SKU: 11573
Mary Adshead
(1904 - 1995)
Street Scene, c. 1930
£1,950
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Mary Adshead (1904 - 1995)
Size:
Height – 76.2cm
Width – 56.4cm
As well as this glass map, which was broken in transit, Adshead painted a mural for the British Pavilion at the Paris International Exhibition of 1937. The map shows over fifty traditional culinary specialities from different parts of Britain.
Edward VIII wished to marry American Wallis Simpson. Prime Minister Stanley Baldwin advised him that the British people would not accept her because she was a divorcee. Faced with losing the woman he loved, Edward chose instead to abdicate. On 11 December, he broadcast his decision to the nation. He married Wallace Simpson in France in June 1937. They became the Duke and Duchess of Windsor.
IN 1937 George VI, Edward VIII’s younger brother, the Duke of York, is crowned king; 29 December: New constitution makes Ireland a republic in all but name; Sir Frank Whittle invents the Jet Engine
Mary Adshead studied at the Slade School of Fine Art (1920’24)
under Henry Tonks (1862’1937), who in 1924 selected her for a
mural commission at Highways boys’ club in Shadwell, working
with Rex Whistler (1905’1944).
She became a prominent muralist, creating decorations for
both public and private spaces, including the British Pavilion at
the 1937 Paris International Exhibition. She also illustrated several
books, such as The Little Boy and His House by Stephen Bone
(1904’1958) (whom she married in 1929), and made designs for
London Transport and the Post Office.
As a noteworthy female artist, Adshead exhibited frequently
at the WIAC from the mid ‘1930s, before serving on their
committee in 1951. Working at a time when expectations of
women were still largely confined to issues of domesticity, her
prodigious professional output was noteworthy. Her approach to
mural painting ‘ especially in her choice of subjects and her colourful
palette ‘ challenged the perceived divisions which determined that
public and private spaces should necessarily be treated differently. She
was the subject of a retrospective at Liverpool Art Gallery in 2005.
