SKU: 11573
Mary Adshead
(1904 - 1995)
Street Scene, c. 1930
£1,950
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Mary Adshead (1904 - 1995)
Size:
Height – 19cm
Width – 17.2cm
Literature: Llewellyn, Sacha, et al. Women Only Works on Paper. Liss Llewellyn, 2021, p. 38.
The format of Livestock Market (recto) and Picking Tea Leaves (verso), suggests that both designs may
have been part of an intended mural scheme. The Gong, created for an unpublished book of poems by
Anne Harding Thompson, is accompanied by a verse which starts with the lines: ‘This crazy old woman
is singing a song, and beating like mad on her old brass gong’. All three works demonstrate Mary
Adshead’s preference for simplified colours and shapes, and a delight in humorous narrative which she
combined with a hint of neo-Victorianism.
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.
