Anne Crawford Acheson (5 August 1882 – 13 March 1962) was a British-Irish sculptor. She and Elinor Hallé invented plaster casts for soldier's broken limbs. Acheson exhibited at the

Royal Academy The Royal Academy of Arts (RA) is an art institution based in Burlington House in Piccadilly London, England. Founded in 1768, it has a unique position as an independent, privately funded institution led by eminent artists and architects. Its ...

and internationally. She was awarded the

CBE The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

in 1919. During the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

she worked for the Surgical Requisites Association at Mulberry Walk in Chelsea, London. Acheson received the Gleichen Memorial Award in 1938. She divided her time between London and

Glenavy Glenavy () is a village and civil parish in County Antrim, Northern Ireland. It is approximately 11 miles west of Belfast and eight miles north-west of Lisburn, and sits on the banks of the Glenavy river. In the 2011 census it had a population ...

County Antrim County Antrim (named after the town of Antrim, County Antrim, Antrim, ) is one of the six counties of Northern Ireland, located within the historic Provinces of Ireland, province of Ulster. Adjoined to the north-east shore of Lough Neagh, the c ...

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ; ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, part of the United Kingdom in the north-east of the island of Ireland. It has been #Descriptions, variously described as a country, province or region. Northern Ireland shares Repub ...

Career

Acheson was born at

Portadown Portadown ( ) is a town in County Armagh, Northern Ireland. The town is based on the River Bann in the north of the county, about southwest of Belfast. It is in the Armagh City, Banbridge and Craigavon Borough Council area and had a population ...

County Armagh County Armagh ( ) is one of the six counties of Northern Ireland and one of the traditional thirty-two counties of Ireland. It is located in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Ulster and adjoins the southern shore of Lough Neagh. It borders t ...

to John Acheson, a manufacturer, and his wife, Harriet Glasgow. The Achesons lived at 51 Carrickblacker Rd, Portadown, Co Armagh. Anne Acheson was educated at Victoria College, Belfast, the Belfast School of Art and the

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

in London where she studied sculpture under

Édouard Lantéri Édouard Lantéri (31 October 1848 – 22 December 1917) was a French-born British sculptor and medallist whose romantic French style of sculpting was seen as influential among exponents of New Sculpture. His name is also frequently spelled ...

. Acheson first exhibited at the Royal Academy in 1913, when her sculpture ''The Pixie'' was accepted. Over the next four decades, 30 of her sculptures were featured in 22 exhibitions at the Academy. Acheson's work included statuettes, portrait heads, and garden figurines. While her early works were sculpted from wood, her later sculptures were largely done in metal, stone or concrete.

Wartime services

The Initial splint designs were tricky to make

During the First World War she volunteered with the Surgical Requisites Association, which supplied medical dressings and had been created by Queen Mary's Needlework Guild. Acheson and Elinor Hallé were both sculptors and they witnessed soldiers returning from the front with broken limbs held together with only wooden splints and basic bandages, Acheson suggested taking a plaster cast of the limb and when the cast had hardened, wrapping papier mâché over it, and placing it over the broken limb to support it whilst healing. This was inspired by the plaster of Paris she used in her sculptural work. The anatomically correct papier mâché splint reduced the healing time while properly supporting the broken limb. The idea of using

plaster of Paris Plaster is a building material used for the protective or decorative coating of walls and ceilings and for moulding and casting decorative elements. In English, "plaster" usually means a material used for the interiors of buildings, while "re ...

was adopted and refined over the years and is still in use today by the medical profession. When she completed her studies, Acheson taught at a school in London and continued to live in that city. She was the first woman, in 1938, to be elected a fellow of the

Royal British Society of Sculptors The Royal Society of Sculptors (RSS) is a British charity established in 1905, which promotes excellence in the art and practice of sculpture. Its headquarters are a centre for contemporary sculpture on Old Brompton Road in South Kensington, Lo ...

. Acheson retrained as a precision engineer and draftswoman during the Second World War to enable her to carry out further voluntary work. She also worked for the Red Cross during the conflict. After the war Acheson continued as an artist practicing in Northern Ireland.

Commemoration

A blue plaque commemorating her achievements was unveiled at First Presbyterian Church (Portadown, Ireland) on 27 September 2018 by her great nephew, Rev John Glasgow Faris. An exhibition, ''Anne Acheson: A Sculptor in War and Peace'', was held at Millennium Court Arts Centre in

during April and May in 2019.

Works

Dates for works refer to when they were first exhibited. * The Pixie (1910) * The Leprechaun (1914) * Echo Mocking (1914) * Sally (circa 1923) * The Imp (1924) * Trio (1924 presumed) * Lead Mask for Garden Decoration (1924 presumed) * The Gossamer Thread (1924 presumed) * Tangle (Pewter Statuette) (1926) * Mischief (1927) * Flora M'Flimsy (1927) * Gertrude Bell (bust for

Gertrude Bell Gertrude Margaret Lowthian Bell (14 July 1868 – 12 July 1926) was an English writer, traveller, political officer, administrator, and archaeologist. She spent much of her life exploring and mapping the Middle East, and became highly inf ...

Memorial) (circa 1926–1929) * Harriet Emily (Lead Garden Figure) (1930) * Harriet Glasgow Acheson, Bronze Medallion (1934) * Barbara (Glazed Pottery) (1936) * Saint Brigit (Glazed Pottery) (1936) * Mother and Child (Glazed Pottery) (1936) * Harriet Emily (1938) * Fountain figure (circa 1944) * The Sacred Bull (1948) * Virginia (1949) * Squirrel (1950, presumed) * River Nymph (Walnut Wood) (1950)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Acheson, Anne 1882 births 1962 deaths 20th-century Irish sculptors 20th-century British sculptors 20th-century women artists from Northern Ireland Alumni of Belfast School of Art Alumni of the Royal College of Art Commanders of the Order of the British Empire British sculptors People from Portadown Sculptors from Northern Ireland Women sculptors from Northern Ireland 20th-century engineers from Northern Ireland 20th-century Irish engineers 20th-century British women engineers 20th-century British engineers Artists from County Armagh People educated at Victoria College, Belfast Engineers from County Armagh People from Glenavy 20th-century women scientists from Northern Ireland 20th-century Irish women sculptors

Career

Wartime services

Commemoration

Works

Further reading

References