Angela Mary Flowers (; 19 December 1932 – 11 August 2023) was a British

gallerist An art dealer is a person or company that buys and sells works of art, or acts as the intermediary between the buyers and sellers of art. An art dealer in contemporary art typically seeks out various artists to represent, and builds relationshi ...

who founded

Flowers Gallery Flowers Gallery, also known as Flowers are two galleries in London (on Cork Street in the West End, and in Shoreditch in the East End), a third in the Chelsea district of New York City, and a fourth in Hong Kong. The gallery represents over ...

, a commercial art gallery that today operates in London, New York City, and Hong Kong. A director of the gallery, she was based between

Ramsgate Ramsgate is a seaside resort, seaside town and civil parish in the district of Thanet District, Thanet in eastern Kent, England. It was one of the great English seaside towns of the 19th century. In 2021 it had a population of 42,027. Ramsgate' ...

in Kent and Cork in Ireland.

Education and career

Born on 19 December 1932 in

Croydon Croydon is a large town in South London, England, south of Charing Cross. Part of the London Borough of Croydon, a Districts of England, local government district of Greater London; it is one of the largest commercial districts in Greater Lond ...

, Angela Holland was the elder of two daughters of Geoffrey and Olive Holland. Her great grandfather founded ''

The Croydon Advertiser ''The Croydon Advertiser'' (with locally branded editions) is a paid-for weekly newspaper with five editions covering the London Boroughs of Croydon, Sutton and two neighbouring towns and with a free up-to-the-minute maintained web presence. H ...

''. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, her father worked as a fireman on the

River Thames The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the The Isis, River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the Longest rivers of the United Kingdom, s ...

, then in military intelligence and her mother worked in a munitions factory in Herefordshire. During this time, Angela was sent to a boarding school founded by

war artist A war artist is an artist either commissioned by a government or publication, or self-motivated, to document first-hand experience of war in any form of illustrative or depictive record.Imperial War Museum (IWM)header phrase, "war shapes lives" ...

Eric Kennington Eric Henri Kennington (12 March 1888 – 13 April 1960) was an English sculptor, artist and illustrator, and an official British official war artists, war artist in both of the world wars. As a war artist, Kennington specialised in depictions ...

. She then went to

Westonbirt School Westonbirt School is a co-educational independent day and boarding school for boys and girls aged 11 to 18 located near Tetbury in Gloucestershire in South West England. Founded in 1928. The historical Westonbirt House is part of the school. We ...

in Kent, followed by

Wychwood School Wychwood School is a co-educational Private schools in the United Kingdom, private Day school, day and boarding school for pupils aged 11–18, located in Oxford, Oxfordshire, England. The school is a member of the Girls' Schools Association an ...

in Oxford and a diploma at the

Webber Douglas Academy of Dramatic Art The Webber Douglas Academy of Dramatic Art, formerly the Webber Douglas School of Singing and Dramatic Art, was a drama school, and originally a singing school, in London. It was one of the leading drama schools in Britain, and offered comprehen ...

in London. She later worked as an

au pair An au pair (; : au pairs) is a person working for, and living as part of, a homestay, host family. Typically, au pairs take on a share of the family’s responsibility for child care as well as some homemaking, housework, and receive a monetary ...

in Paris. In 1952, aged 19, she met fashion and portrait photographer Adrian Flowers, marrying him seven weeks later. In an interview she recalled, "I met Adrian in the January and proposed to him in the February because it was leap year ... and we got married a few weeks later." She studied drama and music at the

Guildhall School of Music and Drama The Guildhall School of Music and Drama is a music school, music and drama school located in the City of London, England. Established in 1880, the school offers undergraduate and postgraduate training in all aspects of classical music and jazz al ...

in London, performed some music and acting work - she played a Dagenham Girl Piper in the first

Benny Hill Alfred Hawthorne "Benny" Hill (21 January 1924 – 18 April 1992) was an English comedian, actor and scriptwriter. He is best remembered for his television programme, ''The Benny Hill Show'', a comedy-variety show whose amalgam of slapstick, bu ...

film, '' Who Done It? '' (1956) - and also worked in advertising. Her arts career began following a family holiday in St Ives, where they met many of the resident artists. Her husband began taking pictures of the artworks and artists for catalogues and together they began collecting art, with a particular focus on emerging British artists.

Flowers Gallery

Flowers Gallery opened in central London in 1970 in an attic of the

Artists' International Association The Artists' International Association (AIA) was an organisation founded in London in 1933 out of discussion among Pearl Binder, Clifford Rowe, Misha Black, James Fitton, James Boswell, James Holland, Edward Ardizzone, Peter Laszlo Peri'Art ...

in Lisle Street. The gallery had two principles, Flowers said: "I would only show living artists; and nothing pre-1952." The gallery's first show featured Patrick Hughes, whom Flowers continued to represent for 48 years; printmaker Tom Phillips had his first solo show at Flowers, also in 1970. The following year, in 1971, the gallery hosted a first solo show by

Fionnuala Boyd Fionnuala Boyd (born 1944) is a British artist. Biography Fionnuala Boyd was born in Welwyn Garden City, Hertfordshire in 1944. She studied at the St Albans School of Art. Much of her work has been in collaboration with her husband, Les Evans ...

and Leslie Evans, and in 1973, it hosted ''Opening'', a show by feminist

Penny Slinger Penny Slinger, sometimes Penelope Slinger, is a British-born American artist and author based in California. As an artist, she has worked in different mediums, including photography, film and sculpture. Her work has been described as being in the ...

dealing with food and eroticism. After the AIA disbanded in 1971, the gallery had moved to Portland Mews; in 1979, it moved to Tottenham Mews. In 1988, Flowers moved the gallery to an industrial building in the Hackney district of east London, later returning to central London by opening a second gallery in

Cork Street Cork Street is a street in Mayfair in the West End of London, England, with many contemporary art galleries, and was previously associated with the tailoring industry. Location The street runs approximately north-west from the junction of Burl ...

. In 2002, the east London gallery moved to

Shoreditch Shoreditch is an area in London, England and is located in the London Borough of Hackney alongside neighbouring parts of Tower Hamlets, which are also perceived as part of the area due to historic ecclesiastical links. Shoreditch lies just north ...

. Flowers expanded internationally in 1997, opening a U.S. gallery in

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

, then moving it to

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

in 2003. Located initially in

Madison Avenue Madison Avenue is a north-south avenue in the borough of Manhattan in New York City, New York, that carries northbound one-way traffic. It runs from Madison Square (at 23rd Street) to meet the southbound Harlem River Drive at 142nd Stree ...

, it moved to West 20th street in Chelsea in 2009. From December 2012 to February 2013, the Shoreditch gallery hosted an exhibition, ''Angela Flowers at 80'', marking her 80th birthday. By 2016, Flowers East had a staff of 24 and a turnover of more than £6m.

Personal life

Angela and Adrian Flowers had four children.

Matthew Flowers Matthew Flowers (born 1956) is a British contemporary art dealer based in London and New York. He is the managing director of Flowers Gallery. Throughout his career he has been on boards and committees of international art fairs and arts institu ...

, her second son, worked on and off for the gallery from 1970 until 1983 when he moved to the business full time. He became its managing director in 1989. Flowers's youngest son, Daniel married

sculptor Sculpture is the branch of the visual arts that operates in three dimensions. Sculpture is the three-dimensional art work which is physically presented in the dimensions of height, width and depth. It is one of the plastic arts. Durable sc ...

Nicola Hicks Nicola Hicks (born 1960 in London) is an English sculptor, known for her works made using straw and plaster. Biography Hicks studied at the Chelsea School of Art from 1978 to 1982 and at the Royal College of Art from 1982 to 1985.Falconer, Morg ...

, a long-time gallery client. In 1970, Angela Flowers met the writer and business journalist

Robert Heller Robert Heller may refer to: * Robert Heller (magician) (1826–1878), English magician, mentalist, and musician * Robert Heller (journalist) Robert Heller (10 June 1932 – 28 August 2012) was a British management journalist, management consult ...

. Already an art collector, he helped manage the gallery. She and Adrian Flowers divorced in 1972, and she and Heller stayed together. In 1999, she said "We've been together 29 years now and I'm still hoping to get married. Perhaps I'll ask him next year, which is a leap year." They married in 2003 and he died in 2012, having earlier developed Parkinson's disease; in 2009, they had moved from

Highgate Highgate is a suburban area of N postcode area, north London in the London Borough of Camden, London Boroughs of Camden, London Borough of Islington, Islington and London Borough of Haringey, Haringey. The area is at the north-eastern corner ...

in north London to

Henley-on-Thames Henley-on-Thames ( ) is a town status in the United Kingdom, town and Civil parishes in England, civil parish on the River Thames, in the South Oxfordshire district, in Oxfordshire, England, northeast of Reading, Berkshire, Reading, west of M ...

in Oxfordshire. Angela and Robert had a daughter, Rachel Heller, born on 15 September 1973 with Down's syndrome. Rachel became an artist but was represented by another gallery.

Death

Flowers died on 11 August 2023, at age 90.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Flowers, Angela 1932 births 2023 deaths English art dealers People from Croydon People educated at Westonbirt School Alumni of the Webber Douglas Academy of Dramatic Art People educated at Wychwood School