Arabella Dorman (born 1975 in London) is a British war artist and portrait painter. She was chosen as one of the BBC's " 100 Women" in 2014.

Life

Dorman was born in 1975 in London. She studied at the

Byam Shaw School of Art The Byam Shaw School of Art, often known simply as Byam Shaw, was an independent art school in London, England, which specialised in fine art and offered foundation and degree level courses. It was founded in 1910 by Byam Shaw, John Liston Bya ...

in London (since absorbed into

Central Saint Martins Central Saint Martins is a constituent college of the University of the Arts London, a public art university in London, England. The college offers full-time courses at foundation, undergraduate and postgraduate levels, and a variety of short ...

) and the

University of Edinburgh The University of Edinburgh (, ; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals) is a Public university, public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Founded by the City of Edinburgh Council, town council under th ...

. She is married to Dominic Elliot. In 2006 Dorman was Britain's first official war artist to go to the front line in Iraq after being invited by Lt Gen Richard Shirreff, who had purchased one of her works. She started her time in Iraq with the

Royal Green Jackets The Royal Green Jackets (RGJ) was an infantry regiment of the British Army, one of two "large regiments" within the Light Division (the other being The Light Infantry). History The Royal Green Jackets was formed on 1 January 1966 by the amalgam ...

in Basra Palace, where she frequently came under enemy fire, then went to the desert near the

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ...

ian border. She spent time with British forces in

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. It is bordered by Pakistan to the Durand Line, east and south, Iran to the Afghanistan–Iran borde ...

in 2009-2014. In 2009 she was embedded with

2nd Battalion, The Rifles The Rifles is an infantry regiment of the British Army. Formed in 2007, it consists of four Regular battalions and three Reserve battalions. Each Regular battalion was formerly an individual battalion of one of the two large regiments of the Li ...

Sangin Sangin () is a town in Helmand province of Afghanistan, with a population of approximately 20,000 people. It is located on in the valley of the Helmand River at altitude, to the north-east of Lashkargah. Sangin is notorious as one of the cent ...

Helmand Helmand (Pashto/Dari: ; ), also known as Hillmand, in ancient times, as Hermand and Hethumand, is one of the 34 provinces of Afghanistan, in the south of the country. It is the largest province by area, covering area. The province contains 18 ...

, though she was not allowed to accompany soldiers on patrol, and in 2010 travelled within Afghanistan from her base in

Kabul Kabul is the capital and largest city of Afghanistan. Located in the eastern half of the country, it is also a municipality, forming part of the Kabul Province. The city is divided for administration into #Districts, 22 municipal districts. A ...

. Her humanitarian work has taken her to

Gaza Gaza may refer to: Places Palestine * Gaza Strip, a Palestinian territory on the eastern coast of the Mediterranean Sea ** Gaza City, a city in the Gaza Strip ** Gaza Governorate, a governorate in the Gaza Strip Mandatory Palestine * Gaza Sub ...

Palestine Palestine, officially the State of Palestine, is a country in West Asia. Recognized by International recognition of Palestine, 147 of the UN's 193 member states, it encompasses the Israeli-occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and th ...

Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...

(2017),

Lebanon Lebanon, officially the Republic of Lebanon, is a country in the Levant region of West Asia. Situated at the crossroads of the Mediterranean Basin and the Arabian Peninsula, it is bordered by Syria to the north and east, Israel to the south ...

Syria Syria, officially the Syrian Arab Republic, is a country in West Asia located in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Levant. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the west, Turkey to Syria–Turkey border, the north, Iraq to Iraq–Syria border, t ...

(2018) and most recently,

Ukraine Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the List of European countries by area, second-largest country in Europe after Russia, which Russia–Ukraine border, borders it to the east and northeast. Ukraine also borders Belarus to the nor ...

(2023)
Dorman's work
explores the realities of modern conflict, its immediate impacts and long-term consequences, and the light that can be born out of the darkness of war. She worked with refugees in

Lesbos Lesbos or Lesvos ( ) is a Greek island located in the northeastern Aegean Sea. It has an area of , with approximately of coastline, making it the third largest island in Greece and the List of islands in the Mediterranean#By area, eighth largest ...

Calais Calais ( , , traditionally , ) is a French port city in the Pas-de-Calais department, of which it is a subprefecture. Calais is the largest city in Pas-de-Calais. The population of the city proper is 67,544; that of the urban area is 144,6 ...

and

Dunkirk Dunkirk ( ; ; ; Picard language, Picard: ''Dunkèke''; ; or ) is a major port city in the Departments of France, department of Nord (French department), Nord in northern France. It lies from the Belgium, Belgian border. It has the third-larg ...

in 2015 and 2016. In December 2015 she created an art installation by suspending a

dinghy A dinghy is a type of small boat, often carried or Towing, towed by a Watercraft, larger vessel for use as a Ship's tender, tender. Utility dinghies are usually rowboats or have an outboard motor. Some are rigged for sailing but they diffe ...

, which had been used to transport refugees across the

Mediterranean The Mediterranean Sea ( ) is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the east by the Levant in West Asia, on the north by Anatolia in West Asia and Southern ...

, from the roof of St James's Church,

Piccadilly Piccadilly () is a road in the City of Westminster, London, England, to the south of Mayfair, between Hyde Park Corner in the west and Piccadilly Circus in the east. It is part of the A4 road (England), A4 road that connects central London to ...

. Called ''Flight'', the exhibit was on display until February 2016, and related the flight of refugees to the ancient tradition of hanging boats from church roofs. Following on from Dorman's critically acclaimed work
Flight
',

' formed part of her ongoing series of works seeking to highlight the humanitarian crisis of forced displacement across the world today. ''Suspended'' premiered in 2017 in St. James's Piccadilly, before touring the UK from 2018-2019, and was notably installed in

Canterbury Cathedral Canterbury Cathedral is the cathedral of the archbishop of Canterbury, the spiritual leader of the Church of England and symbolic leader of the worldwide Anglican Communion. Located in Canterbury, Kent, it is one of the oldest Christianity, Ch ...

and Leicester Cathedrals. Dorman has exhibited at venues including the

Imperial War Museum The Imperial War Museum (IWM), currently branded "Imperial War Museums", is a British national museum. It is headquartered in London, with five branches in England. Founded as the Imperial War Museum in 1917, it was intended to record the civ ...

, the Frost and Reed Gallery, and La Galleria Pall Mall. She works as an Ambassador to the charities

Beyond Conflict Tommy Kirkham is a Northern Ireland loyalist political figure and former councillor. Beginning his political career with the Democratic Unionist Party, he was then associated with the Ulster Defence Association (UDA) and the Ulster Political Rese ...

and Afghanaid and is a member of the Guild of St John of Jerusalem Eye Hospital. She travelled across the

Aralkum Desert The Aralkum Desert ( Uzbek: Orolqum choʻli, Оролқум чўли, Kazakh: Аралқұм шөлі, Russian: Пустыня Аралкум) is a desert that has appeared since 1960 on the seabed once occupied by the Aral Sea. It lies to the ...

in 2021 and the

Sinai Peninsula The Sinai Peninsula, or simply Sinai ( ; ; ; ), is a peninsula in Egypt, and the only part of the country located in Asia. It is between the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Red Sea to the south, and is a land bridge between Asia and Afri ...

in 2023 with Pom Oliver,

Rosie Stancer Rose Cecilia "Rosie" Stancer (''née'' Clayton; born 25 January 1960) is a British explorer and polar adventurer. Youth, education, family Rosie Stancer attended Butterstone House School in Scotland and then Heathfield School, Ascot. She h ...

and Lee Watts. In 2024 Dorman exhibite
Child of War
at the Ukrainian Catholic Cathedral, London. This body of work explores the plight of children in war across the world today.

Publications

* ''Drawing Fire'' (2014) ISBN 978-0993102301 Amazon website, ''Drawing Fire''
/ref>

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Dorman, Arabella 1975 births Living people 20th-century English painters 21st-century English painters 20th-century English women artists 21st-century English women artists Alumni of the Byam Shaw School of Art Alumni of the University of Edinburgh Artists from London British war artists English women painters People educated at St Mary's School, Calne 20th-century British women painters 21st-century British women painters