Sylvia Clark Molloy (1914–2008), born Sylvia Clark Leyden, was a British Realist and

Impressionist Impressionism was a 19th-century art movement characterized by visible brush strokes, open Composition (visual arts), composition, emphasis on accurate depiction of light in its changing qualities (often accentuating the effects of the passage ...

artist and teacher.

Biography

Molloy was born in 1914 in

South Shields South Shields () is a coastal town in South Tyneside, Tyne and Wear, England; it is on the south bank of the mouth of the River Tyne. The town was once known in Roman Britain, Roman times as ''Arbeia'' and as ''Caer Urfa'' by the Early Middle Ag ...

, United Kingdom. A graduate of

Durham University Durham University (legally the University of Durham) is a collegiate university, collegiate public university, public research university in Durham, England, founded by an Act of Parliament (UK), Act of Parliament in 1832 and incorporated by r ...

, she lived abroad for much of her life. In 1940 she traveled to

Maymyo Pyin Oo Lwin or Pyin U Lwin (, ; Shan: , ''Weng Pang U''), formerly and colloquially referred to as Maymyo (), is a scenic hill town in the Mandalay Region, Myanmar, some east of Mandalay, and at an elevation of . The town was estimated to have ...

Burma Myanmar, officially the Republic of the Union of Myanmar; and also referred to as Burma (the official English name until 1989), is a country in northwest Southeast Asia. It is the largest country by area in Mainland Southeast Asia and ha ...

, to marry Patrick R. H. Molloy of the Burma Civil Service. She was evacuated from Burma in 1942 after the Japanese Invasion in World War II. After time spent in

Simla Shimla, also known as Simla (List of renamed Indian cities and states#Himachal Pradesh, the official name until 1972), is the capital and the largest city of the northern Indian state of Himachal Pradesh. In 1864, Shimla was declared the summe ...

, India,

Lahore Lahore ( ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the Administrative units of Pakistan, Pakistani province of Punjab, Pakistan, Punjab. It is the List of cities in Pakistan by population, second-largest city in Pakistan, after Karachi, and ...

, Pakistan and the United Kingdom, the Molloys settled in

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

in 1947. In Johannesburg, Molloy ran an art school. She disregarded the country's apartheid laws by teaching black students at her studio. During the 1940s Molloy's reputation as a portrait painter grew. The Molloys returned to England in the mid-1960s. Her many paintings and sketches of the peoples of South Africa and Burma in particular, capture a broad cross section of society. Some can be viewed at the

British Library The British Library is the national library of the United Kingdom. Based in London, it is one of the largest libraries in the world, with an estimated collection of between 170 and 200 million items from multiple countries. As a legal deposit li ...

(India Office Collections). In later life she taught at Stratton School,

Biggleswade Biggleswade ( ) is a market town and civil parish in Central Bedfordshire in Bedfordshire, England. It lies on the River Ivel, 11 miles (18 km) south-east of Bedford. Its population was 16,551 in the 2011 United Kingdom census, This figur ...

, before becoming Head of Art at St Francis College,

Letchworth Garden City Letchworth Garden City, commonly known as Letchworth, is a town in the North Hertfordshire district of Hertfordshire, England. It is noted for being the first Garden city movement, garden city. The population at the time of the 2021 United Kin ...

. Her work has been exhibited 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 ...

and 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 ...

. She wrote of her experiences in Burma in ''Burma Bride'' (Able 1996)

References

External links

images of Sylvia Molloy’s paintings
on artNET
British Library: India office Select Materials Review of ''Burma Bride''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Molloy, Sylvia Clark 1914 births 2008 deaths 20th-century English painters 21st-century English painters 20th-century English women artists 21st-century English women artists Alumni of Armstrong College, Durham English women painters People from South Shields 20th-century British women painters 21st-century British women painters