Beatrice Elvery
| Beatrice Moss Elvery | |
|---|---|
 Portrait of Beatrice Elvery by William Orpen (1909) | |
| Born | 1883 |
| Died | 1970 |
| Nationality | Irish |
| Alma mater | |
| Spouse(s) | Charles Campbell, 2nd Baron Glenavy |
Beatrice Moss Elvery (1883, Dublin – 1970, Rockall, Sandycove) was an Irish stained-glass artist and painter.[1]
Early life and education
Beatrice Moss Elvery was born in 1883, the second daughter of the Dublin businessman, William Elvery, whose family had originated from Spain where they were silk merchants. Her family owned the original Elverys Sports store in Wicklow Street, Dublin. She attended the Dublin Metropolitan School of Art where William Orpen (1878–1931) taught painting and later used Beatrice as a model.[2] Of his pupil, Orpen wrote that she had "many gifts, much temperament and great ability. Her only fault was that the transmission of her thoughts from her brain to paper or canvas, clay or stained glass became so easy to her that all was said in a few hours. Nothing on earth could make her go on and try to improve on her first translation of her thought."[3] She remained a friend and correspondent of Orpen until shortly before his death in 1931.
Career
When Sarah Purser founded her studio An Túr Gloine (The Tower of Glass) in 1903, she invited Beatrice Elvery to be one of the designers[4] and her first commission of six windows was installed in the Convent of Mercy, Enniskillen, Co. Fermanagh in 1905.
Beatrice married Charles Campbell, 2nd Baron Glenavy in 1912 and they settled in London, returning to Ireland at the end of the war when she then concentrated on painting. She had three children Patrick, Bridget (known as Biddy) and Michael. Bridget was killed by a fire bomb in the Blitz.
The couple moved in the highest literary circles including Yeats, Shaw, and D.H. Lawrence. Elvery was also a friend and correspondent of the short story writer Katherine Mansfield. Her portrait of Mansfield in Elvery's garden is in the collection of the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa.[5]
Elvery's Éire (1907) was a landmark painting promoting the idea of an independent Irish state.[6] She also produced numerous illustrations for children's books.
References
- ↑ "Miss Beatrice Elvery". Mapping the Practice and Profession of Sculpture in Britain and Ireland 1851-1951. Retrieved 10 October 2015.
- ↑ Gordon Bowe, Nicola (1995). "The Art of Beatrice Elvery, Lady Glenavy (1883-1970)" (PDF). Irish Arts Review. Archived from the original (PDF) on 22 December 2014. Retrieved 10 October 2015.
- ↑ Rice, Jean. "Fine Artisan Beatrice (Elvery) Glenavy -- Clarke, Orpen, Purser, Campbell". IrelandGenWeb-L Archives. Retrieved 10 October 2015.
- ↑ "Elvery, Beatrice (Lady Glenavy)". Dictionary of Irish Architects 1720-1940. Irish Architectural Archive. Retrieved 10 October 2015.
- ↑ Katherine Mansfield and S.S. Koteliansky in the garden, 1920 by Beatrice Campbell, oil on canvas
- ↑ Echoes of The Belle Epoque. When Time Began to Rant and Rage: Figurative Painting from Twentieth-Century Ireland. NYU. Retrieved. Jan. 31, 2008.
External links
- Éire by Beatrice Elvery
- Glenavy, Beatrice Lady (1964) To-day we will only gossip, Constable & Co of London (WC2)
- Examples of stained glass by Elvery
- Works by Beatrice Elvery at Project Gutenberg
- Works by or about Beatrice Elvery at Internet Archive