Elizabeth Gulland (1857 – 6 November 1934) was a Scottish-born printmaker and painter.

Background

Elizabeth Gulland was born in 1857 in

Edinburgh Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. The city is located in southeast Scotland and is bounded to the north by the Firth of Forth and to the south by the Pentland Hills. Edinburgh ...

, Scotland. She attended Edinburgh Ladies’ College and Edinburgh Atelier, before moving to the Herkomer School of Painting in Bushey, Hertfordshire to study under

Hubert von Herkomer Sir Hubert von Herkomer (born as Hubert Herkomer; 26 May 1849 – 31 March 1914) was a Bavarian-born British painter, pioneering film-director, and composer. Though a very successful portrait artist, especially of men, he is mainly remembered fo ...

, a well-known portrait painter. Gulland was a freelance artist whose primary work was as a genre painter and

mezzotint Mezzotint is a monochrome printmaking process of the intaglio (printmaking), intaglio family. It was the first printing process that yielded half-tones without using line- or dot-based techniques like hatching, cross-hatching or stipple. Mezzo ...

er. She continued to live in Bushey and was an active artist from 1887 until her death at age 77 in 1934.

Art style

Gulland produced oil and water color paintings, book covers for American authors, sketches, and mostly mezzotint engravings. The subjects of her paintings included portraits, figures and flowers. Most of Gulland’s pieces were inspired, and even modeled, by 18th-century Rococo portraits. A portrait that best illustrates her work is titled ''The Strawberry Girl after Joshua Reynolds''. The piece was created in 1921 and was based on an oil painting by

Joshua Reynolds Sir Joshua Reynolds (16 July 1723 – 23 February 1792) was an English painter who specialised in portraits. The art critic John Russell (art critic), John Russell called him one of the major European painters of the 18th century, while Lucy P ...

. It is a mezzotint print, and thought to portray the struggles of the British working class after World War I, as young girls would often sell strawberries in order to support their family.

Significance of art

Gulland advocated many societal issues through her art, whether that was discreetly, with ''The Strawberry Girl'', or explicitly stating her stance. Through different art techniques and styles, Gulland helped spread awareness. She was a very open feminist as she created a bookplate with a woman reading a novel with the words “Votes for Women” on the page. This was extremely political as she advocated for women’s suffrage. Gulland was also commissioned by David Douglas to design book covers for the American authors he published. One of the covers included women working with the title ''Women’s Industries''. Gulland also created sketches about scientific discoveries on the Challenger.

Major accomplishments

Gulland received many recognitions for her work and was elected a member of the Society of Engravers. She had her work exhibited at many institutions including 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 ...

, showing eleven works there between 1887 and 1910, the

Royal Scottish Academy The Royal Scottish Academy (RSA) is the country's national academy of art. It promotes contemporary art, contemporary Scottish art. The Academy was founded in 1826 by eleven artists meeting in Edinburgh. Originally named the Scottish Academy ...

(1878–1885), and the

Royal Glasgow Institute of the Fine Arts The Royal Glasgow Institute of the Fine Arts (RGI) is an independent organisation in Glasgow, founded in 1861, which promotes contemporary art and artists in Scotland. The institute organizes the largest and most prestigious annual art exhibiti ...

(1888–1890). Gulland had also been commissioned by the

Trustees' Academy The Trustees' Academy was an independent art and trade school in Edinburgh, Scotland, providing tertiary education in art and design. The Academy was founded in 1760, reduced in scope in 1892 by a schism, then became defunct in 1903. Initially ...

in Edinburgh, Scotland to design the 1886 Exhibition Catalogue for Queen Victoria’s visit.

External links

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gulland, Elizabeth 1857 births 1934 deaths 19th-century Scottish painters 19th-century Scottish women painters 20th-century Scottish painters 20th-century Scottish women painters Artists from Edinburgh Scottish engravers British women engravers