Ruth Simpson (artist)

Ruth Simpson
Born
Ruth Alison

1889 (1889)
Newcastle, United Kingdom
Died1964 (aged 74–75)
Redruth, Cornwall
NationalityBritish
Known forPainting
SpouseCharles Walter Simpson

Ruth Simpson (née Alison, 1889 – 1964) was a British artist who was an active member of the Newlyn School of artists and the Lamorna artists colony.

Biography

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Simpson was born in Newcastle, the daughter of Alister and Ada Alison.[1] She studied art under Elizabeth and Stanhope Forbes at their school, the Forbes School of Painting, in Newlyn during 1911 and 1912.[2] In Newlyn, Simpson lodged with her sister Rose and together they led a full social life.[3] During this time Simpson met the artist Charles Walter Simpson and the couple married in 1913.[4] Their daughter, Leonora, was born the following year in Newlyn.[5] Subsequently, the family lived in different locations throughout Cornwall, including at Carbis Bay, Lamorna and at St Ives.[1] A joint show of their work was held in 1919.[6] In St Ives, starting in 1920 the Simpsons ran their own painting school, the Shore Studio, with Ruth specializing in teaching portrait painting.[3][6][4] In 1924, they closed the painting school and moved to London but returned to Cornwall in 1931 and settled in Lamorna where they remained until 1945, when they moved to Penzance.[1] It appears Ruth Simpson did little, if any, painting after returning from London and she died at Redruth in 1964 and is buried in the cemetery at Paul.[1]

As an artist, Ruth Simpson largely focused on portrait painting. She developed a distinct style of portraiture, working with colour in a modern style and often using bright coloured backgrounds.[5] She had three works in group shows hosted by the Society of Women Artists.[4] She painted several portraits of women artists who were based in Cornwall, including Ella Naper and Gertrude Harvey.[1] Her three-quarter length Portrait of an Officer is in the collection of the Imperial War Museum while her portrait of Frank Ver Beck is held by the Royal Cornwall Museum.[1][7] Works by Simpson were included in the exhibition Painting in Newlyn 1880–1930 held at the Barbican Centre during 1985.[8]

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f "Ruth Simpson". Cornwall Artists Index. Retrieved 5 December 2017.
  2. ^ Frances Spalding (1990). 20th Century Painters and Sculptors. Antique Collectors' Club. ISBN 1-85149-106-6.
  3. ^ a b Caroline Fox (1985). Painting in Newlyn 1900–1930. Newlyn Orion. ISBN 0950657948.
  4. ^ a b c Sara Gray (2009). The Dictionary of British Women Artists. The Lutterworth Press. ISBN 97807-18830847.
  5. ^ a b Catherine Wallace (2002). Under the Open Sky – The Paintings of the Newlyn and Lamorna Artists 1880–1940 in the Public Collections of Cornwall and Plymouth. truran. ISBN 978-185022-168-5.
  6. ^ a b Marion Whybrow (1994). St Ives 1883-1993 Portrait of an Art Colony. Antique Collectors' Club. ISBN 1851491708.
  7. ^ "Portrait of an Officer". Imperial War Museum. Retrieved 6 December 2017.
  8. ^ David Buckman (1989). Artists in Britain Since 1945. Art Dictionaries Ltd. ISBN 0953260909.
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