Mary Fedden
View of a Coastal Town, 1947
Oil on canvas
19.5 x 23.6 in. (49.5 x 60 cm)
Signed and dated 'Fedden 1947' lower left
Philip Mould & Co.
To view all current artworks for sale visit philipmould.com Mary Fedden was one of the most atmospheric colourists and prolific painters working in Britain during the late twentieth century....
To view all current artworks for sale visit philipmould.com
Mary Fedden was one of the most atmospheric colourists and prolific painters working in Britain during the late twentieth century. She was the first woman tutor at the Royal College of Art, was commissioned to produce murals during the war effort and exhibited extensively throughout her career. Her works are often contemplative and draw on themes of everyday introspection. This rare early landscape, painted during the aftermath of the Second World War, evidences the artist’s proficiency in capturing atmospheric intensity and the hidden complexities of everyday life following a period of tumultuous conflict.
Born in Bristol, Fedden later studied at Slade School of Fine Arts, London from 1932 to 1936 under the theatre designer Vladimir Polunin. During the Second World War, she served in the Land Army and the Woman’s Voluntary Service, and in 1944 she was sent abroad as a driver for the Navy, Army and Air Force Institutes. She returned to painting after the war inculcated with a sense of solemnity and vim to appreciate and document the subject matter which had been unavailable to her during the conflict.
This coastal town scene, painted in 1947, exemplifies her newly invigorated perspective on painting and desire to imbue everyday scenes with layers of conscious contemplation. This painting depicts two fisherwomen and a child calmly arranging the day’s catch on a table. The rolling waves in the background echo the windswept hair of the two women, infusing the painting with a subtle sense of the turbulent coastal climate. Stylistically, this landscape is characteristic of Fedden’s early works which are distinguished by their deep, saturated colour and bold brushstrokes – as a result, her earliest works are some of her most experimental and atmospheric. Fedden’s exploration of depth and perspective in this work stands in stark contrast to her later paintings, which often offer more formulaic compositions. The row of characterful houses which recede into the middle distance are immediately evocative of those which pepper the shores of many British coastlines.
The same year that this painting was executed, Fedden held her first solo exhibition at The Mansard Gallery in Heal’s Department Store. The exhibition proved immensely popular, and as a result she was offered a three-year commission from Woman magazine to paint their journal covers. Fedden was largely overlooked during her own lifetime, due to a factor that taints the careers of many professional women artists throughout history – her husband’s artistic career overshadowed her own. Despite this, she became the first woman to teach painting at the Royal College of Art in 1958, where she taught the likes of David Hockney and her work is now held in prestigious collections including the Tate, the Royal West of England Academy, Pallant House and The Royal Collection.
Mary Fedden was one of the most atmospheric colourists and prolific painters working in Britain during the late twentieth century. She was the first woman tutor at the Royal College of Art, was commissioned to produce murals during the war effort and exhibited extensively throughout her career. Her works are often contemplative and draw on themes of everyday introspection. This rare early landscape, painted during the aftermath of the Second World War, evidences the artist’s proficiency in capturing atmospheric intensity and the hidden complexities of everyday life following a period of tumultuous conflict.
Born in Bristol, Fedden later studied at Slade School of Fine Arts, London from 1932 to 1936 under the theatre designer Vladimir Polunin. During the Second World War, she served in the Land Army and the Woman’s Voluntary Service, and in 1944 she was sent abroad as a driver for the Navy, Army and Air Force Institutes. She returned to painting after the war inculcated with a sense of solemnity and vim to appreciate and document the subject matter which had been unavailable to her during the conflict.
This coastal town scene, painted in 1947, exemplifies her newly invigorated perspective on painting and desire to imbue everyday scenes with layers of conscious contemplation. This painting depicts two fisherwomen and a child calmly arranging the day’s catch on a table. The rolling waves in the background echo the windswept hair of the two women, infusing the painting with a subtle sense of the turbulent coastal climate. Stylistically, this landscape is characteristic of Fedden’s early works which are distinguished by their deep, saturated colour and bold brushstrokes – as a result, her earliest works are some of her most experimental and atmospheric. Fedden’s exploration of depth and perspective in this work stands in stark contrast to her later paintings, which often offer more formulaic compositions. The row of characterful houses which recede into the middle distance are immediately evocative of those which pepper the shores of many British coastlines.
The same year that this painting was executed, Fedden held her first solo exhibition at The Mansard Gallery in Heal’s Department Store. The exhibition proved immensely popular, and as a result she was offered a three-year commission from Woman magazine to paint their journal covers. Fedden was largely overlooked during her own lifetime, due to a factor that taints the careers of many professional women artists throughout history – her husband’s artistic career overshadowed her own. Despite this, she became the first woman to teach painting at the Royal College of Art in 1958, where she taught the likes of David Hockney and her work is now held in prestigious collections including the Tate, the Royal West of England Academy, Pallant House and The Royal Collection.
Provenance
Private Collection, UK.Be the first to hear about our available artworks
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