Lady Mabel Marguerite Annesley ''HRUA'' (25 February 1881 – 19 June 1959) was a wood-engraver and

watercolour Watercolor (American English) or watercolour ( Commonwealth English; see spelling differences), also ''aquarelle'' (; from Italian diminutive of Latin 'water'), is a painting method"Watercolor may be as old as art itself, going back to the ...

painter. Her work is in many collections, including the British Museum, the Victoria and Albert Museum, the National Gallery of Canada and the Museum of New Zealand. She exhibited in the Festival of Britain in 1952.

Early life and family

She was born on 25 February 1881, at Annesley Lodge,

Regent's Park Regent's Park (officially The Regent's Park) is one of the Royal Parks of London. It occupies in north-west Inner London, administratively split between the City of Westminster and the London Borough of Camden, Borough of Camden (and historical ...

, London, the daughter of Hugh Annesley, 5th Earl Annesley (1831–1908), lieutenant-colonel in the Scots Fusilier Guards and landowner, and his first wife, Mabel Wilhelmina Frances Markham, Countess Annesley (1858–1891). Her mother was the greatgranddaughter of Sir Francis Grant, eminent Victorian portrait painter and president of 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 ...

. Her half-sister,

Lady Constance Malleson Lady Constance Malleson (24 October 1895 – 5 October 1975) was a British writer and actress (appearing as Colette O'Niel). The daughter of Hugh Annesley, 5th Earl Annesley, Malleson studied at the Royal Academy of Drama Art and was a popular ...

was a writer, actress, and mistress of

Bertrand Russell Bertrand Arthur William Russell, 3rd Earl Russell, (18 May 1872 – 2 February 1970) was a British philosopher, logician, mathematician, and public intellectual. He had influence on mathematics, logic, set theory, and various areas of analytic ...

. She was initially taught at home, then in 1895, at fourteen, she began study at the Frank Calderon School of Animal Painting in London. At eighteen she was elected a member of the Belfast Art Society and exhibited with the Society for many years, from 1899 to 1926. She married Gerald Sowerby (1878–1913) in 1904. Sowerby was flag lieutenant to Admiral Prince Louis of Battenberg and flag commander to the commander-in-chief, Portsmouth. The couple had one son, Gerald Francis Sowerby (later Annesley). Her husband died in 1913, and a year later she inherited

Castlewellan Castlewellan () is a small town in County Down, in the south-east of Northern Ireland close to the Irish Sea. It is beside Castlewellan Lake and Slievenaslat mountain, southwest of Downpatrick. It lies between the Mourne Mountains and Slieve ...

Castle after the death of her brother Francis. She moved back to the Castle in 1914, and reverted to her maiden name. The Castle was home to a world-famous arboretum, with Annesley working hard to recover from losses incurred due to death duties. Gerald Francis Sowerby (5 November 1904 – April 1992) married firstly Lady Elizabeth Jocelyn, daughter of the Earl of Roden, secondly Mary Macdonald, and thirdly Elizabeth Cromwell.

Artistic career

At the age of about forty she learnt the technique of wood engraving at the

Central School A central school was a selective secondary education school with a focus on technical and commercial skills in the English education system. It was positioned between the more academic grammar schools and the ordinary elementary schools where m ...

in London under the tutelage of Noel Rooke from 1920 to 1921. She was soon regarded as one of its three or four leading exponents in Britain along with artists like Gwen Raverat and Robert Gibbings. She exhibited 27 prints with the Society of Wood Engravers between 1922 and 1939, being elected a member in 1925. She also exhibited at her studio 12 Lombard Street, Belfast in 1925, lecturing on wood-engraving. Annesley illustrated a number of volumes for the

Golden Cockerel Press The Golden Cockerel Press was an English fine press operating between 1920 and 1961. History The private press made handmade limited editions of classic works. The type was hand-set and the books were printed on handmade paper, and sometimes ...

, including ''Songs from Robert Burns'' (1925), and for Duckworths ''County Down Songs'' (1924) and ''Apollo in Mourne'' (1926) by the Ulsterman Richard Rowley. When she developed

arthritis Arthritis is a general medical term used to describe a disorder that affects joints. Symptoms generally include joint pain and stiffness. Other symptoms may include redness, warmth, Joint effusion, swelling, and decreased range of motion of ...

in later life, employing lino in place of boxwood to continue working. She exhibited with the Watercolour Society of Ireland in 1926, with the Dublin Painters in 1938, and was included in a 1930 exhibition of Irish art held in Brussels. Annesley designed pageant costumes with William Conor for the 1500th anniversary of the landing of St Patrick at Saul, County Down held in 1932 at Castle Ward, Strangford. Circa 1933 a selection of her work, watercolours, wood-engravings, and silverpoints was exhibited at the Batsford Gallery, London. The Ulster Unit exhibition showed her work in 1934, the same year she was elected an honorary member of the

Royal Ulster Academy The Royal Ulster Academy (RUA) has existed in one form or another since 1879. It started life then, as The Belfast Ramblers' Sketching Club drawn from the staff of Marcus Ward & Co who held their first show in Ward's Library on Botanic Avenue in 1 ...

. Her collection of contemporary wood-engravings, alongside 20 of her works, where donated at the Belfast Museum and Art Gallery in 1939. She moved home several times, living also in

Belfast Belfast (, , , ; from ) is the capital city and principal port of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan and connected to the open sea through Belfast Lough and the North Channel (Great Britain and Ireland), North Channel ...

Connemara Connemara ( ; ) is a region on the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic coast of western County Galway, in the west of Ireland. The area has a strong association with traditional Irish culture and contains much of the Connacht Irish-speaking Gaeltacht, ...

and in

Rathfriland Rathfriland () is a market town in County Down, Northern Ireland. It is north-east of Newry town centre. History In older documents written in English, the town's name was usually spelt ''Rathfylan'' or ''Rathfrilan''.

. During the Second World War she emigrated to

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

but returned to England in 1953, settling in

Suffolk Suffolk ( ) is a ceremonial county in the East of England and East Anglia. It is bordered by Norfolk to the north, the North Sea to the east, Essex to the south, and Cambridgeshire to the west. Ipswich is the largest settlement and the county ...

. Annesley was a trustee of the Bishop Suter Art Gallery in Nelson whilst living in New Zealand, purchasing for the board when she visited England.

Later life and recognition

Lady Mabel Annesley died of myelomatosis on 19 June 1959 in

Clare, Suffolk Clare is a market town and civil parish on the north bank of the River River Stour, Suffolk, Stour in the West Suffolk District, West Suffolk district, in the county of Suffolk, England. Clare is in southwest Suffolk, from Bury St Edmunds and ...

, and was buried in Long Melford, Suffolk. She left an unfinished autobiography called ''As the Sight Is Bent'', which was published by the Museum Press in 1964. In it she says that Paul Nash and David Jones were particular influences. A memorial show of her work was held at the Whitworth Art Gallery in 1960. She is commemorated by an Ulster History Circle blue plaque at the Arboretum, Castlewellan Forest Park, County Down.

Arms

References

External links