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 ...
before she moved to London. There she studied at the
St John's Wood School of Art
The St John's Wood Art School ( The Wood or Calderon's Art School) was an art school in St John's Wood, north London, England.
The Art School was established in 1878 and was located on Elm Tree Road. It was founded by two art teachers, Elíseo A ...
then at the
Royal Academy Schools
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 ...
before enrolling at the
Central School of Arts and Crafts
The Central School of Art and Design was a art school, school of fine arts, 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 ...
where she was taught printmaking by
Noel Rooke
Noel Rooke (1881–1953) was a British wood-engraver and artist. His ideas and teaching made a major contribution to the revival of British wood-engraving in the twentieth century.
Biography
Rooke was born in Acton, London and he would remain i ...
. At the Central School she was awarded a silver medal for figure painting in 1921.
After graduating Foster created a career that combined portrait painting with illustrating books and the production of advertising material. For almost twenty years Foster designed promotional material for William Hollins & Co and their various brands which included
Viyella
Viyella is a blend of wool and cotton first woven in 1893 in England, and the "first branded fabric in the world".''Times'', 8 Sep 1987 It was made of 55% merino wool and 45% cotton in a twill weave, developed by James and Robert Sissons of Wi ...
and Clydella. She also created illustrations for
Cadbury
Cadbury, formerly Cadbury's and Cadbury Schweppes, is a British multinational confectionery company owned by Mondelez International (spun off from Kraft Foods) since 2010. It is the second-largest confectionery brand in the world, after Mars. ...
,
Nestlé
Nestlé S.A. ( ) is a Swiss multinational food and drink processing conglomerate corporation headquartered in Vevey, Switzerland. It has been the largest publicly held food company in the world, measured by revenue and other metrics, since 20 ...
,
Clarks Shoes
C. & J. Clark International Limited (trading as Clarks) is a British footwear manufacturer and retailer founded in 1825 by Cyrus Clark in Street, Somerset, where its headquarters remain. As of October 2023, the brand has 320 stores in the Unit ...
,
Kodak
The Eastman Kodak Company, referred to simply as Kodak (), is an American public company that produces various products related to its historic basis in film photography. The company is headquartered in Rochester, New York, and is incorporated i ...
and other brand names. Throughout her career Foster illustrated several dozen books. For a 1923 edition of ''The Merrie Tales of Jacques Tournebroche'' by
Anatole France
(; born ; 16 April 1844 – 12 October 1924) was a French poet, journalist, and novelist with several best-sellers. Ironic and skeptical, he was considered in his day the ideal French man of letters.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 ...
print collection while the
Metropolitan Museum of Art
The Metropolitan Museum of Art, colloquially referred to as the Met, is an Encyclopedic museum, encyclopedic art museum in New York City. By floor area, it is the List of largest museums, third-largest museum in the world and the List of larg ...
in New York holds a set of her prints for ''Canadian Fairy Tales'' from 1922.
Foster exhibited paintings and drawings in group exhibitions throughout her career, notably at 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 ...
in London between 1952 and 1964 and with the
Society of Women Artists
The Society of Women Artists (SWA) is a British art body dedicated to celebrating and promoting fine art created by women. It was founded as the Society of Female Artists (SFA) in 1855, offering women artists the opportunity to exhibit and sell ...
from 1923 to 1935. She also exhibited works with the
New English Art Club
The New English Art Club (NEAC) is a society for contemporary artists that was founded in London, England, in 1886 as an alternative venue to the Royal Academy. The NEAC holds an annual exhibition of paintings and drawings at the Mall Galleries ...
, at the
Paris Salon
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 ...
and at the
Art Institute of Chicago
The Art Institute of Chicago, founded in 1879, is one of the oldest and largest art museums in the United States. The museum is based in the Art Institute of Chicago Building in Chicago's Grant Park (Chicago), Grant Park. Its collection, stewa ...
. Foster was an elected member of the
Arts and Crafts Exhibition Society
The arts or creative arts are a vast range of human practices involving creative expression, storytelling, and cultural participation. The arts encompass diverse and plural modes of thought, deeds, and existence in an extensive range of me ...
and was an associate member of the
Royal Society of Painter-Etchers and Engravers
The Royal Society of Painter-Printmakers (RE), known until 1991 as the Royal Society of Painter-Etchers and Engravers, is a leading art institution based in London, England. The Royal Society of Painter-Etchers, as it was originally styled, was ...
. Foster married the artist and writer Howard Dudley Jarrett in 1925 and died at
Wincanton
Wincanton ( or ) is a town and electoral ward in Somerset, southwest England. The town lies off the A303 road, a main route between London and South West England, and has some light industry. In the 2021 census the civil parish had a populatio ...
in Somerset.
Selected books illustrated
* ''The Golden Journey of Mr Paradyne'' by William John Locke
* ''The Headswoman'', 1921, by
Kenneth Grahame
Kenneth Grahame ( ; 8 March 1859 – 6 July 1932) was a British writer. He is best remembered for the classic of children's literature ''The Wind in the Willows'' (1908). Born in Scotland, he spent most of his childhood with his grandmother in ...
* ''Canadian Fairy Tales'', c. 1922, by Cyrus Macmillan
* ''The Merrie Tales of Jacques Tournebroche'', 1923. by
Anatole France
(; born ; 16 April 1844 – 12 October 1924) was a French poet, journalist, and novelist with several best-sellers. Ironic and skeptical, he was considered in his day the ideal French man of letters.
* ''Little Sea Dogs and Other Tales'', 1925, by Anatole France
* ''Lets Do It'', 1938, by Marcia Lane Foster
* ''Dusty's Windmill'', 1949, by Kitty Barne
* ''Paris Adventure'', 1954, by Viola Bayley
* ''Scottish Adventure'', 1965, by Viola Bayley