Nora Lucy Mowbray Cundell (20 May 1889 – 3 August 1948) was an English painter of figure subjects, flowers and landscapes in oil and watercolours.

Biography

Cundell was born in London and was the granddaughter of the artist Henry Cundell. She attended the Blackheath School of Art and the

Westminster Technical Institute The Westminster School of Art was an art school in Westminster, London. History The Westminster School of Art was located at 18 Tufton Street, Deans Yard, Westminster, and was part of the old Royal Architectural Museum. H. M. Bateman descri ...

where she was taught by

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 ...

. Cundell studied part-time at the

Slade School of Art The UCL Slade School of Fine Art (informally The Slade) is the art school of University College London (UCL) and is based in London, England. It has been ranked as the UK's top art and design educational institution. The school is organised as ...

from 1911 to 1914, and then again in 1919. At the Slade, she won the Melvill Nettleship Prize for figure composition in 1914. In 1925, Cundell had her first solo exhibition at the Redfern Gallery in London. Her painting ''Maggie'' was exhibited at the

salon Salon may refer to: Common meanings * Beauty salon A beauty salon or beauty parlor is an establishment that provides Cosmetics, cosmetic treatments for people. Other variations of this type of business include hair salons, spas, day spas, ...

of the

Académie des Beaux-Arts The (; ) is a French learned society based in Paris. It is one of the five academies of the . The current president of the academy (2021) is Alain-Charles Perrot, a French architect. Background The academy was created in 1816 in Paris as a me ...

in Paris during 1929. In 1930 Cundell was among the founding members of the National Society of Painters, Sculptors and Gravers/Printmakers. Cundell visited America on a regular basis and in particular painted portraits of Native Americans and also landscapes in Arizona and Colorado. Marble Canyon and the Vermillion Cliffs were among her favourite subjects. She wrote and illustrated the book ''Unsentimental Journey'' which was published in 1940 and included accounts of her travels in America, driving coast to coast with stops to go hunting on horseback or visit a rodeo. Among her paintings from these trips were ''Madonna of the Painted Desert'' and ''Badger Creek Rapids'', a stretch of the

Colorado River The Colorado River () is one of the principal rivers (along with the Rio Grande) in the Southwestern United States and in northern Mexico. The river, the List of longest rivers of the United States (by main stem), 5th longest in the United St ...

, which were both shown 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 1936. Cundell became a regular exhibitor at the Royal Academy, and also 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 ...

and also showed 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 ...

. Her 1922 painting ''Smiling Woman'' is held in the

Tate Tate is an institution that houses, in a network of four art galleries, the United Kingdom's national collection of British art, and international modern and contemporary art. It is not a government institution, but its main sponsor is the UK ...

collection. Cundell lived for some time at Dorney near Windsor but died in London in 1948 and her ashes were scattered near

Lee's Ferry Lees Ferry (also known as Lee's Ferry, Lee Ferry, Little Colorado Station and Saints Ferry) is a site on the Colorado River in Coconino County, Arizona in the United States, about southwest of Page and south of the Utah–Arizona state l ...

in Arizona. A memorial exhibition was held in 1949 at the

Royal Society of British Artists The Royal Society of British Artists (RBA) is a British art body established in 1823 as the Society of British Artists, as an alternative to the Royal Academy. History The RBA commenced with twenty-seven members, and took until 1876 to reach fi ...

galleries in London.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Cundell, Nora 1889 births 1948 deaths 20th-century English painters Alumni of the Slade School of Fine Art Alumni of the Westminster School of Art Painters from London 20th-century English women painters