Mary Fedden Painting since the fifties.
At the age of 16 Mary left Bristol and moved to London to study at The Slade School of Art.
© Mary Fedden c/o Portland Gallery http://www.portlandgallery.com/artist/Mary_Fedden
From 1936 she began her career as an artist painting theatrical sets for a number of prominent theatres.
During the war years she served in both the Land Army and Woman’s Voluntary Service and in 1944
was sent abroad as a driver. She was also involved in designing propaganda posters for the war effort.
© Mary Fedden c/o Portland Gallery http://www.portlandgallery.com/artist/Mary_Fedden
In the early 1950’s together with her husband the well-respected artist Julian Trevelyan (1910 – 1988)
she travelled extensively throughout Europe, America, India and Africa. Once she had settled back into
life in England she accepted a prestigious teaching job at the Royal College of Art (1958 – 1964)
and became the first female tutor to teach painting. During her time at the RCA, she taught an elite
generation of art students including David Hockney, R.B Kitaj and Patrick Caulfield.
She also at this period enjoyed many friendships with aspiring (and now prominent) artists.
After this well-respected teaching position she began to teach at the newly founded Yehudi Menuhin
School for gifted Musicians.
” Sometimes people comment that a certain object doesn’t look a bit like the real thing. I’m glad it doesn’t
I prefer to use my imagination and change things around, I am not after a representational image.
Generally I start by placing a shape tentatively in the composition, but if it doesn’t take form
and begin to interest me, then I drop it and move on to something else.”
© Mary Fedden c/o Portland Gallery http://www.portlandgallery.com/artist/Mary_Fedden
Fedden’s career has a notably domestic undertone; exhibitions in furniture shops, regular magazine
commissions, set designs, and ultimately the embracing of a habitually ‘homely’ subject matter.
This year she has designed products for the Royal Academy shop and also for the popular
kitchenware brand, ‘Emma Bridgewater.’ Despite being in her nineties she continues to paint
everyday and is said to be painting more “prolifically than ever”.
“As well as coming from my sketchbooks, or from particular objects that interest me,
ideas might come from talking to people or looking at things,” Mary says, “and other ideas
for paintings come to me in bed. Also, sometimes people put things through my letterbox if
they think I might be interested in them.”
© Mary Fedden c/o Portland Gallery http://www.portlandgallery.com/artist/Mary_Fedden
Her work features in many major art collections around the world and she has had work in prominent
exhibitions at both the Tate and the Royal Academy of Arts.
She was deservedly elected a Royal Academician in 1992.
Later this year there is an new Mary Fedden exhibition of Oils and Watercolours at the
Portland Gallery in London running from 8th June until the 24th June. It is a selling
exhibition of oil, watercolours, gouaches and drawings.
© Mary Fedden c/o Portland Gallery http://www.portlandgallery.com/artist/Mary_Fedden
The show will include early works as well as examples of Fedden’s recent work. Mary has kindly agreed
to lend a few of her stunning travel sketchbooks to the exhibition. These books, dating back to the 1950s’
include drawings and watercolours of scenes all over Europe, in India, Malta, Jordan and Morocco.
© Mary Fedden c/o Portland Gallery http://www.portlandgallery.com/artist/Mary_Fedden
More of her work can be seen here and an interview here.
Update 24th June 2012.
So sad to hear that this wonderful lady passed away two days ago aged 96. A lovely tribute was posted here in The Telegraph.
Lovely work by this artist. How wonderful that she is in her nineties and painting prolifically – inspiring!
Yes there’s hope (and time) for us all hey ! lol
Thanks for reminding me just how much I love Mary’s work.
My pleasure, her work is still amazing isn’t it.
Just found your blog via a link on Mousenote blog. LOVE this post about Mary Fedden. I read and wrote about her a few months back but there were still things here that I didn’t know and paintings I’ve not seen before. Thanks for the heads up about the exhibition too. I hadn’t heard about it living in the wilds of Birmingham as I do!!
Thanks Claire, you also have some lovely work on your site. I can see why you’d like Mary’s work too. She’s an inspiration to us all I think. Welcome to my blog too, feel free to chip in as and when you’d like. 🙂
I shared your post on my ‘Arts Hut’ Facebook page. What a great collection of her work to celebrate her contribution to painting. Many thanks
Thanks for sharing Anna, what lovely paintings you do too. Glad to have you onboard as it were 🙂