Alethea Garstin (1894–1978) was a Cornish artist and illustrator who exhibited paintings regularly at London's

Royal Academy The Royal Academy of Arts (RA) is an art institution based in Burlington House on Piccadilly in London. Founded in 1768, it has a unique position as an independent, privately funded institution led by eminent artists and architects. Its pur ...

from an early age.

Life and work

Garstin was born in

Penzance Penzance ( ; kw, Pennsans) is a town, civil parish and port in the Penwith district of Cornwall, United Kingdom. It is the most westerly major town in Cornwall and is about west-southwest of Plymouth and west-southwest of London. Situated ...

, Cornwall on 1 June 1894, the daughter of painter

Norman Garstin Norman Garstin (28 August 1847 – 22 June 1926) was an Irish artist, teacher, art critic and journalist associated with the Newlyn School of painters. After completing his studies in Antwerp and Paris, Garstin travelled around Europe and pa ...

and his wife Louisa, and the younger sister of the writer

Crosbie Garstin Crosbie Garstin (7 May 1887 – 19 April 1930) was a poet, best-selling novelist and the eldest son of the Newlyn School painter Norman Garstin. He is said to have been "'untameable as a child", and to have "died in mysterious circumstances" aft ...

. She was trained as a painter by her father, and joined him on his trips round France on his bicycle. She first exhibited a painting, ''"The Chairmakers"'', at the Royal Academy in 1912 The article claims she is "probably the youngest painter to exhibit in the famous galleries at Burligton(sic) House" and "is not yet thirteen years old" (though this conflicts with her stated year of birth in other sources). and the president of the Royal Academy was so impressed that he asked to meet her. She also displayed a much larger painting of the Market Place at Gemene, Brittany, the following year. Garstin later created illustrations for magazines including ''

Punch Punch commonly refers to: * Punch (combat), a strike made using the hand closed into a fist * Punch (drink), a wide assortment of drinks, non-alcoholic or alcoholic, generally containing fruit or fruit juice Punch may also refer to: Places * Pun ...

'' and ''

Tatler ''Tatler'' is a British magazine published by Condé Nast Publications focusing on fashion and lifestyle, as well as coverage of high society and politics. It is targeted towards the British upper-middle class and upper class, and those interes ...

''. She continued to exhibit at the Royal Academy until 1945 and was elected as a Member of the

Royal West of England Academy The Royal West of England Academy (RWA) is Bristol's oldest art gallery, located in Clifton, Bristol, near the junction of Queens Road and Whiteladies Road. Situated in a Grade 2* listed building, it hosts five galleries and an exhibition program ...

in 1949.

Notable exhibitions

Garstin's works were considered tonal and she was able to contrast temperature with different colours and tones. Her best known exhibitions include the Adams Gallery, Pall Mall, London in 1940 which was a solo exhibition of over 60 paintings, highlights being ''"Penzance Promenade"'' and ''"Penzance Harbour"''. The ''

Western Morning News The ''Western Morning News'' is a daily regional newspaper founded in 1860, and covering the West Country including Devon, Cornwall, the Isles of Scilly and parts of Somerset and Dorset in the South West of England. Organisation The ''Western Mo ...

'' described the latter as "something of the effective simplicity and artistic economy of selection that the best modern French paintings have." In the United Services Centre,

Plymouth Plymouth () is a port city and unitary authority in South West England. It is located on the south coast of Devon, approximately south-west of Exeter and south-west of London. It is bordered by Cornwall to the west and south-west. Plymouth ...

in 1945, where Garstin put on a joint exhibition with

Newlyn Newlyn ( kw, Lulyn: Lu 'fleet', Lynn/Lydn 'pool') is a seaside town and fishing port (the largest fishing port in England) in south-west Cornwall, UK.Ordnance Survey: Landranger map sheet 203 ''Land's End'' Newlyn lies on the shore of Mount ...

painter Gertrude Harvey. and she put on a joint exhibition with her father's works entitled ''Norman and Alethea Garstin. Two Impressionists - Father and Daughter'', Newlyn, Bristol, Dublin and London in 1978.

Public collections

Paintings by Garstin are currently in the

Government Art Collection The Government Art Collection (GAC) is the collection of artworks owned by the UK government and administered by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS). The GAC's artworks are used to decorate major government buildings in t ...

and the collections of the

Bristol Museum and Art Gallery Bristol Museum & Art Gallery is a large museum and art gallery in Bristol, England. The museum is situated in Clifton, about from the city centre. As part of Bristol Culture it is run by the Bristol City Council with no entrance fee. It holds ...

, Plymouth City Museum and Art Gallery, the Royal West of England Academy and the

National Trust The National Trust, formally the National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty, is a charity and membership organisation for heritage conservation in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. In Scotland, there is a separate and ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Garstin, Alethea 1894 births 1978 deaths 20th-century English painters 20th-century English women artists English women painters Painters from Cornwall People from Penzance