Marjory Helen Petts Miller (1921–2003) was a British artist and writer who, although born in London, spent the majority of her career in Wales.

Biography

Petts was born in London and studied fine art at the

University of Reading The University of Reading is a public research university in Reading, Berkshire, England. It was founded in 1892 as the University Extension College, Reading, an extension college of Christchurch College, Oxford, and became University College, ...

between 1939 and 1944 and then taught in Chesterfield for a year before returning to London to teach at

St Paul's Girls' School St Paul's Girls' School is a private day school for girls, aged 11 to 18, located in Brook Green, Hammersmith, in west London, England. The school is included in The Schools Index as one of the world's 150 best private schools and among top ...

until 1947. That year she married the artist John Petts. The couple eventually divorced in 1984 during which time, living in Wales, they had three children together and Kusha worked as Petts's studio assistant on a number of mosaic and stained glass compositions. Petts also produced her own paintings, often portraits, still lifes and landscapes. Petts exhibited these works in a number of group exhibitions including at commercial galleries in Cardiff, at the

National Eisteddfod of Wales The National Eisteddfod of Wales ( Welsh: ') is the largest of several eisteddfodau that are held annually, mostly in Wales. Its eight days of competitions and performances are considered the largest music and poetry festival in Europe. Competito ...

in 1956, at the

National Museum of Wales National may refer to: Common uses * Nation or country ** Nationality – a ''national'' is a person who is subject to a nation, regardless of whether the person has full rights as a citizen Places in the United States * National, Maryland, c ...

in both 1956 and 1957 and with the Society for Education in Art. Solo exhibitions at Thomson House in Cardiff during 1965 and in

Carmarthen Carmarthen (, ; , 'Merlin's fort' or possibly 'Sea-town fort') is the county town of Carmarthenshire and a community (Wales), community in Wales, lying on the River Towy north of its estuary in Carmarthen Bay. At the 2021 United Kingdom cen ...

and

Abergavenny Abergavenny (; , , archaically , ) is a market town and Community (Wales), community in Monmouthshire, Wales. Abergavenny is promoted as a "Gateway to Wales"; it is approximately from the England–Wales border, border with England and is loca ...

in the 1990s followed. In 1967 Petts began to concentrate on her writing and in 1970 her novel ''Necklace for a Poor Sod'' was published. She also contributed short stories to anthologies of works by Welsh authors and throughout the 1980s her poems and short stories were featured by the

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

on both Radio 2 and Radio 4. Several of her poems related to her time in

Swansea Swansea ( ; ) is a coastal City status in the United Kingdom, city and the List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, second-largest city of Wales. It forms a Principal areas of Wales, principal area, officially known as the City and County of ...

during the Second World War and to the treatment her uncle received as a conscientious objector. For many years Petts lived at

Llansteffan Llansteffan, is a village and community situated on the south coast of Carmarthenshire, Wales, lying on the estuary of the River Tywi, south of Carmarthen. Description The community includes Llanybri and is bordered by the communities of: ...

in west Wales and the

Carmarthenshire County Museum Carmarthenshire County Museum is a museum in the old county town of Carmarthen, Carmarthenshire in Wales. Location Carmarthenshire County Museum is located at Abergwili, Carmarthen, SA31 2JG. It is managed by Carmarthenshire County Council. ...

holds examples of her paintings.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Petts, Kusha 1921 births 2003 deaths 20th-century British women artists 20th-century Welsh artists Alumni of the University of Reading Artists from London 20th-century Welsh women artists