Elizabeth Adela Forbes - The Zandvoort Fishergirl 1884

Elizabeth Adela Forbes - School Is Out 1889

Elizabeth Adela Forbes (née Armstrong; 29 December 1859 – 16 March 1912) was a

Canadian Canadians () are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their being ''C ...

painter Painting is a Visual arts, visual art, which is characterized by the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a solid surface (called "matrix" or "Support (art), support"). The medium is commonly applied to the base with ...

who was primarily active in the UK. She often featured children in her paintings and ''School Is Out'' (painted in Newlyn) is one of her most popular works. She was friends with the artists

James Abbott McNeill Whistler James Abbott McNeill Whistler (; July 10, 1834July 17, 1903) was an American painter in oils and watercolor, and printmaker, active during the American Gilded Age and based primarily in the United Kingdom. He eschewed sentimentality and moral a ...

and

Walter Sickert Walter Richard Sickert (31 May 1860 – 22 January 1942) was a German-born British painter and printmaker who was a member of the Camden Town Group of Post-Impressionist artists in early 20th-century London. He was an important influence on d ...

, both of whom influenced her work. Her etchings in particular are said to show the influence of Whistler. After studying and working in continental Europe, Forbes settled in

Newlyn Newlyn () is a seaside town and fishing port in south-west Cornwall, England, United Kingdom.Ordnance Survey: Landranger map sheet 203 ''Land's End'' It is the largest fishing port in England. Newlyn lies on the shore of Mount's Bay and for ...

, England, where she raised her son and established a school with her husband,

Stanhope Forbes Stanhope Alexander Forbes (18 November 1857 – 2 March 1947) was an Irish artist and a founding member of the influential Newlyn school of painters. He was often called 'the father of the Newlyn School'.Kingston Kingston may refer to: Places * List of places called Kingston, including the six most populated: ** Kingston, Jamaica ** Kingston upon Hull, England ** City of Kingston, Victoria, Australia ** Kingston, Ontario, Canada ** Kingston upon Thames, ...

Canada West The Province of Canada (or the United Province of Canada or the United Canadas) was a British colony in British North America from 1841 to 1867. Its formation reflected recommendations made by John Lambton, 1st Earl of Durham, in the Report ...

. She was the youngest child of William Armstrong, an employee of the government of the

United Province of Canada The Province of Canada (or the United Province of Canada or the United Canadas) was a British colony in British North America from 1841 to 1867. Its formation reflected recommendations made by John Lambton, 1st Earl of Durham, in the Re ...

. Born in her father's old age, she was educated privately in Canada and then allowed to further her artistic studies in England with her mother as chaperone.''Elizabeth Adela Stanhope Forbes''.
National Museum of Women in the Arts. Retrieved 5 May 2014. Her father died two months later, after which she and her mother lived with an uncle in

Chelsea, London Chelsea is an area in West London, England, due south-west of Kilometre zero#Great Britain, Charing Cross by approximately . It lies on the north bank of the River Thames and for postal purposes is part of the SW postcode area, south-western p ...

. They lived next door to

Dante Gabriel Rossetti Gabriel Charles Dante Rossetti (12 May 1828 – 9 April 1882), generally known as Dante Gabriel Rossetti ( ; ), was an English poet, illustrator, painter, translator, and member of the Rossetti family. He founded the Pre-Raphaelite Brother ...

, but she never met him. In 1889 she married

Newlyn School The Newlyn School was an art colony of artists based in or near Newlyn, a fishing village adjacent to Penzance, on the south coast of Cornwall, from the 1880s until the early twentieth century. The establishment of the Newlyn School was remini ...

painter

Stanhope Forbes Stanhope Alexander Forbes (18 November 1857 – 2 March 1947) was an Irish artist and a founding member of the influential Newlyn school of painters. He was often called 'the father of the Newlyn School'. File:Elizabeth-Forbes-in-studio.jpg, Elizabeth Forbes in her Studio, about 1890 File:Stanhope Alexander Forbes by Elizabeth Adèla Forbes (née Armstrong).jpg, Elizabeth Adèla Forbes, ''Stanhope Alexander Forbes'', before 1912 File:Elizabeth Forbes The Half Holiday.jpg, Elizabeth Forbes, ''The Half Holiday, Alec home from school'' In 1909 she pursued cures and restorative periods for cancer in France and London, but died in 1912. In an obituary she was dubbed "the Queen of Newlyn" for her contributions to the art colony. Her husband remarried following her death.

Education

As a young girl,''Elizabeth Armstrong Forbes.''
Canadian Woman Artists History Initiative. Retrieved 6 May 2014. Elizabeth Armstrong, later Forbes, traveled with her mother to England and studied at the South Kensington Art School (now the Royal College of Art). She then returned to Canada, during which time her father died. From 1877 to 1880 she studied at the

Art Students League of New York The Art Students League of New York is an art school in the American Fine Arts Society in Manhattan, New York City. The Arts Students League is known for its broad appeal to both amateurs and professional artists. Although artists may study f ...

with

William Merritt Chase William Merritt Chase (November 1, 1849October 25, 1916) was an American painter, known as an exponent of Impressionism and as a teacher. He is also responsible for establishing the Chase School, which later became the Parsons School of Design. ...

, who recommended that she next study in

Munich Munich is the capital and most populous city of Bavaria, Germany. As of 30 November 2024, its population was 1,604,384, making it the third-largest city in Germany after Berlin and Hamburg. Munich is the largest city in Germany that is no ...

. Following his advice, Armstrong went to Germany and studied with J. Frank Currier and

Frank Duveneck Frank Duveneck (né Decker; October 9, 1848 – January 3, 1919) was an American figure and portrait painter. Early life Duveneck was born in Covington, Kentucky, the son of German immigrant Bernhard Decker. Decker died in a cholera epidemic whe ...

in the early 1880s.

Career

Early career and further education

In 1882 she explored

plein air ''En plein air'' (; French for 'outdoors'), or plein-air painting, is the act of painting outdoors. This method contrasts with studio painting or academic rules that might create a predetermined look. The theory of 'En plein air' painting is c ...

painting at the

artists' colony Art colonies are organic congregations of artists in towns, villages and rural areas, who are often drawn to areas of natural beauty, the prior existence of other artists, art schools there, or a lower cost of living. They are typically mission- ...

Pont-Aven Pont-Aven (; in Breton) is a commune in the Finistère department in the Brittany region in Northwestern France. Demographics Inhabitants of Pont-Aven are called in French. Pont-Aven absorbed the former commune of Nizon in 1954, which had ...

Brittany Brittany ( ) is a peninsula, historical country and cultural area in the north-west of modern France, covering the western part of what was known as Armorica in Roman Gaul. It became an Kingdom of Brittany, independent kingdom and then a Duch ...

. She also taught etching there. While in Brittany she sent paintings to London for sale at the Royal Institute and all of the items that she sent were sold on the opening day of the show. The following year she was in London where she worked as a print maker and joined the Society of Painter Etchers. In the summer of 1884 she studied near

Haarlem Haarlem (; predecessor of ''Harlem'' in English language, English) is a List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city and Municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in the Netherlands. It is the capital of the Provinces of the Nether ...

Zandvoort Zandvoort () is a municipality in the province of North Holland, Netherlands. It is one of the major beach resorts of the Netherlands; it has a long sandy beach. It is bordered by coastal dunes of Zuid-Kennemerland National Park and the Amsterdam ...

, the Netherlands with William Merritt Chase.Jules Heller; Nancy G. Heller.
North American Women Artists of the Twentieth Century: A Biographical Dictionary
'. Routledge; 19 December 2013. . p. 189. She worked in oil, watercolour and pastels and made etchings of children, landscapes and fishing scenes. Her works were exhibited in London at the

Royal Institute of Painters in Water Colours The Royal Institute of Painters in Water Colours (RI), initially called the New Society of Painters in Water Colours, is one of the societies in the Federation of British Artists, based in the Mall Galleries in London. History In 1831, the ...

and 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 ...

. Some of her etchings, influenced by

and

, were collected by her Pont-Aven mentor,

Mortimer Menpes Mortimer Luddington Menpes (22 February 1855 – 1 April 1938) was an Australian-born painter, author, printmaker and illustrator. Born and raised in Port Adelaide, South Australia, Menpes migrated with his family to London, England in his earl ...

. File:Elizabeth Adela Forbes - RingaRingoRoses 1880.jpg, ''Ring a Ring O'Roses,'' 1880, oil on canvas File:Elizabeth Adela Forbes - Breton Girl Louise.jpg, ''Breton Girl, Louise'', 1880s, watercolour File:Elizabeth Adela Forbes - Louise Breton Girl.jpg, ''Louise, Breton Girl'', 1880s, watercolour

Cornwall

In the autumn of 1885, Armstrong and her mother moved to

, Cornwall. She established a studio in Newlyn, sharing the building with a fisherman who stored and repaired nets in the space. She won a medal at the Paris International Exhibition in 1891 and a gold medal for an oil painting at the

World's Columbian Exposition The World's Columbian Exposition, also known as the Chicago World's Fair, was a world's fair held in Chicago from May 5 to October 31, 1893, to celebrate the 400th anniversary of Christopher Columbus's arrival in the New World in 1492. The ...

in Chicago in 1893. Between 1893 and 1899 she participated in more than 63 exhibitions in London. After Newlyn, Armstrong lived in St. Ives, where she met

Stanhope Forbes Stanhope Alexander Forbes (18 November 1857 – 2 March 1947) was an Irish artist and a founding member of the influential Newlyn school of painters. He was often called 'the father of the Newlyn School'.Fine Art Society The Fine Art Society is a gallery based in both London and in Edinburgh's New Town (originally Bourne Fine Art, established 1978). The New Bond Street, London gallery closed its doors in August 2018 after being occupied by The Fine Art Society ...

in 1900. The main character based upon her friend

Thomas Cooper Gotch Thomas Cooper Gotch or T. C. Gotch (1854–1931) was an English painter and book illustrator loosely associated with the Pre-Raphaelite movement; he was the brother of John Alfred Gotch, the architect. Gotch studied art in London and Antwe ...

, Forbes wrote and illustrated ''King Arthur's Wood'', a children's book for her son that was published in 1904. She founded ''The Paper Chase'', edited by her friend

F. Tennyson Jesse Fryniwyd Tennyson Jesse Harwood (born Wynifried (Winifred) Margaret Jesse; 1 March 1888 – 6 August 1958) was an English people, English journalist, author and criminologist. Early life She was the second of three daughters of the Rev. Eu ...

in 1908 and wrote poetry. In 1910 at the

Royal British Colonial Society of Artists The Royal British Colonial Society of Artists (RBC) was founded in 1887 as the Royal Anglo Australian Society of Artists and received its royal charter A royal charter is a formal grant issued by a monarch under royal prerogative as letter ...

Exhibition, Forbes won the merit award. Following her death her works were shown in 1990 to 1991 in the "Four Centuries of Women’s Art: The National Museum of Women in the Arts" exhibition and a retrospective of her works held at the Penlee House Gallery and Museum in 2000 entitled "Singing from the Walls: The life and work of Elizabeth Forbes."

Works

A partial list of her works includes:''Elizabeth Forbes.''
Penlee House. Retrieved 14 October 2012.Mrs. Lionel Birch.
Stanhope A. Forbes, A. R. A., and Elizabeth Stanhope Forbes, A. R. W. S.
'. Cassell and Company, Limited; 1906. pp. 36. * ''A Dream Princess'', 1897, Royal Cornwall Museum, Truro * ''An Old Dame of Pont Aven,'' drypoint etching, example at Penlee Museum and the

British Museum The British Museum is a Museum, public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is the largest in the world. It documents the story of human cu ...

* ''A Newlyn Maid,'' oil on canvas, Penlee Museum * ''Boys with a Barrow,'' drypoint etching, example at Penlee Museum * ''Girl Peeling Onions,'' drypoint etching, example at Penlee Museum and the

* ''Girl Peeling Onions,'' oil on canvas, Penlee Museum * ''Portrait of Cicely Jesse,'' charcoal, Penlee Museum * ''Portrait of the Artist,'' drypoint etching, example at Penlee Museum * ''School is Out'', 1889, oil on canvas, Penlee Museum * ''The Cornish Pasty,'' drypoint etching, example at Penlee Museum * ''The Critics'', 1886 or 1887 * ''The Minuet,'' oil on canvas, Penlee Museum * ''The Pied Piper,'' mixed media on paper, Penlee Museum * ''Zandvoort Fishergirl'', 1884, oil on canvas, Penlee Museum. On loan from Newlyn Art Gallery. ''School is Out'' and ''Zandvoort Fishergirl'' were two of her best known paintings. Her works are exhibited at

National Gallery of Canada The National Gallery of Canada (), located in the capital city of Ottawa, Ontario, is Canada's National museums of Canada, national art museum. The museum's building takes up , with of space used for exhibiting art. It is one of the List of large ...

National Museum of Women in the Arts The National Museum of Women in the Arts (NMWA), located in Washington, D.C., is "the first museum in the world solely dedicated" to championing women through the arts. NMWA was incorporated in 1981 by Wallace and Wilhelmina Holladay. Since openi ...

in Washington, D.C.,

Royal Cornwall Museum The Cornwall Museum and Art Gallery, formerly known as the Royal Cornwall Museum, is a museum in Truro, England, which holds an extensive mineral collection rooted in Cornwall's mining and engineering heritage (including much of the mineral coll ...

Penlee House Penlee House is a museum and art gallery in the town of Penzance, Cornwall, home to many paintings by members of the Newlyn School, including ''The Rain It Raineth Every Day'' by Norman Garstin, ''School is Out'' by Elizabeth Forbes, ''Among t ...

Victoria and Albert Museum The Victoria and Albert Museum (abbreviated V&A) in London is the world's largest museum of applied arts, decorative arts and design, housing a permanent collection of over 2.8 million objects. It was founded in 1852 and named after Queen ...

, West Cornwall Art Archive and in museums in

Liverpool Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...

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 ...

and

Manchester Manchester () is a city and the metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. It had an estimated population of in . Greater Manchester is the third-most populous metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, with a population of 2.92&nbs ...

.''Elizabeth Adela Forbes.''
Cornwall Artists. Retrieved 14 October 2012.

Gallery

File:Elizabeth Adela Forbes - Medieval Woodland Scene.jpg, ''Medieval Woodland Scene,'' 1885 File:Elizabeth Adela Forbes - The Edge Of The Wood.jpg, ''The Edge of the Wood,'' 1894, oil on canvas File:Forbes Volendam.jpg, ''Volendam, Holland, from the Zuidende,'' perhaps 1895, oil on wood, Tate Gallery File:Elizabeth Forbes - Blackberry Gathering - Google Art Project.jpg, ''Blackberry Gathering'', 1912, oil on canvas File:Elizabeth Adela Forbes - April.jpg, ''April'', oil on canvas File:Elizabeth Adela Forbes - By The Brook.jpg, ''By the Brook,'' oil on canvas File:Elizabeth Adela Forbes - In The Lane.jpg, ''In The Lane,'' oil on canvas File:Elizabeth Adela Forbes - The Open Book.jpg, ''The Open Book,'' watercolour with bodycolour over pencil

References

External links

''Elizabeth Stanhope Forbes''

Sabin catalogue of 41 prints
{{DEFAULTSORT:Forbes, Elizabeth 1859 births 1912 deaths Alumni of the Royal College of Art 19th-century Canadian painters 20th-century Canadian painters Painters from Ontario People from Kingston, Ontario British women painters St Ives artists Newlyn School of Artists Art Students League of New York alumni 20th-century American women artists 19th-century American women artists 20th-century women painters 19th-century Canadian women painters