Clarisse Loxton Peacock, born Klara Féhér (died 2004) was a Hungarian-born artist, later styled Lady Dunnett. An admirer of the Italian

still life A still life (: still lifes) is a work of art depicting mostly wikt:inanimate, inanimate subject matter, typically commonplace objects which are either natural (food, flowers, dead animals, plants, rocks, shells, etc.) or artificiality, human-m ...

painter

Giorgio Morandi Giorgio Morandi (July 20, 1890 – June 18, 1964) was an Italian painter and printmaker widely known for his subtly muted still-life paintings of ceramic vessels, flowers, and landscapes—their quiet, meditative quality reflecting the artist's ...

, she was particularly known for her own still life compositions, though later in life also painted stylised human forms.

Life

Klara Féhér was born to a Jewish family in

Budapest Budapest is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns of Hungary, most populous city of Hungary. It is the List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, tenth-largest city in the European Union by popul ...

, the daughter of Isobel Féhér. One source gives her date of birth as 7 May 1926, while other sources give her year of birth as 1928. Her ''Times'' obituarist reported her age at death as a "closely guarded secret", and she was later reported to have been 90 when she died in 2004. After study at

Budapest University Budapest is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns of Hungary, most populous city of Hungary. It is the List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, tenth-largest city in the European Union by popul ...

, Féhér came to

Bristol Bristol () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, the most populous city in the region. Built around the River Avon, Bristol, River Avon, it is bordered by t ...

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

to study art, matriculating at

Bristol University The University of Bristol is a public research university in Bristol, England. It received its royal charter in 1909, although it can trace its roots to a Merchant Venturers' school founded in 1595 and University College, Bristol, which had ...

. In one interview she is said to have been eighteen years old when she arrived in England. She trained at the

Chelsea School of Art Chelsea College of Arts is a constituent college of the University of the Arts London, a public art and design university in London, England. It offers further and higher education courses in fine art, graphic design, interior design, produ ...

. She went on to postgraduate study at

Saint Martin's School of Art Saint Martin's School of Art was an art school, art college in London, England. It offered foundation and degree level courses. It was established in 1854, initially under the aegis of the church of St Martin-in-the-Fields. Saint Martin's beca ...

and the

Central School of Art and Design The Central School of Art and Design was a school of fine and applied arts in London, England. It offered foundation and degree level courses. It was established in 1896 by the London County Council as the Central School of Arts and Crafts. ...

. Féhér married the English businessman Grantley Loxton Peacock some time before 1959. She sold her first paintings to the

Walker Art Gallery The Walker Art Gallery is an art gallery in Liverpool, which houses one of the largest art collections in England outside London. It is part of the National Museums Liverpool group. History The Walker Art Gallery's collection dates from 1819 ...

and the

San Francisco Museum of Art The San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (SFMOMA) is a modern and contemporary art museum and nonprofit organization located in San Francisco, California. SFMOMA was the first museum on the West Coast devoted solely to 20th-century art, and has b ...

. After her first exhibition in 1959, her paintings would appear in 17 shows in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

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 * ...

and

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

. The

Salon de Paris The Salon (), or rarely Paris Salon (French: ''Salon de Paris'' ), beginning in 1667 was the official art exhibition of the in Paris. Between 1748 and 1890 it was arguably the greatest annual or biennial art event in the Western world. At the ...

awarded her the Medaille d'argent. In 1968 her daughter Felicity married

Sir Peter Osborne, 17th Baronet Sir Peter George Osborne, 17th Baronet (born 29 June 1943) is a British businessman, who co-founded the interior design firm Osborne & Little in 1968. He is the father of George Osborne, the Conservative politician and former Chancellor of the Ex ...

: their eldest son would be the politician and newspaper editor

George Osborne George Gideon Oliver Osborne (born 23 May 1971) is a British retired politician and newspaper editor who served as Chancellor of the Exchequer from 2010 to 2016 and as First Secretary of State from 2015 to 2016 in the Cameron government. A ...

. In the mid-1970s Clarisse Loxton Peacock commuted between the family house in

Kensington Kensington is an area of London in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, around west of Central London. The district's commercial heart is Kensington High Street, running on an east–west axis. The north-east is taken up by Kensingt ...

and Paris, where her husband was working. He died in 1979, and she married Sir Anthony Grover, the Chairman of

Lloyd's Register of Shipping Lloyd's Register Group Limited, trading as Lloyd's Register (LR), is a technical and professional services organisation and a maritime classification society, wholly owned by the Lloyd’s Register Foundation, a UK charity dedicated to research ...

. Sir Anthony died in 1981, and in 1983 she married Sir

James Dunnett Sir Ludovic James Dunnett, GCB, CMG (12 February 1914 – 30 December 1997) was a British civil servant. Early life Born in India, he was the son of Sir James Macdonald Dunnett, a senior official in the Indian Civil Service. He grew up in E ...

. Her last exhibition was in 1996. After her third husband died in 1997, she gave up painting, no longer feeling she could keep standing to paint. She died on 24 July 2004.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Loxton Peacock, Clarisse 1926 births 2004 deaths Artists from Budapest Hungarian emigrants to England Hungarian artists British artists