UZ5vRbNSYovEhwZfwKKOOL-YHuL_dc80NIml2YWy-usg4OdCrQubor0Nk-BO80ebpB68sk0f8agWXr5TIm8Q9iw7x0ot-rPMCyK5rFL8gUC2KF0AR_-V2wkb027kA1ARfHskyvxET3QOVcCJbFMrG6Cclmomo878vPNku0Pr71P479yx0rwo/s1023/king%20edward%206th%201902.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1023" data-original-width="710" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjn10by6L_UZ5vRbNSYovEhwZfwKKOOL-YHuL_dc80NIml2YWy-usg4OdCrQubor0Nk-BO80ebpB68sk0f8agWXr5TIm8Q9iw7x0ot-rPMCyK5rFL8gUC2KF0AR_-V2wkb027kA1ARfHskyvxET3QOVcCJbFMrG6Cclmomo878vPNku0Pr71P479yx0rwo/w444-h640/king%20edward%206th%201902.png" width="444" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="text-align: left;">I like the thinking behind Jessie's 1902 entry into the RA. For Edward VII's coronation in 1902, she presented the previous holder of the title of King Edward. The </span><i style="text-align: left;">Queen </i><span style="text-align: left;">magazine loved it, calling it a 'capital conception' and many other papers felt the small boy king was the perfect subject for the year. It was interesting that some reviewers talked about the tragedy of his short reign, not thinking about the likelihood of the new King Edward ruling for very long. Maybe that was Jessie's point...</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="text-align: left;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgh5uGYGQ48wUN9UhK-U74aeIxEFx_ZIuRinM0A-bJ8ZzdjP4lzz1U3mRb7bmivVQ5cjQtw289XoPBLJ5vCQZUAtXuW8sNaVzmLV9tNLsLJtbar9eV_Aey5ci0XVkBD-GfdUyF0bDM4xRYoaVCmoVvJMdy0nwkEoCWguD-Wb1yuxd2Q4iQmu1YTTnbYBfY/s1041/the%20nun%201903.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1041" data-original-width="719" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgh5uGYGQ48wUN9UhK-U74aeIxEFx_ZIuRinM0A-bJ8ZzdjP4lzz1U3mRb7bmivVQ5cjQtw289XoPBLJ5vCQZUAtXuW8sNaVzmLV9tNLsLJtbar9eV_Aey5ci0XVkBD-GfdUyF0bDM4xRYoaVCmoVvJMdy0nwkEoCWguD-Wb1yuxd2Q4iQmu1YTTnbYBfY/w442-h640/the%20nun%201903.png" width="442" /></a></div><br /><p>1903's Royal Academy brought four paintings, which is very impressive. Disappointingly, I don't have an image of <i>"Cluck Cluck"</i> which I'm guessing is chickens, <i>Christmas in a Children's Hospital</i> which would have been very seasonal, or <i>Little Bo-Peep</i>, but I do have <i>The Nun. </i>The subtitle is <i>'if a woman has long hair, it is a glory to her' </i>and the Novice is obviously looking for a way out of having her lovely hair chopped off. The Nun does look fairly determined but not unsympathetic and possibly is mentioning the amount of money the girl will save on conditioner.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCQCVmZNU6rLhzMxa-LvOshnGrxKUPLnyZiJ-5dbBQl1JAQzGHtjOd_VFsDUiEY-sRFkgidwz7mMSV527An7RwC44qdJn_10ve163n68iTtcc3skJCJ0xb97Te3vveulfBg1NozVW3FTZbyNGnF4cNuZhtx9GeIudA5vWDgT24ivrBpVPl_6KF4L_RTYQ/s1212/the%20rush%20halo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1212" data-original-width="871" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCQCVmZNU6rLhzMxa-LvOshnGrxKUPLnyZiJ-5dbBQl1JAQzGHtjOd_VFsDUiEY-sRFkgidwz7mMSV527An7RwC44qdJn_10ve163n68iTtcc3skJCJ0xb97Te3vveulfBg1NozVW3FTZbyNGnF4cNuZhtx9GeIudA5vWDgT24ivrBpVPl_6KF4L_RTYQ/w460-h640/the%20rush%20halo.jpg" width="460" /></a></div><p>1904 saw two more portraits entered into the RA - <i>John Kennedy Esq</i> and <i>Mrs W Brash</i> followed in 1906 with <i>Mrs Edmund Thomas</i>. Jessie got back to history painting with her fantastic flair in <i>The Rush Halo</i> in 1907, which was one of three Joan of Arc pictures that year. Hers showed Joan as a young shepherdess, tending her sheep while having visions of St Michael which we cannot see. She also exhibited <i>A Relic of Tudor Times</i> which the Manchester Courier described as 'charming.'</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEho8t4RI1bQY0BrcZw-nxrFJvreY41JdaSyPk51bLPMaxdVc2sNGh9CrmUIL21MrodW6ruZfNz0HIBZI_BJ6hi_gIgUT2hHHLcngDI5tEWfgcL4xtfID3gTdT5ohNGXyxsV8ieS3Pv4C3yjB95qxwf6Lh4tn0pW0CMpNKWTUnvkLDhpvRGDpyNVT_63RbY/s1064/A%20Great%20Queen's%20Vanity%201909.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="738" data-original-width="1064" height="444" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEho8t4RI1bQY0BrcZw-nxrFJvreY41JdaSyPk51bLPMaxdVc2sNGh9CrmUIL21MrodW6ruZfNz0HIBZI_BJ6hi_gIgUT2hHHLcngDI5tEWfgcL4xtfID3gTdT5ohNGXyxsV8ieS3Pv4C3yjB95qxwf6Lh4tn0pW0CMpNKWTUnvkLDhpvRGDpyNVT_63RbY/w640-h444/A%20Great%20Queen's%20Vanity%201909.png" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>A Great Queen's Vanity</i> (1909)</td></tr></tbody></table><p>1909 was the year a woman, Louisa Starr won the Royal Academy gold medal for history painting, the first since Jessie in 1871. Jessie, now in her 60s, brought three more paintings to the May RA exhibition - <i>Mrs Mark Eden</i> (Ella, the wife of Jessie's nephew), <i>A Picturesque Porch</i> and <i>A Great Queen's Vanity</i>. The <i>Gentlewoman</i> saw the latter as a bid for the most successful painting of the season<i> </i>and the <i>Illustrated Sporting and Dramatic News</i> praised the piece's 'cleverness in character drawing'. As she drew on Scandinavian myths for her earlier work, her love of the Tudors shows through in her later years.</p><p>1911 saw <i>A Sunless July</i> in the RA and also she gave her position on suffrage to the <i>Vote</i> magazine - 'I do not support the suffrage from merely professional motives, but on a wider basis - the justice of granting to women of all professions the academical honours which they have earned, and which will be withheld from them so long as they are denied the elementary right of citizenship. No facilities for study, however splendid in their results, no distinction in service, whether professional or political, is of any use whilst the sex disability exists, barring her name from 'Birthday' or 'Coronation' honours.'</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjX6eSg3jWBR4LvZHqYYxyAW0i7WRiTrXiKjqCDF15jTTNIUQ7gMpErxJNt2DLQ5E3g6SZvY6UVJtgBHUnpWuzpKcDpWSjMJRYn17yaMTmfkDtfxU9L11wxUAvWVczmKKTXLmoWrddRhuVaDcsPNJirLnNqSHJZmwjbdgmOiUmKSG1XBz4EB0A6gG_LmNs/s1000/hogarth%20house.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="710" data-original-width="1000" height="454" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjX6eSg3jWBR4LvZHqYYxyAW0i7WRiTrXiKjqCDF15jTTNIUQ7gMpErxJNt2DLQ5E3g6SZvY6UVJtgBHUnpWuzpKcDpWSjMJRYn17yaMTmfkDtfxU9L11wxUAvWVczmKKTXLmoWrddRhuVaDcsPNJirLnNqSHJZmwjbdgmOiUmKSG1XBz4EB0A6gG_LmNs/w640-h454/hogarth%20house.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Hogarth House</i>: <i>View of House and Gardens</i> (1919)</td></tr></tbody></table><p>Jessie filled her final years with fewer pictures at the Royal Academy (only two each in 1912 and 1913) and she moved to Bath Road, Bedford Park, not far from Buckingham Palace. She published a book of paintings of famous gardens in London, <i>Gardens of Celebrities and Celebrated Gardens</i> which she had worked on for years. It was a success but she was not to see it. She was still close to her sister Ellen, recently widowed, and so when Jessie died in 1919 she left just over £1000 to her. I think I am left wondering why this successful, medal-winning artist with her 40 year RA career is so under-represented in our national collections and so utterly forgotten. Jessie's protest that women are held back by their lack of franchise is correct but even when they gain the ultimate successes in their fields they still vanish.</p><p>As a Christmas-loving artist, she does seem like a perfect choice for this Blogvent and I look forward to hearing more about her.</p></div>Kirsty Stonell Walkerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08342964877965021654noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1441164155286448763.post-15593155289910067532023-12-07T20:01:00.001+00:002023-12-07T20:01:52.425+00:00Thursday 7th December - Jessie Bayes (1876-1970)<p> Well, looking at those dates, it turns out that Violet Brunton is not going to be my most recent lady artist this Blogvent as today's victim made it all the way to the 1970s! Blimey. Hello, Jessie Bayes...</p><p>Now, I was hoping that I'd accidentally find a really obscure artist today and just end up telling you how she has been lost in the midst of time, but the name I pulled out of the hat this morning turns out to be a member of a whole artistic family and her brothers are very well documented. We'll see how we get on, but this might be a long one. She's got a <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jessie_Bayes" target="_blank">Wikipedia page</a> but I think we know by now it could go either way...</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlbDlJ6Ii5O_JsOjAVTkOI3gpW53F2pBH4XQGzbnA2YQSKZb8lLB4BOBmI6GkMOjr8mqe11vrfHbxQPBmb2zSl0n7_xiG562SUHXmGMyrVk-mjsveGmDAVXhrUt8FqhEPogbkNHROOwFMZo_A0lCME6ocdNsM8WH0wALN96Rf_SVvYHazUwsoQEdmdTf4/s1536/the%20bayes%20family.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1118" data-original-width="1536" height="466" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlbDlJ6Ii5O_JsOjAVTkOI3gpW53F2pBH4XQGzbnA2YQSKZb8lLB4BOBmI6GkMOjr8mqe11vrfHbxQPBmb2zSl0n7_xiG562SUHXmGMyrVk-mjsveGmDAVXhrUt8FqhEPogbkNHROOwFMZo_A0lCME6ocdNsM8WH0wALN96Rf_SVvYHazUwsoQEdmdTf4/w640-h466/the%20bayes%20family.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Bayes siblings</td></tr></tbody></table><p>Unusually, Jessie wrote an autobiography of sorts which is very helpful of her. It is <i>The Bayes Saga</i>, written in old age and unpublished, but wonderfully <a href="https://sites.rootsweb.com/~todmordenandwalsden/bayessaga.htm" target="_blank">preserved online</a>. This has helped me make sense of some of the records but it is also a very colourful evocation of the time and well worth a read. Jessie records that hygiene for the Victorians would make modern people cry and the piece about her mother's pregnancies and childbirths makes for sobering reading. Out of eight Bayes children born to Alfred (1831-1909) and Emily (1837-1924) only Emmeline (1867-1957) , <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walter_Bayes" target="_blank">Walter</a> (1869-1956), <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gilbert_Bayes" target="_blank">Gilbert</a> (1872-1953) and Jessie (1876-1970) survived, and three of them became artists, which is warning enough. Mind you, their father Arthur Walter Bayes (1831-1909) was also an artist so I blame the parents. Arthur married his distant half-cousin Emily after coming to London and working at Hatherley's, working to have his paintings at the Royal Academy.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_S8VZFj-d6dkOHbclpBLzl7gJSDYXj0XZyrUUeir0PHg2g_Tk74odE24wuNosdS00xsaJrHSL76YdvPT9CchgUiqCE4g9UG6cHunyRPAs03uOoZyRWmEJ7dPpy7aTz-CmP1zSW5ioUj_-2Bhyf-GPb3PU2gjfGQN50fxcipmd8RaAhFf9WqM4QU9bbY4/s1712/handloom%20weavers.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1712" data-original-width="1459" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_S8VZFj-d6dkOHbclpBLzl7gJSDYXj0XZyrUUeir0PHg2g_Tk74odE24wuNosdS00xsaJrHSL76YdvPT9CchgUiqCE4g9UG6cHunyRPAs03uOoZyRWmEJ7dPpy7aTz-CmP1zSW5ioUj_-2Bhyf-GPb3PU2gjfGQN50fxcipmd8RaAhFf9WqM4QU9bbY4/w341-h400/handloom%20weavers.jpg" width="341" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Hand Loom Weavers</i> (no date) Alfred Walter Bayes</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div>In her book, Jessie recalls how basic the house she was born in was, with a tap as the only water, on the landing and only two or three rooms for a growing family. The family moved on and up with Alfred's growing reputation. Jessie remembered a house in Adelaide Road where the family lived when Jessie was born and where they were recorded in the 1881 census. She pictured candlelight touching their belongings and a rickety conservatory where they kept their toys. Within the decade the Bayes had moved to 82 Fellows Road, which would remain Jessie's home for many decades to come. It must have seemed luxurious after the other homes, as Jessie remembered 'we looked on our new house as lagging but a little behind Buckingham Palace.' She spoke rapturously about having a bath room with both hot and cold taps! Mind you, it did depend on a boiler in the kitchen which heated the water while cooking food so if it was a 'cold dinner day' there was no hot bath for you. I really enjoyed reading Jessie's stories about being aware of the difference between her affluent little friends and the Bayes. She manages to express the differences seen from the distance of the 1970s - '"They" were different from "us" - had I not once boasted of some specially delectable pudding mother had made, only to be confronted by a disdainful "Does your mother work in the kitchen?" It was my first introduction to Victorian snobbery, and may that Happy and Glorious by forgiven for the height and depths to which it attained before being mercifully slain by two World Wars.'</div><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhH4s3r6uJij8Q7Gu7iWPTdgUSB7SrWNtVFtu4k2MqAmGz2DFJc4OiwV_Si9aQZqsauF7lwnLdFTiof0xy31o-YozyHd8PXdER0kJYGvyUpySgttSRTrWy-HyPz-64Qs2VD5mM1bCLGRFE97MzpcPeUSIqS0UgNGCasIxQvGDdu_SpgrFDPj5ROzO2UBBk/s778/arts%20and%20crafts%20casket%201890.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="489" data-original-width="778" height="402" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhH4s3r6uJij8Q7Gu7iWPTdgUSB7SrWNtVFtu4k2MqAmGz2DFJc4OiwV_Si9aQZqsauF7lwnLdFTiof0xy31o-YozyHd8PXdER0kJYGvyUpySgttSRTrWy-HyPz-64Qs2VD5mM1bCLGRFE97MzpcPeUSIqS0UgNGCasIxQvGDdu_SpgrFDPj5ROzO2UBBk/w640-h402/arts%20and%20crafts%20casket%201890.png" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Arts and Crafts Casket </i>(1890)</td></tr></tbody></table><div><br /></div><div>The article about Jessie's work in the 1914 <i>International Studio</i> reported that she had little formal or technical training 'though the atmosphere in which she was bred taught her much that is rarely acquired in the school.' Jessie did spend a little time at the Central School of Arts and Crafts during evenings, paid for by Gilbert, where she worked and learned, gaining the ability to put gilt on wood and write in an artistic manner, talents which would make her famous. One of the lovely details in her account of her childhood is her father's studio in Fellows Road - 'It was a cathedral, hardly less, and a little balcony overlooking it from the drawing room was pure romance. "They", at least, could boast nothing like this.' Under such an influence it would seem impossible not to be an artist.</div><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhY4xYDVkmbVITBxN_IbpF-UJDa_uhlzfzzhCDnZw946OoP5OcnHcv9uA7feoK310rL56NaclDxlTqi58yIj5IDcqv7zuNTq3avEzmDdoHwKEKXLbxs2TEC8a6yffFpIZ79NyV68njB2jHeelt9EhVUwgUYXaZmXrQKqUez-MnK-6aXuJOHABF9O7GUDtI/s832/The%20Bayes%20Cabinet.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="728" data-original-width="832" height="350" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhY4xYDVkmbVITBxN_IbpF-UJDa_uhlzfzzhCDnZw946OoP5OcnHcv9uA7feoK310rL56NaclDxlTqi58yIj5IDcqv7zuNTq3avEzmDdoHwKEKXLbxs2TEC8a6yffFpIZ79NyV68njB2jHeelt9EhVUwgUYXaZmXrQKqUez-MnK-6aXuJOHABF9O7GUDtI/w400-h350/The%20Bayes%20Cabinet.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Bayes Cabinet (c.1912)</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifMw2q0uM-2BAy9Rpns-9qQwAPCb1h7856ejdUySyk6EExWWNgR_Q0PfkVF27fCklhxu_YODCqxWUJTnvIuTPMEUnogNNxlNV5V_z40Qt5UDr_BsLWiz8fslVYON94KdOwJPqQ3d_QTyb6vWScCh4w5sr-DV_eNr4UVMSFGbn9NPBaHvVt2DTGEF6-VQM/s766/the%20bayes%20cabinet%20detail.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="765" data-original-width="766" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifMw2q0uM-2BAy9Rpns-9qQwAPCb1h7856ejdUySyk6EExWWNgR_Q0PfkVF27fCklhxu_YODCqxWUJTnvIuTPMEUnogNNxlNV5V_z40Qt5UDr_BsLWiz8fslVYON94KdOwJPqQ3d_QTyb6vWScCh4w5sr-DV_eNr4UVMSFGbn9NPBaHvVt2DTGEF6-VQM/w640-h640/the%20bayes%20cabinet%20detail.png" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Detail of lock</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div>Later, she went to Finsbury Art School, studying under her brother Walter, but combined that with travelling around the continent, to Belgium, Italy, France and Germany. It is interesting that, compared to other artists of her generation, she did not seemingly feel the pull to the RA schools, or the struggle to be accepted as an artist before she manages to build an exhibition record. Maybe her parents didn't feel they could afford it but I wonder if the difference was that the family were artists, there was no struggle to legitimise the life choice, although Jessie hinted that her mother had other ideas for her. I wonder if Emmeline had a struggle to become a dressmaker in the family of artists. She also married Jack Aumonier (of the same family that was mentioned in Harriette Sutcliffe's post a couple of days ago, such a small world). Interestingly, Jessie seems a little critical of her mother's treatment of her elder sister, commenting that Emmeline was tied too long to the domestic chores in the house through lack of servants and her mother's passion for gardening and romance novels. Jessie remarks that these pressures stifled her sister's creativity whereas the boys, and Jessie as the youngest sister, could have free range for theirs.</div><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhh9PvBLQDoHHsSmAMJC17NtQzEHqdglLx4A3o2phFmCRAFt8fEI6Vg6noWADACCw8c6sCJlh1OSB4KNrNIMxD0d8iSpu12_s7OQAuFQ4qTSNCpnMhLW1mO6OpV2OW4fekxAWCd8c6_7IzRB69RoO7CzJW58E2luFOoiVJeGbxm0pnNQ-F6tNHWAA9Tn4U/s860/cupid%20and%20psche.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="860" data-original-width="475" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhh9PvBLQDoHHsSmAMJC17NtQzEHqdglLx4A3o2phFmCRAFt8fEI6Vg6noWADACCw8c6sCJlh1OSB4KNrNIMxD0d8iSpu12_s7OQAuFQ4qTSNCpnMhLW1mO6OpV2OW4fekxAWCd8c6_7IzRB69RoO7CzJW58E2luFOoiVJeGbxm0pnNQ-F6tNHWAA9Tn4U/w354-h640/cupid%20and%20psche.png" width="354" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Cupid and Psyche</i> (1914)</td></tr></tbody></table><div><br /></div><div>Her time at the Arts and Crafts School in an old house in Upper Regent Street formed her taste for William Morris influenced, late Pre-Raphaelite romance. Sydney Cockerell was one of the Directors as was William Letherby (whom the pupils called 'Wombat'). In her account, she thanked them profoundly for saving her from a job at Prudential which her mother had her lined up for. The loss to Insurance is definitely Arts gain...</div><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiemZqi8k2IFGqMleqgfdcW-30lIZqxPRgX9oTZVClMfiI3zrQMzIhvXm6HbAaEIwEPZsna63pCcBWy8z_l0OG5zDIanKJqy90mdSN0kCtbXttFfMhewKelfnJP0Nrrt-fp2jjp8T9Gy8JzR37VYwC2x_WDazEDQX6ze6le3n8eHVRpiJgvF09qJPt70kU/s642/athena%20mistress%20of%20the%20air%201929.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="490" data-original-width="642" height="488" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiemZqi8k2IFGqMleqgfdcW-30lIZqxPRgX9oTZVClMfiI3zrQMzIhvXm6HbAaEIwEPZsna63pCcBWy8z_l0OG5zDIanKJqy90mdSN0kCtbXttFfMhewKelfnJP0Nrrt-fp2jjp8T9Gy8JzR37VYwC2x_WDazEDQX6ze6le3n8eHVRpiJgvF09qJPt70kU/w640-h488/athena%20mistress%20of%20the%20air%201929.png" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Athena, Mistress of the Air</i> (1929)</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div>So, getting on to Jessie's career, she worked in a studio which the 1914 article likened to the original Arts and Crafts workshops, much like 'her avowed master, William Morris, Miss Bayes now works with a small group of assistant artists in the production of craftwork and decorative schemes of interiors of chapels and houses.' This combination of domestic and spiritual is a bit of a keynote for her, reflected in her Royal Academy exhibition entries. I did wonder about how daunting it would have been being a basically un-formally-trained woman showing up. Not only that, the family had lost their money in the Liberator Building Society collapse of 1892. Even that she manages to see as an adventure - her father let his enormous studio to Kathleen Figgis who became part of Jessie's workshop and a life-long friend. </div><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicqLfIzcNKatwkMWLUO0RSzVElnHh2DUl9VJKIwxcmqBNUybMzRYoE2skdixv62K2unCyKDzHpo-HWETxnxmQ2t1Ttud76TYvOYHCbMMAp_was5PAfH0zYWIadWWS0IX4QlgeNzV3aUXyBw4OTM-lNy2mtNoScrbA5_hTqpRLjChneqpwReUbrI13M0iY/s1000/I%20sing%20of%20England.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1000" data-original-width="1000" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicqLfIzcNKatwkMWLUO0RSzVElnHh2DUl9VJKIwxcmqBNUybMzRYoE2skdixv62K2unCyKDzHpo-HWETxnxmQ2t1Ttud76TYvOYHCbMMAp_was5PAfH0zYWIadWWS0IX4QlgeNzV3aUXyBw4OTM-lNy2mtNoScrbA5_hTqpRLjChneqpwReUbrI13M0iY/w400-h400/I%20sing%20of%20England.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>I Sing of England</i> (early 20th century)</td></tr></tbody></table><div><br /></div><div>As for her Royal Academy entries, she showed <i>La Foret de Brotonne</i> as her debut in 1905, with <i>Our Lady of Siena</i> following in 1906. Watercolour <i>"Hail Mary!"</i> appeared in 1908, with another religious subject <i>The Madonna of the Flocks</i> entered into the 1909 exhibition, with <i>"Behold the Handmaid of the Lord"</i> appearing in 1910. I particularly liked the comment made by the <i>Truth</i> journal about her 1909 painting - 'Jessie Bayes' "Madonna of the Flocks" is nevertheless more dignified and more devoid of sentimentality than is usually the case with women painted by women.' I'll just leave that there...</div><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirDhynl3Mlgu7RxuOh8IvzXTmkJt1oiG69s_0L8ZdNtAZ0TfJp0eU3p5h8fSsG8xRxkmHR_IZGVt-ynZiiCqLHltupEW1g-0f5XSUDMO6ssDLuN-DG0Y5FPtH8znVdjYXUnnfFKTkCpcH7hNyKzqO2GAav4OPvr2I6luTZC55F5UuFofPqgmMo1PqCZA8/s797/tripych.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="731" data-original-width="797" height="368" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirDhynl3Mlgu7RxuOh8IvzXTmkJt1oiG69s_0L8ZdNtAZ0TfJp0eU3p5h8fSsG8xRxkmHR_IZGVt-ynZiiCqLHltupEW1g-0f5XSUDMO6ssDLuN-DG0Y5FPtH8znVdjYXUnnfFKTkCpcH7hNyKzqO2GAav4OPvr2I6luTZC55F5UuFofPqgmMo1PqCZA8/w400-h368/tripych.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Triptych</i> (c.1916)</td></tr></tbody></table><div><br /></div><div>Two further religious subjects appeared in 1912 - <i>Some have Entertained Angels Unawares</i> and <i>"O Ye Waters that be Above Heaven, Praise ye the Lord"</i>. She also exhibited with the Arts and Crafts Exhibition Society<i> </i>alarmingly prolifically, showing her illuminated manuscripts and decorated wooden furniture and bowls. I think my favourite piece of her decorated furniture has to be this beauty...</div><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSwQlSSzJBJh51tGHvyeVErvmXJZZXIdf38snJLg9ZBGmhT1V7yBfKSuaih_-Nftrw0eWLRCwlxcbvnS3RgK6rX5j43y9i30_D9CQuane1YdmK83nUpzJMtxRKf08gJ2s4eO4_uNX3m8DilNKofbiSTqUe9ZsGYPZdjWQyLeLDYoBNQYoduSeo4rOkzok/s698/decorative%20bedstand.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="698" data-original-width="523" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSwQlSSzJBJh51tGHvyeVErvmXJZZXIdf38snJLg9ZBGmhT1V7yBfKSuaih_-Nftrw0eWLRCwlxcbvnS3RgK6rX5j43y9i30_D9CQuane1YdmK83nUpzJMtxRKf08gJ2s4eO4_uNX3m8DilNKofbiSTqUe9ZsGYPZdjWQyLeLDYoBNQYoduSeo4rOkzok/w480-h640/decorative%20bedstand.png" width="480" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Bedstead</i>, 1913</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div>There is no part of that bed that isn't beautifully decorated. It is an astonishing work of art and you understand why there was so much interest in Jessie from the likes of <i>The Magazine of Art</i> and <i>The International Studio</i>. James Greig in his piece on Jessie in 1902 said 'She has a vivid imagination, a rare sense of colour and decorative design and a touch which renders her charming fancies in fascinating style.'</div><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxBbiJK48Qw7klFjRnSjsMwPQEAp77jD5UuYb2QlHc_TOLwutV69qnR0DTUDwzWvQR9tsCXFmuhiaNDwf3wPbB9Gqk_Mr6zE7C31X_yo6nTWgRMITTJjI1iYRpla267jqTaoOJcpNL8hd1O8QsgV8RTLlXgGj7ZHJgow2rRF8-W7qrHOtJkawXLbzkvwQ/s806/Is%20not%20the%20dawn%20upon%20the%20hills.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="707" data-original-width="806" height="562" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxBbiJK48Qw7klFjRnSjsMwPQEAp77jD5UuYb2QlHc_TOLwutV69qnR0DTUDwzWvQR9tsCXFmuhiaNDwf3wPbB9Gqk_Mr6zE7C31X_yo6nTWgRMITTJjI1iYRpla267jqTaoOJcpNL8hd1O8QsgV8RTLlXgGj7ZHJgow2rRF8-W7qrHOtJkawXLbzkvwQ/w640-h562/Is%20not%20the%20dawn%20upon%20the%20hills.png" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Is not the Dawn Upon the Hills</i> (no date)</td></tr></tbody></table><div><br /></div><div>Her father died in 1909, and the news was broken to her by Walter's wife Kitty (his former model) who delicately yelled 'Your father's dead!' up the stairs at her. He had been knocked down by a lorry and died of his injuries. In a very touching memory, Jessie recalled every time she got a picture into the RA and he didn't, she would sit on his knee and cry saying 'I wish it had been you' as he said 'I'm glad it was you.'</div><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWu60NRCY_YGsNeWovDGQb3O3nsVqeDZtQrZ6gUi8Jy1cnNPT-C7Lz8B_lRahpY0KfSTbcoDJryeC57yI6WIzR3uqdBY3Zb3-Y_kQtnQI4Yk2DYuT0EVd1lyGTRxpogFgVc_Bw1UWcbaquRx1BeEVldpiR3Nfpt2CbvEJWt_I3RrVNARc6D-9yRbkX9tI/s732/elf.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="732" data-original-width="532" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWu60NRCY_YGsNeWovDGQb3O3nsVqeDZtQrZ6gUi8Jy1cnNPT-C7Lz8B_lRahpY0KfSTbcoDJryeC57yI6WIzR3uqdBY3Zb3-Y_kQtnQI4Yk2DYuT0EVd1lyGTRxpogFgVc_Bw1UWcbaquRx1BeEVldpiR3Nfpt2CbvEJWt_I3RrVNARc6D-9yRbkX9tI/w291-h400/elf.png" width="291" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>The Erl King's Daughter Sending Faery Servants <br />to their Several Tasks</i> (1914)</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div>She continued to exhibit at the RA and the Arts and Crafts Society all the way to 1935. Her work was spread across watercolour, decorative objects, oil and tempera, the latter where she exhibited with the Society of Painters in Tempera along with Joseph Southall and Maxwell Armfield. She travelled to America in the 1920s selling paintings in Chicago and Detroit, before returning home as her mother died. She became a member of the Royal Society of Miniature Painters, serving on their council in the 1920s and 30s. In the post First World War period, much like other artists of her era, she worked on memorials in stained glass and rolls of honour. In the census returns, she is last seen living with her sister Emeline and her husband, still in Fellows Road, listed as a 'Decorative Artist and Scribe.' She remained unmarried, although in her memoir she recalled how she had once succumb to romantic socialism and become engaged to a German wood-carver. She realised she didn't really like him and was just in love with the idea of a cottage with peasant pottery and checked tablecloths. To her shame, she called it off by letter just before the wedding.</div><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIx2VkvIKstrWejrq6q2NLNNWkzKsBcu7H5gx9IAhVfBfS8drGBC-vRXSp8Xa8jjsi55Mvp4wO7_KKUmJ1N7xZdapXMKFpG0haux-w1FwFFZSLRsnBNJUdgwzRk_PmC2AT-VM0DnnrYN74tvdxgydB3tya7EaDUlwubbyxXUQXhnRj3VDxKPF4lpcsMKY/s249/jessie%20reading.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="249" data-original-width="169" height="249" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIx2VkvIKstrWejrq6q2NLNNWkzKsBcu7H5gx9IAhVfBfS8drGBC-vRXSp8Xa8jjsi55Mvp4wO7_KKUmJ1N7xZdapXMKFpG0haux-w1FwFFZSLRsnBNJUdgwzRk_PmC2AT-VM0DnnrYN74tvdxgydB3tya7EaDUlwubbyxXUQXhnRj3VDxKPF4lpcsMKY/s1600/jessie%20reading.jpg" width="169" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Jessie, reading</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div>Jessie Bayes is one of those people who I would like a year to get to know better as she is fascinating and having the story in her own words brings you an idea of her spirit and humour. I will leave you with her final line from her memoir as it is absolutely beautiful: </div><div><br /></div><div>'I would like to feel that these memories could paint some pictures of a life forever passed away, yet not without its beauty.'</div>Kirsty Stonell Walkerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08342964877965021654noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1441164155286448763.post-22675593294806151232023-12-06T19:49:00.002+00:002023-12-06T19:49:41.782+00:00Wednesday 6th December - Violet Brunton (1878-1951)<p> Goodness, after yesterday's extravaganza, I'm really hoping that Wednesday's lady will treat me a little kinder, especially as I have very little time today. For those who remember my daughter, you will be horrified to learn that she is 18 today! I personally don't believe it, as I think she is only around 6 or something. I feel old. Moving on. Today's subject is probably the latest-lived of our ladies, but proof that the ideas of Victoriana and Pre-Raphaelitism stretched well beyond the nineteenth century. Say hello to Violet Brunton...</p><p>Violet Ella Evelyn Brunton was born in Brighouse in Yorkshire on 28 October 1878. Her parents, Arthur (1848-1919) and Eliza (1849-1919) had married at Christmas 1877 - both were children of engineers and when they married, Arthur listed his occupation as an engineer. In the 1881 census he had become a 'corresponding clerk'. By 1891, Violet had been joined by little brother Harold (1882-1967), and both Arthur and Eliza are listed as painters, living in Birkdale on Merseyside - Arthur was a portraitist and Eliza, a miniaturist. In a piece on Violet's art in 1927, she said her mother had done a thousand pieces in miniature and portraits in coloured chalk by the time she died. </p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6gGJbJ8KdFL5rjODnXAUNvKtZGUc30tM18WBkxqKSqaITpeuMvnL6OA8nbAhjclMJ0Ps2nOaKJNTFfgJiSvy90kuFvL8CdlBngfZptsNZV0xBYljPuj8PxTdoXwPSLJmXqGPtv14ILataoL3Ne2SqbpfmQ3iNABCjY6mu55MiTlTQECfs1lCfOSK9r6k/s1446/yarrows%20field%201915%20arthur%20dickinson%20brunton.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1000" data-original-width="1446" height="442" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6gGJbJ8KdFL5rjODnXAUNvKtZGUc30tM18WBkxqKSqaITpeuMvnL6OA8nbAhjclMJ0Ps2nOaKJNTFfgJiSvy90kuFvL8CdlBngfZptsNZV0xBYljPuj8PxTdoXwPSLJmXqGPtv14ILataoL3Ne2SqbpfmQ3iNABCjY6mu55MiTlTQECfs1lCfOSK9r6k/w640-h442/yarrows%20field%201915%20arthur%20dickinson%20brunton.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Yarrow's Field</i> (1915) Arthur Brunton</td></tr></tbody></table><p>By 1901, Arthur and Eliza had combined their art with teaching at the Southport School of Art, and Violet started by attending the Southport School of Art, then moved to the art school on Mount Street in Liverpool. She very quickly started to win medals in the National Competition (to which all art students could apply). In 1902, Violet gained a bronze medal for a design for a bronze panel which was reportedly 'good in design but somewhat careless in the treatment of figures.' In 1903 she won another bronze, this time for her design for a sundial, which appeared in art journals...</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9lNxlzRnfXbfTtVoMqoV77MIdI-aBIr0PmeGl0asj30RJHdpGLLFo5l4WJaleKcQ_4TfVqCeaxUWrJggisfpVJIJEFrbUciJ6LUdCvi8xWzfkieZKdcDaqdaLn2ktGYYcj3H5BEfxfNuDIlUuTG3mYiL-6hvfucKnwHSO9i0zAq8mgE6LShgBSe8IOww/s741/1903%20bronze%20medal%20sundial.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="741" data-original-width="439" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9lNxlzRnfXbfTtVoMqoV77MIdI-aBIr0PmeGl0asj30RJHdpGLLFo5l4WJaleKcQ_4TfVqCeaxUWrJggisfpVJIJEFrbUciJ6LUdCvi8xWzfkieZKdcDaqdaLn2ktGYYcj3H5BEfxfNuDIlUuTG3mYiL-6hvfucKnwHSO9i0zAq8mgE6LShgBSe8IOww/w380-h640/1903%20bronze%20medal%20sundial.png" width="380" /></a></div><br /><p>Please excuse the ropey image, it's still good to have it and you get the impression that Violet's art had less of the 'prettiness' about it than you would expect. Her sculpted figures have a power and immediacy that is striking even now...</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4EwTo2BTY3GZ927i3-68GlnDmZDEK8UogPa0xv2cWCZ4Z1fZfmAH3lDKE_6loRgBPtzMXK87JEHT4o6dji72A1Zt5iTPClu1fMjFzQNg6jiDL-o9Yt0j989DGCGsE92UptgnisIah15gFhs0j8QD0McX0XclVPY4bv4AB8d7oCDCRXqfcklKMt9b8ais/s447/clock%201902.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="447" data-original-width="311" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4EwTo2BTY3GZ927i3-68GlnDmZDEK8UogPa0xv2cWCZ4Z1fZfmAH3lDKE_6loRgBPtzMXK87JEHT4o6dji72A1Zt5iTPClu1fMjFzQNg6jiDL-o9Yt0j989DGCGsE92UptgnisIah15gFhs0j8QD0McX0XclVPY4bv4AB8d7oCDCRXqfcklKMt9b8ais/w446-h640/clock%201902.jpg" width="446" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Clock</i> (1902)</td></tr></tbody></table><p>The <i>International Studio</i> in 1904 reported that Violet's work had gained her the County Palatine Scholarship of the city of Liverpool and was subsequently offered a place at the Royal College of Art - 'Violet Brunton is especially strong in modelling and her scholarship requires her to study in London. Her absence from Liverpool will be felt as a loss to the school.' This might have been when she also gained a silver medal for her work which is breath-taking...</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLb2rnOGxNtwWQhLMT674JK5eWd6qSAjs37aB8OKHLCAy1zFDuJOHV2ztoNvcFO1eKAyvLWE6sQIb7KEUeH_mbvf9sz9JfjT95KRsnsPu1p361PkeO5JC0JubwkBIkoun0ikeZOpUGgGaNMsbCS7J3LuR1ZxpURJxOcg1u0hUFliV9CUozf-UXbNKAMdg/s740/bust%20from%20the%20studio%201904.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="740" data-original-width="441" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLb2rnOGxNtwWQhLMT674JK5eWd6qSAjs37aB8OKHLCAy1zFDuJOHV2ztoNvcFO1eKAyvLWE6sQIb7KEUeH_mbvf9sz9JfjT95KRsnsPu1p361PkeO5JC0JubwkBIkoun0ikeZOpUGgGaNMsbCS7J3LuR1ZxpURJxOcg1u0hUFliV9CUozf-UXbNKAMdg/w382-h640/bust%20from%20the%20studio%201904.png" width="382" /></a></div>Apparently, Rodin visited the school while Violet was there and praised her work, holding great promise for her future. Up to this point she was concentrating on sculpture, but South Kensington enabled her to try all sorts of different mediums which led to paintings like 1910's <i>Orpheus and Eurydice...</i><div><i><br /></i></div><div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiH0tGXz7Z2xlr1VPqvCBrM6FVx-5xwp4gSxVKJyl-5BxW529BLGVinzX-VyFPuHc9Nt0efDzRZSbMA8mLShgRrVY3-0IOMSVJZHD0D5R4cTNU1RR6UheTUJVNMWDvz9rCRmi4df2BsTDIgzWVXRWgTSfNgkPgr8pTV7SH9purpLygJo4xXzDRjPFlPL_s/s576/orpheus%20and%20eurydice%201910.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="280" data-original-width="576" height="312" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiH0tGXz7Z2xlr1VPqvCBrM6FVx-5xwp4gSxVKJyl-5BxW529BLGVinzX-VyFPuHc9Nt0efDzRZSbMA8mLShgRrVY3-0IOMSVJZHD0D5R4cTNU1RR6UheTUJVNMWDvz9rCRmi4df2BsTDIgzWVXRWgTSfNgkPgr8pTV7SH9purpLygJo4xXzDRjPFlPL_s/w640-h312/orpheus%20and%20eurydice%201910.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Orpheus and Eurydice</i> (c.1910)</td></tr></tbody></table><br /></div><div><div>One thing I was surprised about while reading newspaper and Royal Academy entries on Violet was that, unlike a lot of other women we will see this month, it took her a while to gain entry to the Royal Academy's annual May exhibition (I suppose because of her sculptural leanings) and her fame came much later, as we will see. By 1906, Violet was back up in Southport offering sculpture lessons 'in all branches of modelling'. Violet advertised her silver and bronze medals together with 'highest certificates and recommendations' at her studio on the second floor of Nevill Street, 10am to 5pm daily.</div><div><br /></div><div>Interesting, in the 1911 census, Violet had moved only a short distance from her studio and her parents, to Belmont Street, where she lived alone with a boarder whose name is all but illegible (Ancestry has gone with Shonait Fogen, which sounds delightful). In 1914, Violet exhibited a 'dainty drawing' in the Southport Art Exhibition. Violet remarked that she tried miniature painting like her mother, choosing her favourite cat as the subject but it went so badly that she didn't try again for a few years. I'll hand it to Violet, she understood a slow burn in terms of career...</div><div><br /></div><div>In 1919, both Violet's parents died, first Eliza in January, then Arthur at the end of the year. Neither left her much in the way of money, but the 1920s seems to be when Violet found her groove in terms of work. She started again in miniature and was elected an Associate of the Royal Society of Miniature Painters, being elected a full member the year later, which was unprecedented. She also expanded her repertoire into illustration. I found it interesting that she didn't appear at the Royal Academy until the 1920s; she was well into her 40s, and it is sort of heart-warming as it never seems too late to find your fame. In 1925, she combined with archaeologist and artist Winifred Brunton (not a relative as far as I can see, but possibly a distant one) for an exhibition entitled 'Portraits of the Pharaohs and Queens of Egypt and Other Miniatures'. In a piece on the Art of the Miniature Painter in 1926, the author commented 'The keynote of Miss Brunton's work is extreme painstaking. The highest finish is applied to every part, the same focus being used throughout.'</div><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjoJ9S9Xo5W7m1r90DdCeShau9CkN_fWY92Rnz2Y88c57jyc4p1eRcMK7NV1qK0SQYOvVSAc6v-DxvV4BYJ8WBuLJN20B3_GCiLH4GzoJ58Yvixj52sWLvW7naBVcD71fE7C3PF44Jd-CjV3JBHK0M8WLqv_LqbECH4Y4IZwxof5o6PMfyF22NRzJIdtQ/s1024/Violet_Brunton_-_Penelope_.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="894" data-original-width="1024" height="558" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjoJ9S9Xo5W7m1r90DdCeShau9CkN_fWY92Rnz2Y88c57jyc4p1eRcMK7NV1qK0SQYOvVSAc6v-DxvV4BYJ8WBuLJN20B3_GCiLH4GzoJ58Yvixj52sWLvW7naBVcD71fE7C3PF44Jd-CjV3JBHK0M8WLqv_LqbECH4Y4IZwxof5o6PMfyF22NRzJIdtQ/w640-h558/Violet_Brunton_-_Penelope_.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Penelope</i> (1920s)</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div>1926 also saw her debut at the Royal Academy (at 48 years old) with two pieces, <i>Jael</i> and <i>Gueneviere</i>. Her address was given as 10 Riggindale Road, Streatham. I wonder once her parents died, Violet decided to move closer to London and the artistic (and economic) opportunities it offered. Her RA career certainly took off, with <i>La Chatelain</i> exhibited in 1927 and three pictures the following year, <i>The Duchess, The Foreign Devil</i> and <i>A Burgundian Noble</i>. She followed up with another three in 1929, <i>The Jester, The Warden of the Bow</i> and possibly my favourite title of the year<i>, Portrait of a Man Smiling in an Enigmatical Manner</i>.</div><div><br /></div><div>1930 saw her marriage, aged 52, to music professor William Henry Angless who was twenty years her senior. He was a widower with adult children not much younger than Violet. The couple seem to have continued living in her home in Riggindale Road and Violet continued to work, exhibiting <i>Fae </i>and <i>Little Jehane</i> in the 1930 Royal Academy. 1931 brought <i>Once Upon a Time</i> and <i>A Man with a Violin</i>. </div><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi94jbiVj5BPlxHT3RRvb4CGJGPU3P8iWH4VWlLp_0nHk88cUu_M7rr29Gq4HSKDCLWOUBGSl1x5O5syW-2fUIeqLRcjiAzS5A7HHJNXMw2CFQZ6gc6gAly8jyfq2np7yrSZEH29LSlPjR1_hapj8vCSVYYaN_I7ZCvAfXnF8nDVUueJRHTLHyZsIfcMxk/s985/alfred%20oliphant%20as%20the%20old%20squire.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="985" data-original-width="750" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi94jbiVj5BPlxHT3RRvb4CGJGPU3P8iWH4VWlLp_0nHk88cUu_M7rr29Gq4HSKDCLWOUBGSl1x5O5syW-2fUIeqLRcjiAzS5A7HHJNXMw2CFQZ6gc6gAly8jyfq2np7yrSZEH29LSlPjR1_hapj8vCSVYYaN_I7ZCvAfXnF8nDVUueJRHTLHyZsIfcMxk/w488-h640/alfred%20oliphant%20as%20the%20old%20squire.jpg" width="488" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Alfred Oliphant as the Old Squire</i> (1932)</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div>In 1932 she exhibited miniatures <i>The Old Squire</i> and "<i>Her Leddyship"</i> which took me a moment to work out. It wasn't until 1933 that Violet decided to double-barrel her name, and she appeared in the RA catalogue as Violet Brunton-Angless with her piece <i>The Barbarian Envoy. </i>1934 brought <i>A Young Man of Today</i> but there was a few years gap before 1937's <i> A Leisure Hour</i>. At 60 years old, she was still exhibiting, showing the miniature <i>John Ball Peasants' Revolt 1381</i> in 1939, then finally in 1940, she exhibited <i>The Warden of the Bow</i>, <i>The Vidame</i> and <i>An Imagining</i>.</div><div><br /></div><div>Of course, miniature painting was not Violet's only output, and her book illustrations from the 1920s onwards made her famous. She occasionally used the pseudonym Victor du Lac, possibly aligning her art style with that of Edmund Dulac (1882-1958) a book illustrator working at the same time on similar material...</div><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzmpxqL_NQ6yDQ3copQDFFV3aA3euN4gBQFfH-4CiDkIg_XM8oPV-o29XSgrL_xj6jzJ7aobNcJynnrvos0gKsnBEUboFYHjpDMaGvgVYR6Hk2toHbQ01vOZz5cmcFQGO-rBkNfhbuizuQ3rEiTgV-kYthWe9Rr25nctPGVaOyGbjqazCSHLqMTxAdNlU/s699/mary%20queen.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="699" data-original-width="641" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzmpxqL_NQ6yDQ3copQDFFV3aA3euN4gBQFfH-4CiDkIg_XM8oPV-o29XSgrL_xj6jzJ7aobNcJynnrvos0gKsnBEUboFYHjpDMaGvgVYR6Hk2toHbQ01vOZz5cmcFQGO-rBkNfhbuizuQ3rEiTgV-kYthWe9Rr25nctPGVaOyGbjqazCSHLqMTxAdNlU/w366-h400/mary%20queen.png" width="366" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Mary Queen of Scots </i>(c.1934) Edmund Dulac</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhG72mAhBh34N-bD1p8k3bVD8OI1NZJMlUUr-fR71JWOG7X75B4PWcxAuYC01Db7LO657DG0pLfyauRIHqYHoOcHSNEwZfUfqyh6rEjlzkRLNGeKaMpyn9QW-0crVeX6DvxBd0mhsn9oGIwCxH-nz-SpMxVfqJoPOsadxV1llGhXlaJB5quNoaJd28dLe0/s1000/the%20gossips%20victor%20du%20lac.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1000" data-original-width="606" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhG72mAhBh34N-bD1p8k3bVD8OI1NZJMlUUr-fR71JWOG7X75B4PWcxAuYC01Db7LO657DG0pLfyauRIHqYHoOcHSNEwZfUfqyh6rEjlzkRLNGeKaMpyn9QW-0crVeX6DvxBd0mhsn9oGIwCxH-nz-SpMxVfqJoPOsadxV1llGhXlaJB5quNoaJd28dLe0/w388-h640/the%20gossips%20victor%20du%20lac.jpg" width="388" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>The Gossips</i> (1926) signed Victor du Lac</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div>Violet worked on Romer Wilson's <i>Green Magic</i> (1928) and <i>Red Magic </i>(1930) as well as <i>Silver Magic </i>(1929). I really loved a review from <i>The Nation and Athenaeum</i> in 1929 for <i>Silver Magic</i> - 'Violet Brunton's illustrations though clever, might easily be responsible for nightmares. She has an extraordinary power of drawing fearsome faces.'</div><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkgFjchWnY6e3vJXKihb6KmqD85O0_bs4tde6qEykYuvWPUjo3-TUlRONwO6SEq9EzqXIyxXT5DqVEndQmCT1-03xV_JP6T5SfXYAVSxj26HH3CDq9bx6mUmCeQmR4Uy64iUujVP2NjOt4WOt0QFl6o7E84670-8Wn89tJuORQzWUpuiSCJMkYeRHjuKQ/s790/from%20ecclesiastical.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="790" data-original-width="519" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkgFjchWnY6e3vJXKihb6KmqD85O0_bs4tde6qEykYuvWPUjo3-TUlRONwO6SEq9EzqXIyxXT5DqVEndQmCT1-03xV_JP6T5SfXYAVSxj26HH3CDq9bx6mUmCeQmR4Uy64iUujVP2NjOt4WOt0QFl6o7E84670-8Wn89tJuORQzWUpuiSCJMkYeRHjuKQ/w420-h640/from%20ecclesiastical.jpg" width="420" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Illustration from Ecclesiasticus</i> (1927)</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div>In 1927 John Lane The Bodley Head Ltd publishers published a new, illustrated edition of Ecclesiasticus, or The Book of Sirach and it was a sensation, as <i>Bookseller</i> magazine reported 'The idea of illustrating <i>Ecclesiasticus, </i>especially in colour, was a bold one, but Miss Brunton, who is already established in the front rank of English miniaturists has accomplished the task in a most original manner.' Between her miniature masterpieces and popular book illustrations, Violet became an artist who was popular and respected both with the public and critics alike.</div><div><br /></div><div>I've always had a bit of a soft spot for miniaturists, so before I finish this post I just want to show you this beautiful little gem...</div><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7Nsc1Qii2S4rLOsPjjOXkUI95SM759Sdkai4VF4KNWIm8-T7tjVYFzkc2qcMExH6LAKZInU6TGTVyZeN6Nj3K-TZZZE_iQBkNt6TlplGmT8dgmBpgh8RqBL2utxH7J8HJzbnUwV44YBhNHATS2O2GCsDxxmubcJYx631YI_g3kdrS3BtQcXrtyV3NER4/s390/graham%20archibald%20hope%20ra.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="390" data-original-width="242" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7Nsc1Qii2S4rLOsPjjOXkUI95SM759Sdkai4VF4KNWIm8-T7tjVYFzkc2qcMExH6LAKZInU6TGTVyZeN6Nj3K-TZZZE_iQBkNt6TlplGmT8dgmBpgh8RqBL2utxH7J8HJzbnUwV44YBhNHATS2O2GCsDxxmubcJYx631YI_g3kdrS3BtQcXrtyV3NER4/w249-h400/graham%20archibald%20hope%20ra.png" width="249" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Captain Graham Archibald Hope RA Governor of the Province</i> </td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div>Okay, so this is one of her most famous miniatures and it's not all it seems, especially when paired with this one...</div><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh18ZO2kbKbc6TJ3BOJI2_D8tjzCTiqpgxAkjru3y1GnJpdvXIy13eCir48tByfIrlmLkWzK3Vgqa4MtHaOcXjIxqT16f7V89V9kA-kpvHt3qnL-2QmC89-4UUYjmj3NeFl_S2xHyras0V4tDy51UqBulu8TIksilhSRVH9J029uLcgdwU5JqdhQ3zq_KQ/s765/barbary%20envoy%201927.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="765" data-original-width="498" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh18ZO2kbKbc6TJ3BOJI2_D8tjzCTiqpgxAkjru3y1GnJpdvXIy13eCir48tByfIrlmLkWzK3Vgqa4MtHaOcXjIxqT16f7V89V9kA-kpvHt3qnL-2QmC89-4UUYjmj3NeFl_S2xHyras0V4tDy51UqBulu8TIksilhSRVH9J029uLcgdwU5JqdhQ3zq_KQ/w416-h640/barbary%20envoy%201927.png" width="416" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Captain Graham Archibald Hope RA as a Barbary Envoy</i> (1927)</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div>Righty-o then. So, the good Captain left the RA in 1904, after which he had been working as a journalist and ended up bankrupt. However, he served in the Great War and was a Captain once more. However, the tone of the pieces is so weird, I can only imagine he was a bit of a character and liked the idea of being the eternal soldier. It's his dignified expression that gets me.</div><div><br /></div><div>In the 1939 census Violet and William were living at Riggindale Road; he was listed as a music teacher and she, as a miniature painter. Somewhen in the first years of the Second World War, Violet and William moved out of London to a bungalow in Chorleywood. William died in the January of 1943, aged 88, and his death after a sudden illness was announced in the <i>Streatham News</i> on 19th February. Violet was 64 and faded into retirement, living her life in Chorleywood, working for her church and community. In 1951, she had a bad fall while on holiday and died in hospital, aged 72. Unlike many of the women in this month, Violet had a glowing obituary in the paper, albeit the <i>Buckinghamshire Examiner</i>. A wreath was left at her local church with a card that read 'In grateful appreciation of many works of labour and love for the church.' She left £383 to her brother Harold and his wife Lily.</div><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_zVlNLLmYqT66hHAfwv2sLYIaAiZvI0fXULFVJ7Ec8vXZa16Cn6nM2w_a9rvRF1jKcrAEbjYJ0MK9y_Dmx-vTaJ7OCscNrwG54D_8jrlxXnHshQsr1N6FzPvFHWlk99qbMhhEGd1PdIRkjJJs86dLWGq7JiwbEL4_OvB-7a8zEgEXtWBGWooNTvGwNfA/s462/portrait%20of%20an%20old%20chief.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="462" data-original-width="382" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_zVlNLLmYqT66hHAfwv2sLYIaAiZvI0fXULFVJ7Ec8vXZa16Cn6nM2w_a9rvRF1jKcrAEbjYJ0MK9y_Dmx-vTaJ7OCscNrwG54D_8jrlxXnHshQsr1N6FzPvFHWlk99qbMhhEGd1PdIRkjJJs86dLWGq7JiwbEL4_OvB-7a8zEgEXtWBGWooNTvGwNfA/w530-h640/portrait%20of%20an%20old%20chief.png" width="530" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Portrait of An Old Chief</i> (undated)</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div>I think the thing I will remember about Violet is that she worked on what she loved and she made it eventually. She basically had her career highlights in her 50s and 60s which is encouraging. If we had more role models who tell us it is never to late to be a star I think a lot more people would feel reassured that their hard work would be worth it in the end.</div><div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><p><br /></p></div></div></div>Kirsty Stonell Walkerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08342964877965021654noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1441164155286448763.post-91001571965283021392023-12-05T19:55:00.000+00:002023-12-05T19:55:04.551+00:00Tuesday 5th December - Ethel Wright (1866 probably, or 1868 or 1872 - 1939 but who can tell?)<p> Oh, Ethel Wright. How difficult could it be? She has some cracking pictures and even some photos, and a <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ethel_Wright_(painter)" target="_blank">Wikipedia</a> page! Piece of cake.</p><p>Except there is so much information and it's contradictory and it leaves so much out. I'm committed now (or I very soon will be) so let's meet (or not meet) Ethel (if that is even her name) together...</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgc2ifWFbVVuZvAognTgzglvKiVNr2pe6M240wRrZ8LSFZBOK5Y-VmXEzL2nyNvRLyQcDmHt211Oz2KsVw27QVaeip1Sh2yibubpJWp1m6rjdLIcB6nvUDX4Zx1GDWAiJTazaoM_nDmc6uPjZDKSD_bSHlQjRoXSf9IgYGpVzPjhmS8XHTj9-JVGwEzkqg/s1386/ethel.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1386" data-original-width="1381" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgc2ifWFbVVuZvAognTgzglvKiVNr2pe6M240wRrZ8LSFZBOK5Y-VmXEzL2nyNvRLyQcDmHt211Oz2KsVw27QVaeip1Sh2yibubpJWp1m6rjdLIcB6nvUDX4Zx1GDWAiJTazaoM_nDmc6uPjZDKSD_bSHlQjRoXSf9IgYGpVzPjhmS8XHTj9-JVGwEzkqg/w638-h640/ethel.png" width="638" /></a></div><br /><p>Let's start with the fact that her name isn't Ethel. I'm not sure why Miss Caroline Elizabeth Wright decided to go by Ethel, but what really got me puzzled was that there is more than one Caroline Elizabeth Wright all born around the same time and going by the various accounts of Ethel online, I think there has been a fair amount of confusion. I am particularly grateful to <a href="https://spartacus-educational.com/Ethel_Wright.htm" target="_blank">this page</a> as it backed up a lot of what I was puzzled about which was reassuring. An awful lot of accounts give her date of birth as 1872, but she seems to have started exhibiting in 1888 so either she was a child prodigy or she actually the Caroline Elizabeth Wright who was born in 1866. As she took another name, I wondered if her mother was actually called Caroline and Ethel became a pet name (as we have seen elsewhere). There was actually a John and Caroline Wright who baptised their daughter Caroline Elizabeth in London in 1866, so that might be them. Some people claim Ethel was born in Liverpool, and it is true she was married there later on, but some claim she was born in London, which would make sense of the training she claims to have had. If I had all the time in the world I would go through the census, travel and hatch, match and despatch records with a fine-tooth comb, but we only have today, so let's see where it takes us.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9Ry4Gum3XYpvH2u3CZkPwsJ9B9l-W8sXFRLnIisiGFyREo_Dsb6yZYtB_ULpN0DoRTB0m8IfWCKOh86ByNuIELwavn-UOLASttzXSlUMu0SfTnBu8lNrLVbfpYkCX-F4jIpskwUppm_Ciy-7Yqri8Yk95bFomns7PnCLhUeE5M88hCE1kIy10OohRrlE/s1500/miss-ethel-wright-picking-flowers-on-a-cliff-top.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1500" data-original-width="1440" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9Ry4Gum3XYpvH2u3CZkPwsJ9B9l-W8sXFRLnIisiGFyREo_Dsb6yZYtB_ULpN0DoRTB0m8IfWCKOh86ByNuIELwavn-UOLASttzXSlUMu0SfTnBu8lNrLVbfpYkCX-F4jIpskwUppm_Ciy-7Yqri8Yk95bFomns7PnCLhUeE5M88hCE1kIy10OohRrlE/w614-h640/miss-ethel-wright-picking-flowers-on-a-cliff-top.jpg" width="614" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Picking Flowers on a Cliff Top</i> (undated)</td></tr></tbody></table><p>We have one source which is about as trustworthy (and possibly untrustworthy) as they come and that is Ethel herself. She was a bit of a superstar in her time, with quite the spread in <i>Tatler, </i>entitled 'People I have Painted' published in 1908. In it she talked about learning to paint at a young age but a chance meeting with Solomon J Solomon sent her to Paris - 'to have all the nonsense taken out of me.' She studied drawing and painting at the Academie Julien, working really hard but, as she described, having a smashing time. Travelling to the Latin Quarter, she visited other students and artists in their studios, remembering especially the studios and dinner given by Dudley Hardy and George Frampton, who would model vases for the dinner table - 'I often wish I had kept some of these early examples of Mr Frampton's work.'</p><p>When Ethel came back to London, she spent some time in the studio of Solomon J Solomon and studying under him at Cook's School of Art. Now, I am reminded of my other Ethel here - Ethel Warwick - as one thing Ethel doesn't seem to talk about much is that she was a model. Solomon exhibited a portrait of her in 1888 and she apparently posed for Arthur Hacker, appearing in around 50 of his art works (according to an article in <i>Pearson's Magazine</i> in 1898). Hacker apparently had a portrait of her hanging in his studio. Here's Ethel as a young woman...</p><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKMj6u96vA_3AWw65qb4RNej-62Y5VhpmoJ3u5cAoVzo8ykv06HmOGXksmuY6XLLZWDi8l2EcmjXoAtm-G4TinIpownc3H8l_m9kBUy5oL-zMHEoxwqCTYoeHVzNFzUMkuvSpPcamjv6uBZWKym_m49UitXjRZzzXtP_TQSOqzMEj0-va7DpIlzMuS7aw/s684/Ethel_Wright%20portrait.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" data-original-height="684" data-original-width="520" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKMj6u96vA_3AWw65qb4RNej-62Y5VhpmoJ3u5cAoVzo8ykv06HmOGXksmuY6XLLZWDi8l2EcmjXoAtm-G4TinIpownc3H8l_m9kBUy5oL-zMHEoxwqCTYoeHVzNFzUMkuvSpPcamjv6uBZWKym_m49UitXjRZzzXtP_TQSOqzMEj0-va7DpIlzMuS7aw/w486-h640/Ethel_Wright%20portrait.jpg" width="486" /></a></div><div><br /></div>That's Ethel in around 1896, from a photo in the National Portrait Gallery by H S Mendelssohn. Now, I did wonder about this one by Arthur Hacker...<div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMEwYoNon8dbvC-k8phpu_lMRLNQAYCATz6PQvmcOHr3xuIrcnO-eseBenX9lnhLR_Y7n4bBOTUa6GfMlCV66Rj6E7vnH3H0tMKE0Xpp-N6QQ9SpqcQ_QjoGYplhVQxJ7fcCR7K3B75ef2hK6PwLWMbR33zCrxfI9QR9ORGv-KOiScolJhUEOXmnJGB9Y/s800/GMIII_MCAG_1892_1-001.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="255" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMEwYoNon8dbvC-k8phpu_lMRLNQAYCATz6PQvmcOHr3xuIrcnO-eseBenX9lnhLR_Y7n4bBOTUa6GfMlCV66Rj6E7vnH3H0tMKE0Xpp-N6QQ9SpqcQ_QjoGYplhVQxJ7fcCR7K3B75ef2hK6PwLWMbR33zCrxfI9QR9ORGv-KOiScolJhUEOXmnJGB9Y/w204-h640/GMIII_MCAG_1892_1-001.jpg" width="204" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Syrinx</i> (1892) Arthur Hacker</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div>To be honest, Ethel looks like the sort of pretty late Victorian girl who crops up in lots of art of this period, much like Ethel Warwick, so it might be impossible to identify her in anything other than straight named portraits. Also, the way she completely fails to mention her modelling career indicates it was obvious a means to an end. Let's move on!</div><div><br /></div><div>We might have one census return! In 1891, 'Ethel Wright' is living at Studio 9 on Elm Tree Road in Marylebone, London. Skipping neatly back to the Royal Academy catalogue of 1888, Ethel's debut, we find that 'Miss E Wright' responsible for three paintings, was living at Woodbridge House, Elm Tree Road. Those paintings were <i>His First and Only Love</i>, <i>Interrupted</i> and <i>Quirk</i>. She was back in 1891 with the splendidly titled <i>"And thrice he made to go, and thrice came back, so strong her beauty was - so large his love" Edwin Arnold 'Light of Asia'</i>, which has to be one of my favourite titles so far because you get your money's worth. 1891 also saw one of the weirdest reviews I have read, from the <i>Illustrated London News</i> - 'piquant Miss Ethel Wright, another young painter of the highest artistic promise and present prettiness. I do like these girls who are showing nowadays in such numbers that young women can be clever, cultivated and charming all at once!' </div><div><br /></div><div>Lawks. Piquant.</div><div><br /></div><div>Let's move swiftly (and piquantly) on to 1892 because the reason I wanted to bring Ethel to the Blogvent party is her clown pictures. Actually, being a girl of the 1980s, I got very excited about these. Let's start with number 1024 in the catalogue, <i>"Bonjour Pierrot!"</i>...</div><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5EzQdo_jiOxezQj1J_ao9jTgd5a5HDG9Rn0vsrRYwEid_JfYTu7IYTRjMTIMUULrkBWXFExCbLehyphenhyphenp5bieby_cnWK6y4f9ySGe0Q5Ta9ws-sdEYOiVKqQxhGxvPnGxYSRSsap6kcBU7DxTjGphprtriP5KKcWmZkS7yPBny3LBTnlcG4F2nT5x1ygNas/s1200/bonjour%20pierrot.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="796" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5EzQdo_jiOxezQj1J_ao9jTgd5a5HDG9Rn0vsrRYwEid_JfYTu7IYTRjMTIMUULrkBWXFExCbLehyphenhyphenp5bieby_cnWK6y4f9ySGe0Q5Ta9ws-sdEYOiVKqQxhGxvPnGxYSRSsap6kcBU7DxTjGphprtriP5KKcWmZkS7yPBny3LBTnlcG4F2nT5x1ygNas/w424-h640/bonjour%20pierrot.jpg" width="424" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>"Bonjour Pierrot!" </i>(1892) </td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div>Yes, I am aware that pierrots and clowns are not exactly the same thing (I have never been road-raged by a Pierrot) (don't ask), but the whole melancholic figure of fun is very clown-y. They are just so damn elegant and beautiful. Don't judge me, I was raised to believe in the coolness of anyone who had Mira Fujita's wistful, androgynous pierrot on their bedding or stationary. For my '80s comrades, here's a quick reminder...</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4wAl7RaCWrembfmsRVwOKCTFClcZxiUVblOgd4aM02_xtiYxbGfDXRANBUsmFobwP6u4w9mR0X6c3glA3-cOTzszypGtdRg-DpyrGIToTg95UYMLJgCqNiccLfecT6A-ktT48u56GivpnCxlyWLBArI4bf4mE7JIdwFgyEdK98ye5ApLNKuVDgMrWykA/s4128/p7oukd9795g41.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4128" data-original-width="2322" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4wAl7RaCWrembfmsRVwOKCTFClcZxiUVblOgd4aM02_xtiYxbGfDXRANBUsmFobwP6u4w9mR0X6c3glA3-cOTzszypGtdRg-DpyrGIToTg95UYMLJgCqNiccLfecT6A-ktT48u56GivpnCxlyWLBArI4bf4mE7JIdwFgyEdK98ye5ApLNKuVDgMrWykA/w225-h400/p7oukd9795g41.jpg" width="225" /></a></div><br /><div>Still cool. Anyway, Ethel obviously agreed as she did a few...</div><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtjwFs5VAyy_hmXvkEcb8BqelY-LlEfTaSHU6i8neTWyFZZfR3RKjUBPtm2EZQw3nkDhqcfef1cn1AtTO2vVUR_g5jpiawGZJ_7TQN5Hu5eoltfi9abCG7n1_uC53s16OmXo3XMKOhRI-8CULduj1NN0NJGGXzv6jr7D98NwzUNDms7PlzRawRfjdy46U/s585/pierrot%20in%20snow.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="585" data-original-width="391" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtjwFs5VAyy_hmXvkEcb8BqelY-LlEfTaSHU6i8neTWyFZZfR3RKjUBPtm2EZQw3nkDhqcfef1cn1AtTO2vVUR_g5jpiawGZJ_7TQN5Hu5eoltfi9abCG7n1_uC53s16OmXo3XMKOhRI-8CULduj1NN0NJGGXzv6jr7D98NwzUNDms7PlzRawRfjdy46U/w428-h640/pierrot%20in%20snow.png" width="428" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>The Prodigal</i> (1894)</td></tr></tbody></table><br />Also, she did Pierrettes!<div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEDioOb3gvNg80kX5jaCjsJ4LrcHbsDXpd99AsoYg0iQw80qLymkco3MGC4IIfCl0XlRNXXDJAMyr_aGeo5bDoxUb-Rj3Kwn6SyCyHP_rKI78kzG1euq8ujnwuzGXxAd42IK-ZXA3IMBUNMu8i0Wkdz-RSoyGfkP_wO9jjmTbjJ9J4JLAhw-16FgJFUMY/s396/pierrette.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="396" data-original-width="312" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEDioOb3gvNg80kX5jaCjsJ4LrcHbsDXpd99AsoYg0iQw80qLymkco3MGC4IIfCl0XlRNXXDJAMyr_aGeo5bDoxUb-Rj3Kwn6SyCyHP_rKI78kzG1euq8ujnwuzGXxAd42IK-ZXA3IMBUNMu8i0Wkdz-RSoyGfkP_wO9jjmTbjJ9J4JLAhw-16FgJFUMY/w504-h640/pierrette.jpg" width="504" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Pierrette Incroyable</i> (1891)</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div>Had I all the time in the world, I would do a proper dive into the many and varied art subjects of Miss Wright, but just for today I hold all my appreciation for the pierrots. They certainly made her name, as newspapers called her the artist behind <i>"Bonjour Pierrot!"</i> for many years following. It was noticed that the pierrot in <i>The Prodigal</i> was the same chap and the same dog, and an article on her in <i>The Artist</i> magazine of 1898 had reproductions of her pierrots. Even eight years later, the <i>Queen</i> magazine had <i>"Bonjour Pierrot</i>!" as a plate in 1899. Miss Wright however was moving into portraiture...</div><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiu0U7ug99otnr6JG1T2bCUBhLM61xXAqpL5_LvTMicUiO6kaWlXqJcOXQjLkxdAr7DE74JpzarSi6TRhcEl7RHm-EzSKNr4sl0qitpP3ORrFcvXznPKjcCcBbs-IV-nlkJkRaVqA4FRGJdBZLHXosOmmad3RFKN8C_PPMNS4tzjr2aLAP3XMXeh-GBdgE/s563/portrait.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="563" data-original-width="473" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiu0U7ug99otnr6JG1T2bCUBhLM61xXAqpL5_LvTMicUiO6kaWlXqJcOXQjLkxdAr7DE74JpzarSi6TRhcEl7RHm-EzSKNr4sl0qitpP3ORrFcvXznPKjcCcBbs-IV-nlkJkRaVqA4FRGJdBZLHXosOmmad3RFKN8C_PPMNS4tzjr2aLAP3XMXeh-GBdgE/w538-h640/portrait.jpg" width="538" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Portrait of an Unknown Woman</i> (c.1896)</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div>Of the three pictures she exhibited in the 1893 Royal Academy, two were portraits. One was <i>Milly, daughter of Mr and Mrs D C Defries</i> and the second was <i>Lady Ada Osborne, daughter of the Duke and Duchess of Leeds</i>. Interestingly, in the Autumn of 1895, the <i>Bedford Daily Telegraph</i> reported that Ethel had gone to stay with the Duchess of Leeds at Hornby Castle and Lady Ada had become her pupil. 1893 also saw a portrait of actress Olga Nethercote...</div><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4txw_1sDc-KJz3JhiXSA3juc4Y4tLFARWrOaLq_KI2nMuQePmgvToWafv0izIRFUbJRLeUva1faeeLyU8llzpKuJQ9HVg9mduvgaR2W_EB-AIprQ2FpRohl7v_HBJp1UnhjrROGiwY6AFUpz6WBaSyH6Qw4TdItoEoweg8PSElmX4-32WIgoznn9ot8I/s3789/Olga%20nethersole.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3789" data-original-width="2299" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4txw_1sDc-KJz3JhiXSA3juc4Y4tLFARWrOaLq_KI2nMuQePmgvToWafv0izIRFUbJRLeUva1faeeLyU8llzpKuJQ9HVg9mduvgaR2W_EB-AIprQ2FpRohl7v_HBJp1UnhjrROGiwY6AFUpz6WBaSyH6Qw4TdItoEoweg8PSElmX4-32WIgoznn9ot8I/w388-h640/Olga%20nethersole.png" width="388" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Olga Nethersole</i> (1893)</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div>Olga was arrested for indecency during a performance of the play <i>Sapho</i> (1900) as her character went up a staircase with a man and the inference was they were going to bed. The horror! And she invented extra long kissing on stage. Blimey.</div><div><br /></div><div> 1895 saw <i>Susie, daughter of Capt the Hon John Yorke, </i>but it also saw this corker...</div><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhPvIAwES3z95a1gQYASP7NbFzaGK1DxZI8N3qTuCXgCQn61CyXylpb3mWB_SQohDriu-xKGrk1jHvzm98nCGz8FWV_0kG8HDR7o8yuviBUP0WQDkTNpacGD8Ex2V8zoRKE_OsSxkSvcTLlZKUt1LWQy9PtrBlOwXnNON5y1QKktOHss8d71B6dS6dEoE/s685/A%20Path%20of%20roses%201895.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="685" data-original-width="346" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhPvIAwES3z95a1gQYASP7NbFzaGK1DxZI8N3qTuCXgCQn61CyXylpb3mWB_SQohDriu-xKGrk1jHvzm98nCGz8FWV_0kG8HDR7o8yuviBUP0WQDkTNpacGD8Ex2V8zoRKE_OsSxkSvcTLlZKUt1LWQy9PtrBlOwXnNON5y1QKktOHss8d71B6dS6dEoE/w324-h640/A%20Path%20of%20roses%201895.jpg" width="324" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>A Path of Roses</i> (1895)</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div>The picture was so popular that Charles Scarisbrick bought it for Stockport where it still lives in the Atkinson Art Gallery. In 1896, Ethel had two more paintings at the RA, <i>Rejected</i> and <i>Portrait of a Lady. </i>The year later, she exhibited <i>Mrs Laurence Phillips</i>, not far from Waterhouse's <i>Hylas and the Nymphs</i>. However, 1897 was also the year she got married to Bernard Arminger Berezinsky, a bit of a wrong 'un (to use a technical term). He had been convicted of larceny in New Zealand in 1881 and spent 3 months doing hard labour. When he married Ethel in Liverpool on 27th April 1897, Bernard was listed as a 'Theatrical Proprietor' living at the Adelphi Hotel in Liverpool. By this time, Ethel's father John had died, as had Bernard father Samuel, a school teacher. Nothing untoward seems to have happened to start with, although it became swiftly apparent that Bernard was not a theatrical proprietor, instead a jobbing journalist without any money. Ethel on the other hand was a rather well off, popular artist. There was a terrible fire at her studio in January 1899 and the large canvas she had worked on for 8 months was destroyed. It had been destined for the Royal Academy, but despite this set back and her ill-health, Ethel still managed to exhibit <i>Mrs Arthur Strauss </i>(the painting, not the lady). </div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMDzC33fbuDSZqT7znht46bOiHQSEyJYw9LJQsCKuvV3zTAfIVut1CpO6460JrUQ3EWY8PqejoKasNyZ6CKfRiLG2Sqf4efwdllr-T9gGRPJx-g1uxDN2-PhwAz9ZlVfxBc3oi2M4sJLIBybHQTtnZ6UCl8WsDk1cObXgxghzby_dJ9rFhaTGBq-Isj0c/s795/vogue%201902.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="795" data-original-width="580" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMDzC33fbuDSZqT7znht46bOiHQSEyJYw9LJQsCKuvV3zTAfIVut1CpO6460JrUQ3EWY8PqejoKasNyZ6CKfRiLG2Sqf4efwdllr-T9gGRPJx-g1uxDN2-PhwAz9ZlVfxBc3oi2M4sJLIBybHQTtnZ6UCl8WsDk1cObXgxghzby_dJ9rFhaTGBq-Isj0c/w466-h640/vogue%201902.jpg" width="466" /></a></div><br /><div>In 1902, she expanded her portfolio by designing the front cover to Vogue and a poster for the Success company in America...</div><div><br /></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzrUDmgOVQMqar8MjZc6KRnifinuFG4QSOT5BitWkJaDNdeq3eajz1if3fkfu13mOpMr2ZV9zVnxEUVfPy1Zh9R5LBfqxiGaTngxosjvoQMf7x6vCxuWzS209ACi_w9kpiWNF5ebqBP5-LbXfKWVZjFNIQQLGzeQvKn895ekAaO8GBmb5xgaOQP-cTm9A/s629/success%201902.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="629" data-original-width="442" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzrUDmgOVQMqar8MjZc6KRnifinuFG4QSOT5BitWkJaDNdeq3eajz1if3fkfu13mOpMr2ZV9zVnxEUVfPy1Zh9R5LBfqxiGaTngxosjvoQMf7x6vCxuWzS209ACi_w9kpiWNF5ebqBP5-LbXfKWVZjFNIQQLGzeQvKn895ekAaO8GBmb5xgaOQP-cTm9A/w450-h640/success%201902.png" width="450" /></a></div><br /> I find it really interesting in the 1908 article in <i>Tatler</i>, Miss Ethel Wright does not mention her husband. Partly, this is because he had left her in 1900, never to return. Ethel took herself off to America, passing judgement on their artistic skills. In the <i>American Register</i> in 1905, Ethel praised the skills of American illustrators who she considered to be superior to British ones, however she found that painting in America left a lot to be desired. The influence of European art was having beneficial effects (according to Ethel) and she found herself with lots of commissions for portraits - 'American women are splendid subjects. There is beauty, charm and brightness about them that fascinate the portrait painter.' She added 'The men are not so good.' Ouch.</div><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDVjiGH_WxP-KV0T1VvkTj6b14DdxpEsD2ojEtfFHNNtGJi0GU7s0sqFVTE6RCPLhbOrZeKbbyA9Iei25VIyUYhL1omy3deDiquT4pEyAniqXgb6aNXHBhhMgyi_w3_12VG0qkwu6N6TK3LvteDYd3mrxk3Bnc8sXB6pLf-ONiV5oFUiLH-GScHslni7w/s1333/studio.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1123" data-original-width="1333" height="540" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDVjiGH_WxP-KV0T1VvkTj6b14DdxpEsD2ojEtfFHNNtGJi0GU7s0sqFVTE6RCPLhbOrZeKbbyA9Iei25VIyUYhL1omy3deDiquT4pEyAniqXgb6aNXHBhhMgyi_w3_12VG0qkwu6N6TK3LvteDYd3mrxk3Bnc8sXB6pLf-ONiV5oFUiLH-GScHslni7w/w640-h540/studio.jpeg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ethel's Studio as seen in<i> The Artist </i>1898</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div>She was in America from around 1900 until 1905, and returned as a bit more of a celebrity, complete with her bohemian Chelsea studio where she met patrons and journalists. Much like Ethel Warwick, she petitioned her husband to return to the marriage, but he refused. There seems to have been no particular unpleasantness and even their letters to each other, kept in the divorce file, are exceptionally polite. I think it boiled down to the fact that she had money and he had none so provided her with no stability. I get the impression that she feared he was a fortune hunter or using her for clout. Her appeal for his return was couched in terms of his having a job and a place to live but he replied that she already had those things. He said that she had gone to America and it had gone wrong. She gained her divorce quietly in 1910 and he was never mentioned again.</div><div><br /></div><div>I mention the marriage break up as I have seen it used as a reason why she turned to suffrage and feminism. I think there is a link but I think her ideas of equality and suffrage might not have appealed to her (is 'free-loading' too harsh? let's go with 'challenging') husband. Ethel knew her own mind, steered her own career and fell in with Suffragettes...</div><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7HxEw8UHhr0J6vjdIYcpvPeAbm2aPvECYCrbB6qoQxdbkl8ifmlLV-KtHJ457mTFs7489g8kTb9rbHtXNRf_F47rPRwslZT9Soya8QUf0pxZ3EgAzpNqfoDHm4eIOG96kaPpYXRprPBpwCzad0CmWtyrl9dKn8q2wDiI54urDjXIPciHn-cFhaSHt5jk/s800/christabel.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="470" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7HxEw8UHhr0J6vjdIYcpvPeAbm2aPvECYCrbB6qoQxdbkl8ifmlLV-KtHJ457mTFs7489g8kTb9rbHtXNRf_F47rPRwslZT9Soya8QUf0pxZ3EgAzpNqfoDHm4eIOG96kaPpYXRprPBpwCzad0CmWtyrl9dKn8q2wDiI54urDjXIPciHn-cFhaSHt5jk/w376-h640/christabel.jpg" width="376" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Christabel Pankhurst </i>(1909)</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div>I instantly recognised this image of Christabel Pankhurst as it is iconic, but what I didn't realise that it was rejected by the Royal Academy, causing a storm. Ethel held her own exhibition of it at her studio in Stafford Place, open to all members and friends of the WSPU. Instead of the picture going to the RA, it was exhibited at a 'women's exhibition', held at the Prince's Ice Rink in Knightsbridge. There, Ethel sold it for £100 and gave the money to WSPU. It was bought by Victor Duval, a suffragist who married Una Dugdale in 1912, to much scandal. The problem was that she announced that she would Love, Honour, but not Obey...</div><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBnupBjpgA4y_56U3Ih68o7YEJ2eVnafPJShSsvTGS3iwsQH8XIc2doIcZp3DHqeTSuVvXJ_eZyvMU8pq4HT-23OOjeoR3o83S26Iw73intBSzxGU0pZUS9GK7i3usekop2tq47y5b827748_toBgRL3XLdXNyESaFbRqu62HVfkj9MmovIvUhB8Jwa3o/s2048/the%20music%20room%20una%20dugdale%20duval%201912.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1202" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBnupBjpgA4y_56U3Ih68o7YEJ2eVnafPJShSsvTGS3iwsQH8XIc2doIcZp3DHqeTSuVvXJ_eZyvMU8pq4HT-23OOjeoR3o83S26Iw73intBSzxGU0pZUS9GK7i3usekop2tq47y5b827748_toBgRL3XLdXNyESaFbRqu62HVfkj9MmovIvUhB8Jwa3o/w376-h640/the%20music%20room%20una%20dugdale%20duval%201912.jpg" width="376" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Portrait of Una Dugdale Duval (The Music Room) </i>(1912)</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div>Even worse, Victor was completely fine with her not obeying, but it was suggested that if Una didn't say 'obey' the marriage wouldn't be legal, which is utter bobbins. Una said the offending word (I didn't, Una, I'm with you Comrade!) but published a pamphlet on the subject, complete with a portrait by Ethel on the cover...</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDhiQ2LjMvAdl5QJpJmygG1_Ebj-EXehwUaOy4SLhTSckIMwyyWGoSyGrY_f7n0O6rupQp66YKLs7vKZAYBIcSs2b2goHZIx-aq9rqU47krccakBfh6eoMTOhiRXxyQpdwgjTW5UG8-VvA4U4eDc0zpxNPO5n1zzeo_h49ITI4qP9HyZYnfSXk48BlcUU/s899/582px-Una_Duval_Lovre_and_Honour_and_not_Obey_by_Ethel_Wright.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="899" data-original-width="582" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDhiQ2LjMvAdl5QJpJmygG1_Ebj-EXehwUaOy4SLhTSckIMwyyWGoSyGrY_f7n0O6rupQp66YKLs7vKZAYBIcSs2b2goHZIx-aq9rqU47krccakBfh6eoMTOhiRXxyQpdwgjTW5UG8-VvA4U4eDc0zpxNPO5n1zzeo_h49ITI4qP9HyZYnfSXk48BlcUU/w414-h640/582px-Una_Duval_Lovre_and_Honour_and_not_Obey_by_Ethel_Wright.jpg" width="414" /></a></div><br /><div>Right on, Sister! Ethel continued exhibiting for the next twenty-odd years, her art changing to embrace modern styles yet remaining essentially Ethel, striking and beautiful in equal measure.</div><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTQ6XULQiJxMOuzNf9vvz3i51nquxHACPZpN55AjMbaV8tXnPhorDHYfAgUg98joJM19r3BHRoXVwecOakYeoO1XDFM2yV5p0PZDnx0SaFzWaVolKaPZVoYnb9EkUqIaV8njTKOAweg-bdhKR9UVml8BXcHQQws9fheO-q8phw74jN4rdZPj8t9J4oDfQ/s3543/bowl%20of%20peppers.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2920" data-original-width="3543" height="528" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTQ6XULQiJxMOuzNf9vvz3i51nquxHACPZpN55AjMbaV8tXnPhorDHYfAgUg98joJM19r3BHRoXVwecOakYeoO1XDFM2yV5p0PZDnx0SaFzWaVolKaPZVoYnb9EkUqIaV8njTKOAweg-bdhKR9UVml8BXcHQQws9fheO-q8phw74jN4rdZPj8t9J4oDfQ/w640-h528/bowl%20of%20peppers.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>A Bowl of Peppers</i> (undated)</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div>I'm going to have to draw this one to a close as I'll be here for ever. Ethel Wright is a fascinating subject, not least because she is so mysterious and even worse than Fanny Cornforth with her many and varied names. She died as Ethel Wright, just as Alice Wilding died as Alexa Wilding, and her probate record lists Ethel Wright dying on 6th July 1939 at 4 Earl's Terrace Kensington, leaving just over £3000. She missed out on being in my favourite census, the 1939 register, by a couple of months. Maybe if she had lived until October, a few of the questions about her origins might have been answered.</div><div><br /></div><div>I'll leave you with an anecdote from <i>Tatler</i> about Ethel's antique collection. She had amassed quite a collection in her studio in Stafford Place, including a little plate made to celebrate the accession of William and Mary to the throne in the 17th century. She had seen the plate in a cottage in Ashford in Kent and so painted a picture of the cottage for the owner - 'I painted a rather dreadful picture ... in a couple of hours one morning when I was staying in the cottage. I purposely put in a tremendous amount of colour which I expected to appeal to the owner of the cottage. When I showed her the painting she was delighted with it and I then offered to give it to her if she would give me the William and Mary plate, which she was delighted to do.' The article finishes with 'Miss Wright's artistic knowledge has enabled her to pick up a splendid bargain.' Marvellous</div><div><br /></div><div>Goodness, I hope tomorrow's artist is less complicated...</div>Kirsty Stonell Walkerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08342964877965021654noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1441164155286448763.post-67693609002812589552023-12-04T15:32:00.000+00:002023-12-04T15:32:12.556+00:00Monday 4th December - Harriette Sutcliffe (1852-1942)<p> Okay, so we have made it to day four of Blogvent and I've not gone mad yet. Today's subject was quite a challenge, but there are a number of colour pictures, which makes a change. Say hello to Harriette Sutcliffe...</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmz7YkPmIybJQTQ7fKmPsNauvAsJpFJ6atWKdx62_1h0Drol-agrRne4LSS_XX5pFDogC4OD_Mbyo-YWnPB2xDDyOMCq8EEgPBVNSwB0HiYXCAyQ4yJXQH6BBIkvxnkTkTlelmvHtnZ7nDEdN_Uz21585srER35vckhclW03RUsCDONCsIS5HklNvItsw/s1200/gathering%20plums.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="706" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmz7YkPmIybJQTQ7fKmPsNauvAsJpFJ6atWKdx62_1h0Drol-agrRne4LSS_XX5pFDogC4OD_Mbyo-YWnPB2xDDyOMCq8EEgPBVNSwB0HiYXCAyQ4yJXQH6BBIkvxnkTkTlelmvHtnZ7nDEdN_Uz21585srER35vckhclW03RUsCDONCsIS5HklNvItsw/w376-h640/gathering%20plums.jpg" width="376" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Gathering Plums</i> (no date)</td></tr></tbody></table><p>I hope you are braced for some extremely saccharine images of little poppets being delightful. If I was feeling a little kinder I would say that I am immediately reminded of Sophie Anderson's <i>No Walk Today</i> and some of Millais's more revolting kiddiewink pics. However, I am absolutely besotted with one of her paintings and so I had to bring her in to Blogvent. Let's start with her origins...</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEfW5_8kUa1QBX5sVFfqrHZNCsaQHyGaqACl4lvXQhEKKSxQ2TeZxAJS9lA1M19r8H33SScJ0iE9-sNjpaNkvVXiQqvdAzwpHC1_IdNecRNpmEynsEIVNECiesvX6S_Rj6elj6daNSueQj5_YqI4zu9K_zjHw0vWgIdQkULV8cQ-af1_OOcCo98WT4f6g/s1718/the%20toy%20horse%201900.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1718" data-original-width="971" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEfW5_8kUa1QBX5sVFfqrHZNCsaQHyGaqACl4lvXQhEKKSxQ2TeZxAJS9lA1M19r8H33SScJ0iE9-sNjpaNkvVXiQqvdAzwpHC1_IdNecRNpmEynsEIVNECiesvX6S_Rj6elj6daNSueQj5_YqI4zu9K_zjHw0vWgIdQkULV8cQ-af1_OOcCo98WT4f6g/w362-h640/the%20toy%20horse%201900.jpg" width="362" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>The Toy Horse</i> (1900)</td></tr></tbody></table><p>Harriette Frances Archer Sutcliffe was born on 20th September 1852 at St Pancras in London to John and Harriet. Being named after her mother, Harriette junior was known to the family (and the census taker) as 'Fanny' which puzzled me for a bit. John Sutcliffe was an artist and lithographer (or possibly a lithographic artist, which is something else entirely). Harriette was the third of four children, with elder sister Elizabeth, elder brother John and younger brother Henry Jules. It seems likely that John and Harriet senior met in Scotland, as Elizabeth and John junior were born there but by the 1851 census, the Sutcliffes were based in London. From what I can see, John junior joined the Royal Navy, dying at sea in the 1880s and Henry became a lithographic artist like his father. Elizabeth married 'paper stainer' (anything that involves colouring paper such as wallpaper) Frederic Aumonier. After her mother's death in 1880, Harriette remained at home with her father, both of them artists together.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjF8eFmKTNfaHDsHFb0axbaS6jSMtyq74-Y01KVsutJSSIqTyqokTBGr_jBdPauIkF7mHdc4qhIshLkPloS5KYVczPMipVPZLxIZed80F7gQccVnyjYF9TK-_kzXoVhnlkjRK3KWUAYpt0ujP3RIcDzMfYqzJa5rXDIhNeN57uYvYYctuS-ws_-uotAki0/s470/harriette-sutcliffe-the-young-sailor%201890.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="470" data-original-width="364" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjF8eFmKTNfaHDsHFb0axbaS6jSMtyq74-Y01KVsutJSSIqTyqokTBGr_jBdPauIkF7mHdc4qhIshLkPloS5KYVczPMipVPZLxIZed80F7gQccVnyjYF9TK-_kzXoVhnlkjRK3KWUAYpt0ujP3RIcDzMfYqzJa5rXDIhNeN57uYvYYctuS-ws_-uotAki0/w310-h400/harriette-sutcliffe-the-young-sailor%201890.jpg" width="310" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>The Young Sailor</i> (1890)</td></tr></tbody></table><p>Harriette's Royal Academy career began after attending the RA school in 1882. Her first piece was a portrait bust in 1881, where her address is given as 3 Christchurch Road, Hampstead. She doesn't exhibit again until 1885, when she showed <i>Spring</i>. She also appeared in Lets's Christmas Album of that year with two colour plates, <i>Feeding the Hungry</i> and <i>Going Ta-Ta </i> (your guess is as good as mine). This was followed the year later by <i>"Something the Heart must have to Cherish"</i>, which is an intriguing title, as is 1887's offering <i>"Do Take It." </i>By this point, Harriette and her father had moved to Johnson's Court, Fleet Street.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCczXCtv_uTz6zVeCsV5Lkiu6T1h5wDvDHLjX2WCPJ7Bicxfligz9j9cxkid6LZZr2GVWoR1Vq-4ESj_J-Fb0iM4IHeWEdPEgUWEkwub3KzODR1g4wf349YKNxr8I38lZFpzKrNkpo4M_cbgKzUg16jQ7hZTMlVUO8pe5W4_LjV6VZvDwOmQ5v8211XeI/s1024/sir%20francis%20roxburgh%201888.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1024" data-original-width="750" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCczXCtv_uTz6zVeCsV5Lkiu6T1h5wDvDHLjX2WCPJ7Bicxfligz9j9cxkid6LZZr2GVWoR1Vq-4ESj_J-Fb0iM4IHeWEdPEgUWEkwub3KzODR1g4wf349YKNxr8I38lZFpzKrNkpo4M_cbgKzUg16jQ7hZTMlVUO8pe5W4_LjV6VZvDwOmQ5v8211XeI/w468-h640/sir%20francis%20roxburgh%201888.jpg" width="468" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Sir Francis Roxburgh</i> (1888)</td></tr></tbody></table><p>Her next RA piece was <i>Sir Francis Roxburgh</i>, a QC from the Middle Temple and had been Treasurer in 1882. It is a very good portrait which leads me to wonder why she did not do more, or (if it wasn't her cup of tea to do portraits) why do it in the first place? She also did <i>Mrs Grant </i>in 1889 but they are the only non-poppet-y works she seems to have done. Maybe they were family friends? Maybe she needed some money and portraits were a very secure way of getting it? Interestingly, she also returned to school in Glasgow, possibly travelling with her father back to his homeland. It was reported in the <i>Glasgow Herald</i> that Harriette gained a bronze medal for drawing from the nude and also a prize for another drawing of a similar study at the Birbeck School under the instruction of Alfred Mason. All this led to her big break in 1891...</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdwbwiNUC5eDyjHERjOw7Y5i3-kqCSxNSIwabG_kk1qxzpLraqu4vHpFYyH5UuaWipvcqF6ouTHgjBzBLf93Tj-Z6gVJUy7wbAxqIaGCYjd3JMJd3G7CoE8bczqWD5f5BUOhwalg75zdFwcQlYD5qFqkjsbrCmaIciFcORsN3aBLWnYNLBnpSGLg_gQEU/s1448/harriette-suttcliffe_1890-after-the-bath.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1448" data-original-width="1200" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdwbwiNUC5eDyjHERjOw7Y5i3-kqCSxNSIwabG_kk1qxzpLraqu4vHpFYyH5UuaWipvcqF6ouTHgjBzBLf93Tj-Z6gVJUy7wbAxqIaGCYjd3JMJd3G7CoE8bczqWD5f5BUOhwalg75zdFwcQlYD5qFqkjsbrCmaIciFcORsN3aBLWnYNLBnpSGLg_gQEU/w530-h640/harriette-suttcliffe_1890-after-the-bath.jpg" width="530" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>After the Bath</i> (1891)</td></tr></tbody></table><p>1891 was a turning point for Harriette and <i>After the Bath</i> was the painting that seems to have rocketed her to the public attention. <i>The Queen</i> magazine reported 'A young artist who is making long strides to the front, and, if she continues improving as she has done, will soon be in the very first rank with her sisterhood, is Harriette Sutcliffe, whose "After the Bath," a mother with child upon her lap, was sweet in the sentiment of maternity.' The <i>Runcorn Guardian</i> went into raptures over the piece - '"After the Bath" ... is a work of singular merit. It is most natural and easy, the nude child is exquisite, and its companion little less so, whilst the mother is the perfection of simple elegance. The lighting of the whole is sweetly translucent investing the picture with an attractive gaiety that eclipses its defects.'</p><p>Sadly, John did not live long to enjoy his daughter's success, dying in 1892. He left his money to Elizabeth but Harriette seems to have moved in with her sister and Mr Aumonier at Russell House in Hampstead, remaining an on-and-off part of their household probably until her sister died in the 1920s. Carrying on with Harriette's career, in 1893 she exhibited <i>His First Lesson</i> which I wonder is the same as <i>His First Music Lesson, </i>which appeared in the Christmas number of the <i>St James' Budget</i>...</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikDdOGqmrc3g70fSRiqflgn9DjCHVKt0YaOQ0qMMLbK1KiRA78-5g2eW2HHd51-QuvAeWwh19eOjYjPz8eVV6cyWJQRVn6lMMf3QQur_prSNWXUxvCVzZuDJvQJRPaInEByD6zApynVjPm4XDM0uIEtYRDfMjovzkrg9517t5PBlU_Yrfzusod4dT83O4/s628/his%20first%20music%20lesson.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="628" data-original-width="508" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikDdOGqmrc3g70fSRiqflgn9DjCHVKt0YaOQ0qMMLbK1KiRA78-5g2eW2HHd51-QuvAeWwh19eOjYjPz8eVV6cyWJQRVn6lMMf3QQur_prSNWXUxvCVzZuDJvQJRPaInEByD6zApynVjPm4XDM0uIEtYRDfMjovzkrg9517t5PBlU_Yrfzusod4dT83O4/w518-h640/his%20first%20music%20lesson.png" width="518" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>His First Music Lesson</i> (1893?)</td></tr></tbody></table><p>In 1894, she exhibited <i>A New Book</i>, which according to the <i>Cheltenham Examiner</i> 'justifies its name in the absorption of the girl reader, as she holds the prize before her eager eyes.' Possibly my least/most favourite (due to its revoltingness) has to be 1895's <i>Rosy as a Pippin</i>...</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqam9yvUpwbKtfAm2K3QzhVwawZRYqFDJiiNUfH2sJmmBF-1hAjB4vNtG0IruxI58UR1IXT7f_9xq-oiq3R_CJkuw_ky-8ZivLbyYXcCSnlDiUC5LDb99xSwvIMlOtBkr_HeGNXK2u__BuDIgO5f9e51i02knePKold5TQwRZyMoO30XRQCosHMcxsQ7Y/s757/rosy%20as%20a%20pippin%201895.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="757" data-original-width="569" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqam9yvUpwbKtfAm2K3QzhVwawZRYqFDJiiNUfH2sJmmBF-1hAjB4vNtG0IruxI58UR1IXT7f_9xq-oiq3R_CJkuw_ky-8ZivLbyYXcCSnlDiUC5LDb99xSwvIMlOtBkr_HeGNXK2u__BuDIgO5f9e51i02knePKold5TQwRZyMoO30XRQCosHMcxsQ7Y/w482-h640/rosy%20as%20a%20pippin%201895.png" width="482" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Rosy as a Pippin</i> (1895)</td></tr></tbody></table><p>Flipping heck, that is red. There was a bit of controversy surrounding this russet extravaganza, as reported in <i>The Queen</i> magazine 'Miss Harriette Sutcliffe's pictures have, ere now, deservedly found better places in the Academy Exhibition than that allotted to her bright study of a little girl "Rosy as a Pippin" which is both cornered and skied.' Quite honestly it could not be hung high enough as that is such a red picture. 1895 also saw Harriette exhibit at her local society in Hampstead, as reported in the <i>Hampstead and Highgate Express</i> '"Come Along" - a baby toddling towards its mother, is a very pleasing picture, the figures being remarkably good.'</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjA_U3aq6eGhH2lweotIT7ocDotgYnfok6PWiXs-5BUc_45chjWzF-L9D34wUeTKOEKcnFra3goURTeeFSt7DVhhNDEtNDRCDgbVzFsCmWmIWVNW3l0afWmvtwZlanvYBITsuBkUFi8By4cAlcWcwKcYf76Y1QnkP6Vg08JmXU-uMVLExOz_al2LaS2_g8/s239/her%20first%20steps.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="239" data-original-width="211" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjA_U3aq6eGhH2lweotIT7ocDotgYnfok6PWiXs-5BUc_45chjWzF-L9D34wUeTKOEKcnFra3goURTeeFSt7DVhhNDEtNDRCDgbVzFsCmWmIWVNW3l0afWmvtwZlanvYBITsuBkUFi8By4cAlcWcwKcYf76Y1QnkP6Vg08JmXU-uMVLExOz_al2LaS2_g8/s1600/her%20first%20steps.jpg" width="211" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Her First Steps </i>(undated)</td></tr></tbody></table><p>There was no picture for 1896 (possibly people needed a year to get over <i>Rosy as a Pippin</i>) but she was back in 1897 with <i>Look!</i> - I would love to know what exactly this looked like - who is being told to look and at what? Likewise, I would dearly love to see <i>"Keekie Boo!" </i>of 1898. All I know of <i>Look!</i> is the <i>Birmingham Mail</i>'s comments that it was purchased by the Art Union Committee as the first prize at the Birmingham Royal Society of Artists. It was described as 'a capital piece of painting, careful in treatment and natural in surroundings.' In 1899 came my very favourite of Harriette's pictures...</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGypn-Z9DetzrBe81ReVW4Oyg47sBai8IBcdOk6-j30TRGQWT3bEl1TdSGBWminxQfXr1GxjUX1Hw6dzJFBVp9ebog0eBXDEO-u0PHPViag0Be7FsEj2tHVonYarsGDCLoxVDWkBhlbQ5uchAQn2tquSnnEfQETBQ6Jt24wBFWUMOXrkwBzBsblufKDMM/s550/beauty%20and%20the%20beast.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="433" data-original-width="550" height="504" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGypn-Z9DetzrBe81ReVW4Oyg47sBai8IBcdOk6-j30TRGQWT3bEl1TdSGBWminxQfXr1GxjUX1Hw6dzJFBVp9ebog0eBXDEO-u0PHPViag0Be7FsEj2tHVonYarsGDCLoxVDWkBhlbQ5uchAQn2tquSnnEfQETBQ6Jt24wBFWUMOXrkwBzBsblufKDMM/w640-h504/beauty%20and%20the%20beast.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Beauty and the Beast</i> (1899)</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div>1899 was a cracking year for Harriette as she had three paintings in the Royal Academy - <i>Honesty </i>(a painting of a child holding a big bunch of Honesty), <i>"Mother's Coming"</i> and <i>Beauty and the Beast</i>, which has to be one of the cutest pictures I've ever seen. I think the realistically lumpy elephant, which is so unexpected, elevates this image and also makes it somewhat disconcerting. I am reminded of this absolute gem by George Dunlop Leslie...</div><div><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1J7oTnvuhoNXoMe97RBD4-m4ya1DEdoUk4urRmIYiAS06UFaDCxyEmXit0IUn6bmbAoePPWjtD_e4gOGI8Jgr6N96IwJaJZVN4nfE8wzp4qnZxBHCNnwxSeUiyzfXn95_D9gAaHVwPsUeW4sjTs9nwo-c4sUiQ5UsIldcsZu1YN6WSrcxgadyUzjmE3I/s1200/ES_BRHM_BHM_002_333-001.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="874" data-original-width="1200" height="291" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1J7oTnvuhoNXoMe97RBD4-m4ya1DEdoUk4urRmIYiAS06UFaDCxyEmXit0IUn6bmbAoePPWjtD_e4gOGI8Jgr6N96IwJaJZVN4nfE8wzp4qnZxBHCNnwxSeUiyzfXn95_D9gAaHVwPsUeW4sjTs9nwo-c4sUiQ5UsIldcsZu1YN6WSrcxgadyUzjmE3I/w400-h291/ES_BRHM_BHM_002_333-001.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Alice in Wonderland</i> (1879) George Dunlop Leslie</td></tr></tbody></table><p>I think it is that the elephant is looking at us (like the child in Leslie's piece) which is a little uncomfortable. What is she reading to her elephant? That is a brilliant toy elephant - does it hold hints of Empire and the unknown East? I find it an unexpectedly intriguing piece because that elephant is just so big and modern looking; it's like he's appeared from someone else's painting. </p><p>After 1900, Harriette starts to fade from view. I suppose in a way it is unsurprising as her genre of art isn't strikingly modernist. She had a sort of side hustle with her images appearing in children's annuals, so I can imagine that carried on for a while, including <i>Beauty and the Beast</i> appearing in a children's annual in 1901 and her illustrations appearing beside Louis Wain's pictures of kittens in <i>The Child's Companion</i> book of 1898. She appeared at the Royal Academy a couple of times in the 1900s, in 1905 with <i>The Thorn</i> and 1907 with <i>Comforter. </i>In 1911, she is listed in the census as staying with her sister's family in Wealdstone and her occupation is 'Painter - Artist' (marvellous). I was utterly delighted to see that in the 1939 register she is living in Harrow and her occupation is 'Artist (retired)'. Admitting you are an artist is the first step, Harriette...</p><p>Harriette died in 1942, with seemingly no notice in the paper (or probate, that I have found so far). There has to be an exhibition in those outrageous kiddiewink pictures of the later Victorian period because they are so marvellous and atrocious at the same time. I'm willing to start a petition if necessary. Somehow, the thought that <i>Beauty and the Beast</i> is not in a national collection seems shocking as it really ought to be. </p><p>However, I can probably live with never seeing <i>Rosy as a Pippin </i>again...</p><p><br /></p><p><i><br /></i></p></div>Kirsty Stonell Walkerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08342964877965021654noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1441164155286448763.post-65645184954553291242023-12-03T15:52:00.000+00:002023-12-03T15:52:13.326+00:00Sunday 3rd December - Beatrice Gibbs (1863-1936)<p> Well, we are cracking along now, and today's lady actually has a photograph! Say hello to Beatrice Alice Gibbs...</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEig5CMobv1SRz5CDAPZ05m80RkV-mi0r_ATSU0_0zL0-bwkWl2HVhaAAJN7bEFKCk1o0dxLiddZHdG_QhiTGIGpJpTBf8EUTm6nx8TJ0eofohyphenhyphenoCHK2BcXDlDbjyHTtgbTFQ7rPHzpf_-ZVVAQS6cLCtmZWewIPgT9kgSJFxAgUL-X_-qmVxfHAgi1ps4s/s432/Miss%20Beatrice%20Gibbs%20pic.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="432" data-original-width="323" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEig5CMobv1SRz5CDAPZ05m80RkV-mi0r_ATSU0_0zL0-bwkWl2HVhaAAJN7bEFKCk1o0dxLiddZHdG_QhiTGIGpJpTBf8EUTm6nx8TJ0eofohyphenhyphenoCHK2BcXDlDbjyHTtgbTFQ7rPHzpf_-ZVVAQS6cLCtmZWewIPgT9kgSJFxAgUL-X_-qmVxfHAgi1ps4s/w478-h640/Miss%20Beatrice%20Gibbs%20pic.jpg" width="478" /></a></div><br /><p>I give my undying thanks to whoever was offering the newspaper clipping from 1896 about Beatrice on eBay because I like being able to see these women and put a face to the art. It also helped fill in some information about her which would otherwise be lost in the mists of time. So, who is this charming lady artist?</p><p>Beatrice was born on 1 October 1863 in Kings Norton (or Edgbaston, depending who you ask) in the Midlands, to Clement (1832-1904) and Marianne (1836-1928). By 1871, the Gibbs had moved to London, to Belsize Square in Hampstead, so they were obviously not badly off. Clement was an 'agent and merchant' which is rather euphemistic, but the general idea was that he could send his dozen children off to art school if he wanted. Yes, Beatrice was one of around twelve siblings that stretched from Marianne, born in 1856 to Walter, born 20 years later. By my calculations, Mrs Gibbs started having kids at 20 and finally had enough by 40, which sounds exhausti<span style="font-family: inherit;">n<span style="font-family: inherit;">g</span>. I wondered if it was because they suffered a lot of losses but as far as
I can see, only two of the siblings didn’t live past thirty. Even worse is that they only seem to have had a couple of live-in servants. B</span>limey.</p><p>Beatrice went to the St John's School of Art, or 'Calderon's' as it was known at the time, where she prepared to go to the Royal Academy. She took the RA entrance exam and passed with flying colours and progressed rapidly, being allowed access to the 'upper life' painting room only twelve months later. Despite being a student at the Royal Academy, her 1881 census record has her occupation as the 'daughter of a stockbroker' which I didn't know was a career. Beatrice's RA debut was in 1888 with <i>Friar Pacificus</i> accompanied with these lines from<i> The</i> <i>Golden Legend</i> - 'Thus I have laboured on and on.' It was a half-length study of a monk and had been completed while Beatrice was still at the RA school and attracted attention leading to commissions to paint portraits including Sir Percy Anderson, Lady Boston and the improbably named Mrs Slingsby Bethell. The only one that seems to be in a public collection is this one...</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcvIjs5nCptLgwBe0ZHvEjWJh-bsg-GVKuUn9kBlG1-yzkilo8R8Nw9dARHCr_Nf5S_XFRkp2XjfP3KZq0mPp3xexvhUi3X7qjWz3VFoyr00OtJC_y-6SbpUHbCMLvkhcJqhF-mBslLMeGRjjCMaGcAmp38Xa5wqr_qr9EXjEmaXiEGIvtSfnFbR5F9K8/s1200/William%20Cudworth%20Senior,%20Engineer,%20Stockton%20and%20Darlington%20Railway%20and%20North%20Eastern%20Railway%201896.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="957" data-original-width="1200" height="510" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcvIjs5nCptLgwBe0ZHvEjWJh-bsg-GVKuUn9kBlG1-yzkilo8R8Nw9dARHCr_Nf5S_XFRkp2XjfP3KZq0mPp3xexvhUi3X7qjWz3VFoyr00OtJC_y-6SbpUHbCMLvkhcJqhF-mBslLMeGRjjCMaGcAmp38Xa5wqr_qr9EXjEmaXiEGIvtSfnFbR5F9K8/w640-h510/William%20Cudworth%20Senior,%20Engineer,%20Stockton%20and%20Darlington%20Railway%20and%20North%20Eastern%20Railway%201896.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>William Cudworth</i> (1896)</td></tr></tbody></table><p>Mr Cudworth, 81 years old, was an engineer for the Stockton and Darlington Railway and North Eastern Railway. This sadly is the only colour image of hers I can find which is a shame as Beatrice exhibited another portrait, this time of Lord Claud Hamilton at the Liverpool Autumn exhibition of pictures which was declared 'a capital likeness' by the <i>Manchester Courier </i>(although the <i>Women's Gazette and Weekly News</i> found it 'somewhat academic' which I think is meant to be a bad thing.) </p><p>She exhibited <i>Kingsbury Churchyard</i> in the 1890 Royal Academy, followed by <i>The Dancing Girl</i> the year after. In 1893 she showed <i>Righteousness and Peace Have Kissed Each Other</i> which I would dearly love to see as that is a proper Byam Shaw title. It apparently was a large canvas and was hung in the third room, which I understand is a very advantageous position to have. She also exhibited <i>Preparing for the Feast of Flora</i> at the Exhibition of South Wales Art Society in Cardiff, which according to the <i>South Wales Daily News</i> was 'finely conceived and executed with marked care and skill.' We are lucky enough to have an image of her 1894 picture <i>Psyche Mourning for Cupid</i>...</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZ0gCGU16UzkZWCT0MExu-BefHJPLQ90zQ0wAQDvkY2cUP_HWmfbbGyQhoBdrazoVtl9-lZgdPsqSKJEDp3n3gGXN3A2pV-bItaqi3U1fl3WHpFRDbksP6Q1FS3nEWd2ETbeIg0huqXx9-yfYRT7wuPvkAEAlxcVE7vbZ-4j46PVMN2L3XkQFltj_yG6A/s797/psyche%20morning%20for%20Cupid%201894.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="797" data-original-width="633" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZ0gCGU16UzkZWCT0MExu-BefHJPLQ90zQ0wAQDvkY2cUP_HWmfbbGyQhoBdrazoVtl9-lZgdPsqSKJEDp3n3gGXN3A2pV-bItaqi3U1fl3WHpFRDbksP6Q1FS3nEWd2ETbeIg0huqXx9-yfYRT7wuPvkAEAlxcVE7vbZ-4j46PVMN2L3XkQFltj_yG6A/w508-h640/psyche%20morning%20for%20Cupid%201894.jpg" width="508" /></a></div><br /><p>This piece was praised in the <i>Derby Daily Telegraph</i> as being 'chiefly noticeable for its charming lamp-light effect.' It was also hung in the prestigious third room 'by reason of its skillful execution and pleasant colour' according to one critic. We can also see Beatrice's 1895 painting <i>Paradise and the Peri</i>...</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhawBqqO4fHjwn85z-o1-cchSLByb117i_oAmbJKwUYt_XrOfybKHJLaGJr-Nf5ppFTCja59Zpd166fxG7L3YIC3tKibGJPSiJ8bLAmrjzvnWJZKlEN9mqjYXOnDorZ9NmHNzPzce_4_JA-oadflFVARyu9Nddvuqh0NKJB-chbp0dcQhg3LmRWtDGo7Nk/s889/paradise%20and%20the%20peri%201895.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="889" data-original-width="565" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhawBqqO4fHjwn85z-o1-cchSLByb117i_oAmbJKwUYt_XrOfybKHJLaGJr-Nf5ppFTCja59Zpd166fxG7L3YIC3tKibGJPSiJ8bLAmrjzvnWJZKlEN9mqjYXOnDorZ9NmHNzPzce_4_JA-oadflFVARyu9Nddvuqh0NKJB-chbp0dcQhg3LmRWtDGo7Nk/w406-h640/paradise%20and%20the%20peri%201895.jpg" width="406" /></a></div>This was very popular appearing in <i>Black and White</i> magazine's pictures of the year, and the <i>Gentlewoman</i>'s pick of pictures from the Royal Academy. It was bought by the Art Union of London. Despite the popularity of both pictures (hence their inclusion in the Royal Academy picture supplement) they did not get wide-spread mention in the newspaper, which is a shame. The same thing is true of the 1896 offering, <i>The Pink Veil,</i> which has an intriguing title and cannot now be seen anywhere but was apparently a study of a single figure and found an immediate purchaser.<div><br /></div><div>Mention from thereon is patchy as Miss Gibbs seems to have stopped exhibiting at the Royal Academy but continued elsewhere. Her watercolours for an exhibition at the Baillie Gallery in 1905 were praised by the <i>Morning Post</i> - 'The watercolours of Miss Beatrice Gibbs form pleasant little records of figures and landscape which have not called for much serious effort, but which gain a certain attraction from their lightness of method.' Likewise, <i>The Queen </i>magazine remarked on the exhibition room that held Beatrice, H Law Woodward and Julia Creamer - three sympathetic spirits whose work is characterised by nice feeling and a sincerity that elevates their slightest sketch.'</div><div><br /></div><div>I have had trouble finding much more about Beatrice and her work, with the last mention I can find in the <i>Queen</i> in 1913. Beatrice exhibited a portrait entitled <i>Jane</i> at the National Portrait Society's 2nd annual exhibition at the Grosvenor Gallery. I was struck by the confidence of that newspaper piece that had her photograph on it from 1896. The last paragraph has such optimism...</div><div><br /></div><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><div style="text-align: left;">'Although Miss Gibbs has proven beyond all doubt her capacity as a painter of subject pictures, she is now devoting most of her time to portraiture, and as she is possessed of a facile brush, and great power in grasping the salient characteristics of her sitters, it is only natural that she should succeed equally well in this branch of art. In the case of Miss Gibbs, fortunately, untiring industry and a thorough technical training supplement natural talent, and it is probable that, good as her past works have been, they are but the earnest of still better things to come.'</div></blockquote><div><p>Beatrice died in 1936, leaving £1793 and there was sadly no discernible notice in the newspapers. She is another woman who, despite untiring industry and natural talent was forgotten immediately. It's time to remember.</p><p><br /></p></div>Kirsty Stonell Walkerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08342964877965021654noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1441164155286448763.post-59221815017061138922023-12-02T12:39:00.001+00:002023-12-02T12:39:42.490+00:00Saturday 2nd December - Ruth Hollingsworth (1880-1945)<p> After yesterday's slightly epic wander into the life of Hilda Fearon, I am very much hoping today's lady is more obscure or we'll be here until midnight. My second <strike>victim</strike> subject was a name I kept seeing yesterday in the Royal Academy catalogues, so I made a note for later because that is how well-thought-out all of this is. Say hello to Ruth Hollingsworth...</p><p>I'm delighted how little-known Ruth is as this will make my life easier, but the few colour pictures I have found make me wonder why she isn't better known. She has a <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ruth_Hollingsworth" target="_blank">Wikipedia</a> page and a <a href="https://suffolkartists.co.uk/index.cgi?choice=painter&pid=1536" target="_blank">Suffolk</a> artist page which is a positive sign, not to mention three paintings on ArtUK, including this rather lovely offering...</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-YhF31K6HvVTh3BtZpUAnx0j1wRNqMvV779L-DLLmZte4LTZL88hygN8EV4vMag5Z92G3hyphenhyphenYq27nX3V1QzPlw14cnzCZyrZvpGJui0xfiPyGn_rBsQqEb5uV9VsTAQd6bkd4dBd2Wk_VlGBx7x-Up__lLzKQwrtdEc8iepqgHEFoAYQhGzYgGFSO6Urw/s700/ruth%20hollingsworth%20daydreams.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="655" data-original-width="700" height="598" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-YhF31K6HvVTh3BtZpUAnx0j1wRNqMvV779L-DLLmZte4LTZL88hygN8EV4vMag5Z92G3hyphenhyphenYq27nX3V1QzPlw14cnzCZyrZvpGJui0xfiPyGn_rBsQqEb5uV9VsTAQd6bkd4dBd2Wk_VlGBx7x-Up__lLzKQwrtdEc8iepqgHEFoAYQhGzYgGFSO6Urw/w640-h598/ruth%20hollingsworth%20daydreams.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Daydreams</i> (c.1910-30)</td></tr></tbody></table><p>Isn't that just lovely? Let's just dive in...</p><p>Ruth Hollingsworth was born on the 29th August 1880 to Alexander (1837-1928) and Charlotte (1849-1939), in Clapham, Surrey. Alexander Hollingsworth is an interesting chap - he was a newspaper agent and proprietor who own an impressive art collection; he owned Lawrence Alma-Tadema's <i>A Roman Scribe</i> which was borrowed for the 1913 Winter Exhibition of Alma-Tadema's work at the Royal Academy. By the social events he seems to have attended and his art collecting, I think he knew Lord Leverhulme and a piece of Ruth's art, <i>A Breconshire Landscape</i>, is one of the illustrations in an <i>International Studio</i> article about Leverhulme's art collection in 1922. Ruth was one of nine siblings, her eldest sister Kate born in 1871 and youngest sibling John born in 1884 to give you an idea of the span. When she was born, their home in Clapham seems rather uninspiring but by the 1891 census, the family have moved to Sutherland Avenue and the tall red brick houses are rather grander. The family have also acquired four servants and a governess, which leads me to believe that the sons attended schools while the girls were tutored at home. By 1901, they had moved to Belsize Grove and gained another servant. Ruth, by this time, was off to the Slade and London School of Art and she began her Royal Academy career in 1906 with <i>From a Window in Chelsea</i>. This was followed in 1907 by<i> At the Foot of Lympne Castle, Kent</i>.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg51veWr2p77HvLih8nU1tEB4S74PHrK83Rf3syT3m7UkcOq1QOsZXYDg_pyFbytwFMXfrqlPTdukpVqsUIt4-fJkf9YnGt6R_e8R4I_-Z4yhcN3MJedrn68O06MD1wqiWSllHDnRGY8W2BhBf1BuHr2xnZe4wlXNSrtCvTrKKZiJ9VtslawH1wOv3gCGQ/s1000/landscape.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="852" data-original-width="1000" height="546" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg51veWr2p77HvLih8nU1tEB4S74PHrK83Rf3syT3m7UkcOq1QOsZXYDg_pyFbytwFMXfrqlPTdukpVqsUIt4-fJkf9YnGt6R_e8R4I_-Z4yhcN3MJedrn68O06MD1wqiWSllHDnRGY8W2BhBf1BuHr2xnZe4wlXNSrtCvTrKKZiJ9VtslawH1wOv3gCGQ/w640-h546/landscape.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Landscape</i> (no date)<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p>I found that painting an interesting counterpoint to this one by Richard Hellaby, who I'll come to in a bit...</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8V6vCIz9yJ25H2cO7yDgIBSK5G_8Y5GjL3tWVJGiDDBrRe5Cws_wSo9-oW-zt2hyphenhyphenShiqNIO3H7ODhq-kA4AMYbQmsgoQVM055vTylBACHz3SkR47VD1Tnyn32t1U5vFG88Kk84Q7JZTYACej9UMHL7Ro4Pyx2DDStVh0RwByPI6oydMmQCCnSEmnpsU0/s350/harvest%20time%20R%20S%20Hellaby.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="268" data-original-width="350" height="490" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8V6vCIz9yJ25H2cO7yDgIBSK5G_8Y5GjL3tWVJGiDDBrRe5Cws_wSo9-oW-zt2hyphenhyphenShiqNIO3H7ODhq-kA4AMYbQmsgoQVM055vTylBACHz3SkR47VD1Tnyn32t1U5vFG88Kk84Q7JZTYACej9UMHL7Ro4Pyx2DDStVh0RwByPI6oydMmQCCnSEmnpsU0/w640-h490/harvest%20time%20R%20S%20Hellaby.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Harvest Time </i>(no date) Richard Hellaby</td></tr></tbody></table><p>Mind you, I'm from Wiltshire and I'm anyone's for a stook. Moving on.</p><p>Poor old Ruth, I have had a bit of bother finding many of her pictures, despite being present in a few more national collections than Hilda. I suspect this was because her paintings did not make the same sort of initial splash or excitement. 1909 saw the exhibition of <i>The Spring Clean</i> followed by 1911's RA exhibition of <i>The Hat</i> and <i>The Rivals</i>. She exhibited <i>The Siesta</i> in 1913, then <i>The Chestnuts </i>in the 1915 War Relief exhibition. At some time in this period she met fellow artist Richard Sydney Hellaby, who was a second lieutenant in the Royal Field Artillery and they married on 26 April 1917. Richard hailed from Auckland, New Zealand, son of a fairly famous butcher who has his own <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Hellaby" target="_blank">Wikipedia page</a>, albeit brief. According to the Suffolk artists page, the day afer the Great War was declared, Richard locked his studio door and enlisted.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHsgTXi01gt0L1swgNxMz6kR-5PQGzE-IUzZaydNgiSCn0mEpksW6OiT1zOR89Fm_PdNFd3RogsT_JLJsT5cX9QLdgkZIy2A7nOfcYnhh1_6P8iLkuXTmKzDeivO8d_r-cMtMQdOU7fT_ia_uf8sZYe8gLBgrkWJuEaW9x7RqeFUs0VI0COsCfSS-YI9E/s721/r%20s%20hellaby.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="721" data-original-width="589" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHsgTXi01gt0L1swgNxMz6kR-5PQGzE-IUzZaydNgiSCn0mEpksW6OiT1zOR89Fm_PdNFd3RogsT_JLJsT5cX9QLdgkZIy2A7nOfcYnhh1_6P8iLkuXTmKzDeivO8d_r-cMtMQdOU7fT_ia_uf8sZYe8gLBgrkWJuEaW9x7RqeFUs0VI0COsCfSS-YI9E/w326-h400/r%20s%20hellaby.png" width="326" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Lt Col B C Freyberg, VC, CMG, DSO</i> (1921) Richard Hellaby</td></tr></tbody></table><p>Before I launch into Ruth's married life, I was struck by the rather troubled home life she had lived through between the turn of the century and her marriage. Not everyone can turn out multiple paintings for every single Royal Academy show, but I was struck by gaps in her exhibition and her absence from home in the 1911 census (she was in Yorkshire with her sister Jessie, visiting friends). Coupled with this, she had some deaths among her siblings, and one rather messy divorce. Starting with eldest brother Allen Alexander, he seems to have had mental health issues early on and died in his 30s at The Priory hospital in Roehampton. That would be the original and most famous of The Priory hospitals, so I was oddly and sadly impressed. Less than a year later, eldest sister Kate also passed away, and youngest sibling John went to Gallipoli in 1915 and never returned. Poor sister Edith, six years older than Ruth, married a very unpleasant gentleman in 1899 who proceeded to throttle and terrorise her and their two children, culminating in a rampage around the house with a gun when he threatened to shoot them all. She divorced him in 1909, uncontested by the look of it, and a jolly good job too. Mercifully when Ruth married Richard nothing untoward seems to have gone on and they welcomed baby Lettice into the world in 1918, followed by Felicity in 1921.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZ-iO2635lScBDpqgw5bnPTsAGMTGATGDmNWcoGt53KzUtBCjfQvRHciLOP1-Ha5Yqd06i6mFpHjRjhk_pULgy3hFlpBupW14uK9MSwdZZbHl3vAjUufYFG_14fdw59bMH2aWc2tvZ4OTsRylchYhVpKxoACsEnvB02tFVvUGovZ1DK7NIhwkZEbK3v74/s600/flowers%20and%20ducks.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="556" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZ-iO2635lScBDpqgw5bnPTsAGMTGATGDmNWcoGt53KzUtBCjfQvRHciLOP1-Ha5Yqd06i6mFpHjRjhk_pULgy3hFlpBupW14uK9MSwdZZbHl3vAjUufYFG_14fdw59bMH2aWc2tvZ4OTsRylchYhVpKxoACsEnvB02tFVvUGovZ1DK7NIhwkZEbK3v74/w594-h640/flowers%20and%20ducks.jpg" width="594" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Still Life with Flowers and Ducks</i> (no date)</td></tr></tbody></table><p>Interestingly, Ruth used both her maiden and married name professionally which makes my life so much harder, but predominantly she used Hollingsworth (although occassionally she is 'R Hellaby', which leads me to wonder if any of Richard Hellaby's works are hers and vice versa). Being married with kids did not seem to halt her output either. As a member of the Women's International Art Club she had exhibited her work <i>The Field Mouse</i> in 1914, and all the reviews pointed out that it was mainly a picture of cabbages. She joined forces with Evelyn Fothergill Robinson in 1915 to hold an exhibition at McLean's Gallery in aid of the Red Cross which was reported on by the <i>London Evening Standard</i> - 'Both ladies may be classed as "decorative" painters ... Miss Hollingsworth is the more competent in the actual use of the brush, while Miss Robinson has the more highly developed sense of style.'</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7b0DA7MdP1M4e7EY_SyBxZ7Es7Y0tGaK-wGvaPN-TzMnb_V2kkv1hDZIpEJ6X5FqRvzVOhQhbBn0gbuX0k45jDDerlXAYnMIuZTDkTKcZIaUKlbVleO4qb3FpESz4CbyqSSnBX7n_RKPc3PAY8j5MG7Cy6iqZ9-vPMKIp-RMdtEH6c-EOccjw9LIvkY8/s1000/the%20wood%20thornton%20manor%201915.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="992" data-original-width="1000" height="634" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7b0DA7MdP1M4e7EY_SyBxZ7Es7Y0tGaK-wGvaPN-TzMnb_V2kkv1hDZIpEJ6X5FqRvzVOhQhbBn0gbuX0k45jDDerlXAYnMIuZTDkTKcZIaUKlbVleO4qb3FpESz4CbyqSSnBX7n_RKPc3PAY8j5MG7Cy6iqZ9-vPMKIp-RMdtEH6c-EOccjw9LIvkY8/w640-h634/the%20wood%20thornton%20manor%201915.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>The Wood, Thornton Manor</i> (1915)</td></tr></tbody></table><p>In 1916, the Queen visited an exhibition of women artists at the Georgian Gallery at Waring and Gillows where Ruth was exhibiting. She became known in the press for her landscapes which the <i>London Evening Standard</i> called her best work 'or at any rate, the most charming' especially when they were small in scale. She continued to exhibit at the RA, in 1921 displaying <i>The Road to Fiesole</i>. In 1924 she exhibited a flower study, but her Royal Academy appearances became patchier after this point, with landscapes and finally one building study in 1938 of a building in Dedham in Essex, where she and the family lived. Part of the reason for her lack of RA appearances might have been that the Hellabys seemed to have travelled the world, down to New Zealand (no doubt to see family) and to South Africa, during the 1920s and 30s. </p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPt-fJt32eRcQF_tsLmLkU7TaZ1DjvAAuqMUELjJlCRUp1J5AnKT3dMJImYRLN9dWpzGYLmT-jsmg6gznA5nVp_KB3Sqv_S2VvxrMKQ1yGTbeuSiJC9WIaYN1JMTxaFsONpdePhKhOkT0HpnpagK6pdKvPYm0u3tnacqGKdvFGAZu0SuytHgBdkDNEwn8/s617/r%20s%20hellaby%20photo.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="597" data-original-width="617" height="620" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPt-fJt32eRcQF_tsLmLkU7TaZ1DjvAAuqMUELjJlCRUp1J5AnKT3dMJImYRLN9dWpzGYLmT-jsmg6gznA5nVp_KB3Sqv_S2VvxrMKQ1yGTbeuSiJC9WIaYN1JMTxaFsONpdePhKhOkT0HpnpagK6pdKvPYm0u3tnacqGKdvFGAZu0SuytHgBdkDNEwn8/w640-h620/r%20s%20hellaby%20photo.png" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My apologies to Fiji, from <i>The Bysander</i> 1922</td></tr></tbody></table><p>One thing that drives me slightly mad is that in the 1939 register of households, Richard Hellaby is recorded as an artist whereas Ruth, not long after appearing at the RA, is recorded as 'unpaid domestic duties'. One slightly odd adventure for Ruth's art happened in 1922, the same year as her art was featured in the <i>Pears Annual</i>. A messenger who was carrying a parcel of paintings and prints, including a still life of poppies in a blue and white vase by Ruth, was stopped at Paddington Station by a man who claimed to be from the printer Henry Stone and Son. As that was the owner's name, the delivery boy handed it over after initial refusal but, of course, it was a scam. It is unclear if they were recovered, so if you have a painting of shirley poppies in a blue and white vase, keep quiet...</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhL-OV-tgB0k6KFFffc-76a3K5Kdjy-HJOKDIt-wNkOH5DqAqyTxmaa9DXB6C718xlJA66G6DWcr9SIoqP52M-QxwZmp7L9Pi1jzxcT3Wrzq8Zg0WA9HcEaOvxhyphenhyphenR6gaP0azKWR3mkBsWmP7_Tq6VWryI4JQLEJpan31sFgJb23loG_fQltmVBao-Styps/s706/poppies.webp" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="706" data-original-width="512" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhL-OV-tgB0k6KFFffc-76a3K5Kdjy-HJOKDIt-wNkOH5DqAqyTxmaa9DXB6C718xlJA66G6DWcr9SIoqP52M-QxwZmp7L9Pi1jzxcT3Wrzq8Zg0WA9HcEaOvxhyphenhyphenR6gaP0azKWR3mkBsWmP7_Tq6VWryI4JQLEJpan31sFgJb23loG_fQltmVBao-Styps/w464-h640/poppies.webp" width="464" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Poppies</i> (no date)</td></tr></tbody></table><p>Ruth died in March of 1945, aged 64, leaving £315. She didn't live to see either Felicity or Lettice marry, but both had long lives, dying this century. Richard remarried in 1950 and travelled again, dying in 1971 in Cape Town, South Africa. I think my lasting impression of Ruth is that the paintings I can find of hers are little gems, but that there are not that many available to see. I was very disappointed to see that she did not get a look in when it came to the Royal Academy illustrated catalogues (my first port of call of RA artists) but they have a tendency to be a predominantly male affair for obvious reasons, much to the detriment of people like Ruth. The problem becomes that her art is not out there digitally (all the catalogues are obviously available on Archive.org) so she is not included in the conversation because it is hard to imagine how her dormouse picture is actually about cabbages. </p><p>I expect this won't be the last time that a woman was left behind before we had the chance to forget her.</p><br />Kirsty Stonell Walkerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08342964877965021654noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1441164155286448763.post-90251938735644311262023-12-01T15:00:00.001+00:002023-12-01T15:00:39.272+00:00Friday 1st December - Hilda Fearon (1878-1917)<p> Hello and it's that time again! For Blogvent this year I will be throwing a load of lady artists at you because they really need to get out more. I will be seeing how much I can find out in 24 hours and then fling it in your general direction, no doubt shouting 'hurrah!' because it's Christmas and quite honestly, I need to get out more too. By the end of this Blogvent, we should have met 24 more ladies and admired at least one gorgeous image from them. That's the general idea, let's see how we go...</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpK2BgYg1T9XxWv2vzWmnjXC6UQF20rrBzhHQfkL2INr5e-oxKGUDKzW77Ig3-M-OTpiMEgqOAbAXQMDQ5ef4xpyc7pMMpJA37EgC1hJFqHbpa5AiWJZLyUwFGMoUV-3nyFg-RtyVdxnVQijW4OxJFoJ-MPQrLv_oCNxBi6zB2DGJkX2nWGeY6Jt4Kx8A/s400/A%20portrait%20of%20a%20mother%20and%20her%20two%20sons%201911.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="400" data-original-width="335" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpK2BgYg1T9XxWv2vzWmnjXC6UQF20rrBzhHQfkL2INr5e-oxKGUDKzW77Ig3-M-OTpiMEgqOAbAXQMDQ5ef4xpyc7pMMpJA37EgC1hJFqHbpa5AiWJZLyUwFGMoUV-3nyFg-RtyVdxnVQijW4OxJFoJ-MPQrLv_oCNxBi6zB2DGJkX2nWGeY6Jt4Kx8A/w536-h640/A%20portrait%20of%20a%20mother%20and%20her%20two%20sons%201911.jpg" width="536" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>A Portrait of a Mother and Her Two Sons</i> (1911)</td></tr></tbody></table><p>First up is Hilda Fearon, who is at least fortunate enough to have <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hilda_Fearon" target="_blank">a Wikipedia page</a>, so they aren't 'unknown' (okay, first digression of the season, I absolutely cringe when historians say they 'discover' a painter or an artwork. No you didn't, it was always hanging on someone's wall or in a store. You can raise awareness or shine a bit more light on things, but you no more discovered it than Columbus discovered America. It was always there, you just hadn't looked yet. Anyway, on with Hilda...)</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwv6jepRB-DryewyCKuKYKGF5hWN1Uq0dgUg7K5LO07SUW3AE5OQhC5g804Zt6_-WrEC2DlryL0MQAb6NKeXvdhKQWJw0mLLbFFtoY9ptg2oYGNLQkcVr26ijoBIjEu-AIWPUjh0S-6LEwODKpY6z4qhddtJa6kvpSufmWl-pTf92xr5iVzP6QG9mq1mc/s246/spring.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="246" data-original-width="205" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwv6jepRB-DryewyCKuKYKGF5hWN1Uq0dgUg7K5LO07SUW3AE5OQhC5g804Zt6_-WrEC2DlryL0MQAb6NKeXvdhKQWJw0mLLbFFtoY9ptg2oYGNLQkcVr26ijoBIjEu-AIWPUjh0S-6LEwODKpY6z4qhddtJa6kvpSufmWl-pTf92xr5iVzP6QG9mq1mc/w333-h400/spring.jpg" width="333" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Springtime</i> (1914)</td></tr></tbody></table><p>Miss Fearon was born in 1878, the third daughter of wine merchant Paul (1849-1929) and his wife Edith (1851-1922). Paul and Edith married in 1875, welcoming daughter Edith junior in 1876, then Annie in 1877. After Hilda, came only son Paul in 1880 and finally Ethel in 1882. The family were nicely off, living in Court House in Banstead, Surrey with 5 servants (you know how servant obsessed I am). I especially like the fact that on September 14th 1888, Paul and Edith got all the kids baptised at once in Swanage (which is a very nice place to get baptised). I wonder if they got a group rate? Anyway, being a wealthy family, Ancestry is actually not much help in figuring out someone's life as our Hilda is a woman of no occupation until she moves out of her home in the 1911 census, then magically she becomes an Artist! However, we obviously are aware of her artistic career, thanks to the newspapers and the Royal Academy catalogues. Thanks to the Cornwall Artists Index we have a very good idea of her education, moving from an interest at school to the Slade, then to Robert Sterl in Dresden and finally under Algernon Talmage at St Ives. Now, I'm far too classy to make any sort of joke about what she learned under Algernon Talmage, but the couple did end up living together towards the end of her life. </p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSatLJZ5WqFENCpyxkwdsePIXeXMsEdpkJI-EaPVE8jHGVODXr6gQ2lnmzAwiW_wftqb6ugYuzEioEVp9412tLLrRryY4ZrEv9kOr7wEzqaPQzYM3Vgr2gh50aVqNrRC9qdc8mFg2b1YFXrqXz4yaqKtCLn4iIfKn89NzhRcjYK0XZBDQILPOFDj81Ong/s779/Untitled.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="637" data-original-width="779" height="328" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSatLJZ5WqFENCpyxkwdsePIXeXMsEdpkJI-EaPVE8jHGVODXr6gQ2lnmzAwiW_wftqb6ugYuzEioEVp9412tLLrRryY4ZrEv9kOr7wEzqaPQzYM3Vgr2gh50aVqNrRC9qdc8mFg2b1YFXrqXz4yaqKtCLn4iIfKn89NzhRcjYK0XZBDQILPOFDj81Ong/w400-h328/Untitled.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Portrait of Algernon Talmage</i> (1914-15)</td></tr></tbody></table><p>Annie Fearon was also a painter and an embroiderer and she and Hilda studied together at the Chelsea School of Art, then the Slade, moving together to Dresden between 1897 to 1899, then to Cornwall. Annie married the Reverend Bernard Walke, curate of St Ives. Hilda developed her British Impressionist manner of painting, which is evident in works such as <i>Figures in a Field</i> or, possibly most famously, <i>The Tea Party</i> which was given to the Tate by Talmage after Hilda's death...</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXIbcIwjXgD4KkYhft1ic7JGeVxgM35yV4PxOay0jUTEVNdkwrWr9zm3WMQuJpRl9qGjYPF0hKCBmkrceStwp_DqYI9EZRzdKyoO9S6JtbunjuEuRVV2L9s7vmzLk8f_nOpal4_s3OF9_8QIm2oOxrIXc4dUcYJsFWPaykyQV4zJVDcP1O3dVN2K8-CK8/s1536/the%20tea%20party%201916.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1267" data-original-width="1536" height="528" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXIbcIwjXgD4KkYhft1ic7JGeVxgM35yV4PxOay0jUTEVNdkwrWr9zm3WMQuJpRl9qGjYPF0hKCBmkrceStwp_DqYI9EZRzdKyoO9S6JtbunjuEuRVV2L9s7vmzLk8f_nOpal4_s3OF9_8QIm2oOxrIXc4dUcYJsFWPaykyQV4zJVDcP1O3dVN2K8-CK8/w640-h528/the%20tea%20party%201916.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>The Tea Party</i> (1916)</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div>While reading about Hilda today I was very much reminded of Isobel Gloag, not least because their careers seem to take a similar brief trajectory, but also because Hilda had a piece written about her in <i>The International Studio </i>as well, in 1914, where Charles Marriott made a very interesting observation about her work. He stated that her work, which tended towards figures in an interior (definitely after her move to London), were 'a little frosty in their manner' due to the lack of relationship between the figures. Each figure was perfectly realised in identity but how they responded to or felt about the other people in the image was a mystery. Marriott's answer to this is very interesting - 'The reason might be lack of sensibility or unusual reserve or coldness of temperament in the painter, but it is probably nothing more than the fact that she is a woman. This sounds like a paradox, because women are generally warmer and more intimate than men in their reactions to life.' I'm not sure how I feel about this statement, although I did snigger a bit, for which I apologise to Mr Marriott who I will return to again due to his amazing thoughts on lady painters. He continues to explain that painters go through three phases - the amateur who is all feeling and emotion, the student who is all technical and no emotion, and finally maturity, where they can marry together technique with proper levels of feeling. In the second phase, where Marriott firmly roots Hilda, it matters not whether the artist is a man or woman as they become sexless painting robots. He cites her 'masculine, or rather sexless' manner of execution in her work, but her evident growth was producing conception and outlook that was 'authentically feminine'. Apparently she did a painting of a Cornish farmhouse that was, and I quote, 'laughably bad' but she is better now. </div><div><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhevlqHVmZlrW7XcVE9q_6bTr-vnWmlHDUFIFzeHmMjobQRM1S-RayxyruoHSc1lcBKta2-EPD4Jwo6HUhwEpqPYR_rjhttHMQ3jJD1WrzdqPGkuRbgKi0y3BXgkeKB65_buDkDEYty_ntGsTuYx1Sc9K7Ebk6kAD7UFcoUDhaz-3PX4ozghdPfQRTNlM/s931/Hilda_Fearon_-_Studio_interior_-1914.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="931" data-original-width="800" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhevlqHVmZlrW7XcVE9q_6bTr-vnWmlHDUFIFzeHmMjobQRM1S-RayxyruoHSc1lcBKta2-EPD4Jwo6HUhwEpqPYR_rjhttHMQ3jJD1WrzdqPGkuRbgKi0y3BXgkeKB65_buDkDEYty_ntGsTuYx1Sc9K7Ebk6kAD7UFcoUDhaz-3PX4ozghdPfQRTNlM/w550-h640/Hilda_Fearon_-_Studio_interior_-1914.jpg" width="550" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Studio Interior </i>(1914)</td></tr></tbody></table><p>Actually, looking at <i>Studio Interior</i> with its disconnected figures, Marriott might have a point. He did end the article on a very positive description of her art - 'one is conscious of the champagne air, the effervescent "hiss" of water, the feel - almost the smell - of newly laundered linen frocks...' </p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAe6T-_G3aF-fdAJbs76hJwhJJTp_kS9ac9wy4298H8hfojQaZXOUJhYVKVoKrsPq_g43gKQRy6vaYrRkhemn1GDRiI9CwWhtUg09LIQc_67QCKAO4pDODZ2da846bc3bW_XeiCrFB7WGHhyfJviL3lNX3VpEKYl_AdNJtDGIrWbUdcOG3D6zA_jz65M0/s800/enchantment.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="694" data-original-width="800" height="556" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAe6T-_G3aF-fdAJbs76hJwhJJTp_kS9ac9wy4298H8hfojQaZXOUJhYVKVoKrsPq_g43gKQRy6vaYrRkhemn1GDRiI9CwWhtUg09LIQc_67QCKAO4pDODZ2da846bc3bW_XeiCrFB7WGHhyfJviL3lNX3VpEKYl_AdNJtDGIrWbUdcOG3D6zA_jz65M0/w640-h556/enchantment.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Enchantment</i> (1914)</td></tr></tbody></table><p>The problem with starting Blogvent with someone like Hilda is there is actually far more information and images available than I imagined so now I have a heap of notes and only today to get this done, but it raises a question - why is she not better known? I think actually this is a problem that affects all British Impressionists, who are smashing and yet not really box office yet. They are patently the successors to Turner so we shouldn't get hung up on the term 'Impressionists' because it makes it look like we had a go at an art movement after the fact and it wasn't bad just not as good as the original. They need a new movement name - how about Post-Turnerites? It could catch on. Sorry, back to Hilda...</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxrDMZUsi2DPgPfzID2a3UXj7aEhfl93uKolpvIrRqpG4xFmyz8XQZFnjI0IM9LJAOnLyqM2dUf7LaAhdW6UJdXtIgd_LE2_TMcBhSekKLk5udJJywA6UkT8HORQakLNxlvUM-olWGs17oNhaASpNeLxqz3oSQ1N_ijlHhXUWZ_IaGQAiXgIhwgnZ47Pg/s790/Alice%201916.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="790" data-original-width="660" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxrDMZUsi2DPgPfzID2a3UXj7aEhfl93uKolpvIrRqpG4xFmyz8XQZFnjI0IM9LJAOnLyqM2dUf7LaAhdW6UJdXtIgd_LE2_TMcBhSekKLk5udJJywA6UkT8HORQakLNxlvUM-olWGs17oNhaASpNeLxqz3oSQ1N_ijlHhXUWZ_IaGQAiXgIhwgnZ47Pg/w334-h400/Alice%201916.png" width="334" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Alice</i> (1916)</td></tr></tbody></table><p>Hilda moved to London in around 1908, living at 68 Cathcart Studios, 44 Redcliffe Road (Alexa Wilding lived at 33 Redcliffe Road in the 1870s). She exhibited <i>Willows</i> at the Royal Academy in 1908, <i>The White Room </i>and<i> The Sandpit</i> in 1910 (the former was displayed close to Isobel Gloag's <i>In the House of Simon the Pharisee</i>). Hilda seems to have continued to fill the Royal Academy each May as in 1911 she exhibited <i>The Window</i> and <i>The Morning Drive</i> which were described by the <i>Gentlewoman </i>journal as 'fulfilling her promise of individual views ... impatient of prettiness and flattered colour and set upon the larger beauties of atmospheric simplicity and bigness of effect.' </p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUWd5TO8tZ4pTz3e3poIPuTqSMfXzDb8vqeYZXnFEPnUJ8woMF_Jz4wk7jPuc6i6O2u64DWQvixYZK9KcnO2TJiie2BLkJWm8vPetXKbg0eLpSwJHBBtHxkUOJB1oD_Kp1waGrwgaE5n2B3oRMbuyoYDv2PeOzrrvJ8QGxLTK7rka76bwkoqsQWV94u6o/s808/Hilda_Fearon_The_Ballet_Master_1912.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="808" data-original-width="691" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUWd5TO8tZ4pTz3e3poIPuTqSMfXzDb8vqeYZXnFEPnUJ8woMF_Jz4wk7jPuc6i6O2u64DWQvixYZK9KcnO2TJiie2BLkJWm8vPetXKbg0eLpSwJHBBtHxkUOJB1oD_Kp1waGrwgaE5n2B3oRMbuyoYDv2PeOzrrvJ8QGxLTK7rka76bwkoqsQWV94u6o/w548-h640/Hilda_Fearon_The_Ballet_Master_1912.jpg" width="548" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>The Ballet Master</i> (1912)</td></tr></tbody></table><p>For the RA in 1912, she displayed <i>The Window</i> and <i>The Ballet Master</i>, a work that was compared with the ballet images of Renoir and won a special mention in the Paris Salon of 1913. This was followed in 1913 with three, yes <b>three</b>, paintings in the May exhibition, <i>Midsummer </i>(which was shown again in the 1915 RA War Relief exhibition), <i>Under the Cliffs, </i>which <i>The Queen</i> magazine called 'a triumph of technique, of assured rightness of tone rather than interest of colour', and <i>Silver and Green </i>(now in Minneapolis Institute of Art)...</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgr98mXTQ9OHBRZIiw_OGeX9MN7dsaZbePql_wy9-9Quk6k-DMNPf-SdIpU0zQGwc9Ek0fmMd2b9O8Xyi3HLEioDtxRg_KEJrtoiAh71L4439z8l7DBFlb_q05j1abdtPsOGp4ucKT9bzry8SyldnFgK14CiQSCzuYbhLou-xBmeswnmyByuZWI0nwCNSc/s744/silver%20and%20green.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="744" data-original-width="638" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgr98mXTQ9OHBRZIiw_OGeX9MN7dsaZbePql_wy9-9Quk6k-DMNPf-SdIpU0zQGwc9Ek0fmMd2b9O8Xyi3HLEioDtxRg_KEJrtoiAh71L4439z8l7DBFlb_q05j1abdtPsOGp4ucKT9bzry8SyldnFgK14CiQSCzuYbhLou-xBmeswnmyByuZWI0nwCNSc/w548-h640/silver%20and%20green.png" width="548" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Silver and Green</i> (1913)</td></tr></tbody></table><p>In 1914, she seems to have taken it easy with only one painting exhibited at the RA, <i>Enchantment</i>. As I have said before, I love the RA catalogues as they also have the addresses of the artists in the back (should you wish to visit them in your time machines). Up until 1914 Hilda's address remained in Redcliffe Road, but for the 1915 exhibition, where she showed <i>Spring Flowers</i> and <i>The Hayrick, </i>she is listed c/o the framers J J Patrickson in Church Street, Chelsea. In 1916, when she exhibited <i>The Breakfast Table</i> and <i>Nannie, Bessie and John</i>, Hilda's address had changed to 22 Joubert Mansions, Jubilee Place in Chelsea. Although Algernon Talmage lists his RA address as the Chelsea Arts Club, it is widely written that by this point the couple were living together in Joubert Mansions. </p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjF-AZXq1BLDHyeZJHfNCSXLWW0-HKePizpdUjena7QYo1DxchXTfbZTw_eADIqutMbUPKoRKIelAkCmcdIaRAQmCVr8AOxnQ6cZWe7OPjWGvanha7A9OfhzJmoVCCmeefJCHBvSsC5wtHaY7jiJyoS6c96s6QAFf5IWbtVXUjdhd1O1GKpZf89dIofr3g/s596/hilda-fearon-afternoon-sunshine.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="470" data-original-width="596" height="315" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjF-AZXq1BLDHyeZJHfNCSXLWW0-HKePizpdUjena7QYo1DxchXTfbZTw_eADIqutMbUPKoRKIelAkCmcdIaRAQmCVr8AOxnQ6cZWe7OPjWGvanha7A9OfhzJmoVCCmeefJCHBvSsC5wtHaY7jiJyoS6c96s6QAFf5IWbtVXUjdhd1O1GKpZf89dIofr3g/w400-h315/hilda-fearon-afternoon-sunshine.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Afternoon Sunshine</i> (1917)</td></tr></tbody></table><p>Hilda's paintings for the 1917 RA exhibition, <i>Afternoon Sunshine</i> and <i>The Road Across the Downs</i> were praised by the <i>Gentlewoman</i> journal, as they 'sustain this painters growing reputation.' <i>Colour</i> journal reported that Hilda was 'an artist whose work showed remarkable strength and decision' and the <i>Sketch</i> remarked that 'Miss Hilda Fearon exhibits things seen and felt,' surely the pinnacle of what Charles Marriott would call maturity in art. Sadly, less than a month later, on 2nd June 1917, Hilda died, aged only 39.</p><p>In Mrs Ethel Alec-Tweedie's fabulous 1918 book <i>Women and Soldiers</i>, Hilda gets an interesting name-check. When discussing how life had changed for women in the three years of the war, Mrs EAT states that things have moved more than in the previous three hundred, yet some things remain still unreachable:</p><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><p style="text-align: left;">'Forsooth, you may still be a Clara Montalba, a Laura Knight, a Henrietta Rae, a Lucy Kemp-Welsh, a Hilda Fearon or an Anna Airy, without the least danger of being raised to the heights upon which Royal Academicians giddily draw breath. Why look for a post on the line? There is plenty of wall space above and below. Artistic merit has its own reward, my dear lady, so aspire not to the alphabet.'</p></blockquote><p></p><p>When I read that, I was amazed that only a few of those women are now widely known, and also at the mindset that it's nice to be invited to the party, you don't need any cake. I can't believe that given the opportunity, Laura Knight or Henrietta Rae wouldn't have loved to be the President of the RA but were just pleased to be brilliant painters who were allowed to exhibit with the men. Without getting too ranty, this is a bit of a touchstone for this advent, that these women and more like them, deserve to be considered for the line because they are extremely talented in a world that would rather they did something else, quietly. </p><p>Forsooth, Hilda Fearon and other female Post-Turnerites deserve our love. She was in a 1960 piece in the <i>West Briton and Royal Cornwall Gazette</i> on 'Art and the Artist in Cornwall' by Michael R L Canney, the curator of Newlyn Art Gallery. There needs to be a more enthusiastic embrace of this period in our art history, so I can smell a retrospective coming our way soon...</p></div>Kirsty Stonell Walkerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08342964877965021654noreply@blogger.com3