Florence Laura Ruth Raymond (1897–1986) was a British painter, calligrapher and weaver.

Biography

Raymond was born and raised in

Greenwich Greenwich ( , ,) is a town in south-east London, England, within the ceremonial county of Greater London. It is situated east-southeast of Charing Cross. Greenwich is notable for its maritime history and for giving its name to the Greenwic ...

in London where she attended

The John Roan School The John Roan School is a co-educational secondary school and sixth form located in Greenwich, south-east London, England. History Grammar schools The current school was originally two grammar schools. The boys' school was founded in 1677 and ...

before studying at the

Camberwell School of Arts and Crafts Camberwell College of Arts is a public tertiary art school in Camberwell, in London, England. It is one of the six constituent colleges of the University of the Arts London. It offers further and higher education programmes, including pos ...

from 1914 to 1917. She then spent two years at Greenwich Polytechnic before entering the

Royal College of Art The Royal College of Art (RCA) is a public research university in London, United Kingdom, with campuses in South Kensington, Battersea and White City. It is the only entirely postgraduate art and design university in the United Kingdom. It of ...

, where her teachers included the painter

Robert Anning Bell Robert Anning Bell (14 April 1863 – 27 November 1933) was an English artist and designer. Early life Robert Anning Bell was born in London on 14 April 1863, the son of Robert George Bell, a cheesemonger, and Mary Charlotte Knight. He studied ...

. Before she graduated from the Royal College in 1921, Raymond had already exhibited works at the 1920 Arts and Crafts Exhibition at

Burlington House Burlington House is a building on Piccadilly in Mayfair, London. It was originally a private Neo-Palladian mansion owned by the Earls of Burlington and was expanded in the mid-19th century after being purchased by the British government. Tod ...

in London. She continued to exhibit at that venue until at least 1940, by which time she was teaching weaving at the Gloucester School of Art and exhibiting her paintings and other works throughout the south-west of England. Raymond was a skilled

calligrapher Calligraphy (from el, link=y, καλλιγραφία) is a visual art related to writing. It is the design and execution of lettering with a pen, ink brush, or other writing instrument. Contemporary calligraphic practice can be defined as " ...

and worked with

Graily Hewitt William Graily Hewit or Graily Hewitt (1864–1952) was a British novelist and calligrapher, second only to Edward Johnston in importance to the revival of calligraphy in the country at the turn of the twentieth century. Biography Hewitt was ...

on several Books of Remembrance for

Westminster Abbey Westminster Abbey, formally titled the Collegiate Church of Saint Peter at Westminster, is an historic, mainly Gothic church in the City of Westminster, London, England, just to the west of the Palace of Westminster. It is one of the United ...

and also produced the Record Book of

Gloucester Cathedral Gloucester Cathedral, formally the Cathedral Church of St Peter and the Holy and Indivisible Trinity, in Gloucester, England, stands in the north of the city near the River Severn. It originated with the establishment of a minster dedicated to ...

, which also has examples of her weaving. Raymond lived for a long period at

Brookthorpe Brookthorpe is a village and former civil parish, now in the parish of Brookthorpe-with-Whaddon, in the Stroud district, in the county of Gloucestershire, England. In 1931 the parish had a population of 194. It has a church called St Swithun's C ...

in Gloucestershire and died in Hampshire.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Raymond, Ruth 1897 births 1986 deaths 20th-century English women artists Alumni of Camberwell College of Arts Alumni of the Royal College of Art Alumni of the University of Greenwich Artists from London English calligraphers English women painters People educated at the John Roan School People from Greenwich Women calligraphers