Barbara Fanny Crocker, later Barbara Crocker Whelpton, (1910–1995) was a British author and artist known for her paintings and murals.
Biography
Crocker was born in London, one of the five children born to George Ashcombe Crocker, a dealer, and his wife Rosa Anna Francis.
She attended
Putney High School before studying at the
Slade School of Fine 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 ...
in London from 1927 to 1930 after which she continued her training in Paris and Italy.
As well as painting, Crocker lectured on art, including to troops during
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
, and, later, travelled extensively in Europe, Russia and the Middle East which resulted her writing several travel books.
She painted landscapes in both oils and watercolours and produced prints and lithographs.
She completed a number of murals for offices and restaurants in London and also for the
Natural History Museum.
Crocker illustrated a number of books including at least two for works by
Eric Whelpton
Eric George Whelpton (21 March 1894 – 13 February 1981) was a British writer, teacher and traveller.
Early life and education
Whelpton was born on 21 March 1894 in Le Havre, France, the son of the Revd George Whelpton, minister of Trinity Metho ...
, who she had married in 1943 and together they wrote a number of books on art and travel.
Crocker also translated a number of works by other authors.
From 1960 Crocker held annual studio shows of her work and also exhibited with the
London Group, the
Women's International Art Club, the
Royal Watercolour Society and with 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 fif ...
and the
Society of Women Artists.
For the later part of her life she lived in Sussex and died at
Rye
Rye (''Secale cereale'') is a grass grown extensively as a grain, a cover crop and a forage crop. It is a member of the wheat tribe (Triticeae) and is closely related to both wheat (''Triticum'') and barley (genus ''Hordeum''). Rye grain is u ...
in 1995, aged 85.
Canada House
Canada House (french: Maison du Canada) is a Greek Revival building on Trafalgar Square in London. It has been a Grade II* Listed Building since 1970. It has served as the offices of the High Commission of Canada in the United Kingdom since 192 ...
in London, the New York Museum and
Rye Art Gallery
is a small town and civil parish in the Rother district of East Sussex, England, two miles from the sea at the confluence of three rivers: the Rother, the Tillingham and the Brede. An important member of the mediaeval Cinque Ports confederat ...
all hold examples of her paintings.
Books illustrated
* ''L'Air de Londres'' by
Jean Queval
Jean Queval (1913–1990) was a French translator, writer, journalist, film critic and founding member of Oulipo
Oulipo (, short for french: Ouvroir de littérature potentielle; roughly translated: ''"workshop of potential literature"'', styliz ...
* ''The Book of Dublin'' by
Eric Whelpton
Eric George Whelpton (21 March 1894 – 13 February 1981) was a British writer, teacher and traveller.
Early life and education
Whelpton was born on 21 March 1894 in Le Havre, France, the son of the Revd George Whelpton, minister of Trinity Metho ...
* ''The Intimate Charm of Kensington'' by Eric Whelpton.
Books written
* ''Springtime at St. Hilaire'', 1953, with Eric Whelpton
* ''A Window on Greece'', 1954
* ''Grand tour of Italy'', 1956, with Eric Whelpton
* ''Calabria and the Aeolian Islands'', 1957, with Eric Whelpton
* ''Greece and the Islands'', 1962, with Eric Whelpton
* ''Paris Triumphant'', 1962
* ''Unknown Ireland: A Motoring Itinerary of Lesser-known General and Archaeological Features'', 1964
* ''Unknown Austria Volume 1'' and ''Volume 2'', 1966
* ''Unknown Austria: Styria, Burgenland and Carinthia'', 1969
* ''Art Appreciation Made Simple'', 1970
* ''Painters' Florence'', 1971
* ''Unknown Scily; archaeological itineraries with 16 photos'', 1972, with
Georges Pillement
* ''Talking about Pictures: French'', 1986, with Edward S Jenkins
* ''Picture Composition: French'', 1986, with Edward S Jenkins.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Crocker, Barbara
1910 births
1995 deaths
20th-century English painters
20th-century English women artists
Alumni of the Slade School of Fine Art
Artists from London
English illustrators
British women illustrators
English muralists
English women non-fiction writers
English women painters
English travel writers
British women travel writers
People educated at Putney High School
British women muralists