SKU: 11573
Mary Adshead
(1904 - 1995)
Street Scene, c. 1930
£1,950
Mary Adshead (1904 - 1995)
£8,950
Size:
Height – 31cm
Width – 41cm
1 in stock
Exhibited; Sally Hunter Fine Art, Summer Exhibition, August 1987
Literature: Clough, Mathew/ Compton, Ann, Earthly delights Mary Adshead 1904-1995, University of Liverpool Art Gallery, 2005
Adshead frequently went on family holidays and sketching trips in Wales. In 1934, working alongside Eric Ravilious, she painted murals in the Colwyn Bay Pier Pavilion. During the War she spent summer holidays with her children at Barmouth, a seaside resort on Cardigan Bay, North Wales. The Landlady’s Daughters dates to the same period as the Imperial War Museums Troops Riding into Barmouth
Working at a time when expectations of women were still largely confined to issues of domesticity Adshead’s prodigious professional output was noteworthy.
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.
