Edna "Gin" Ginesi (15 February 1902 – 17 July 2000) was a British painter, specialising in landscapes and nature studies. Born in Leeds, she was a contemporary of the sculptors

Henry Moore Henry Spencer Moore (30 July 1898 – 31 August 1986) was an English artist. He is best known for his semi- abstract monumental bronze sculptures which are located around the world as public works of art. As well as sculpture, Moore produced ...

and

Barbara Hepworth Dame Jocelyn Barbara Hepworth (10 January 1903 – 20 May 1975) was an English artist and sculptor. Her work exemplifies Modernism and in particular modern sculpture. Along with artists such as Ben Nicholson and Naum Gabo, Hepworth was a leadi ...

. She studied at the Royal College of Art, and lived for most of her adult life in London. As well as working as an artist, Ginesi taught at Bradford School of Art and Chelsea School of Art.

Early life and education

Ginesi was born in Leeds in 1902, and was of Italian descent. She studied at

Leeds School of Art Leeds Arts University is a specialist arts further and higher education institution, based in the city of Leeds, West Yorkshire, England, with a main campus opposite the University of Leeds. History It was founded in 1846 as the Leeds Schoo ...

from 1920, before going to the Royal College of Art where she studied painting from 1921 to 1925. At the RCA, she was part of the "Leeds Table", along with her future husband Raymond Coxon, sculptors

and

, and the painter

Vivian Pitchforth Roland Vivian Pitchforth RA ARWS (25 April 1895 – 6 August 1982) was an English painter, teacher and an official British war artist during the Second World War. He excelled at watercolours and in later years concentrated on landscapes, sea ...

; at this time she also studied informally with

Leon Underwood George Claude Leon Underwood (25 December 1890 – 9 October 1975) was a British artist, although primarily known as a sculptor, printmaker and painter, he was also an influential teacher and promotor of African art. His travels in Mexico a ...

. In 1924, Ginesi was awarded a West Riding Travelling Scholarship, which enabled her to visit the Netherlands, Belgium, Italy, and France.

Career

After graduating from the Royal College, Ginesi taught for a year at Bradford School of Art, before settling in Hammersmith with her husband, Raymond Coxon, whom she married in 1926. In 1927, she formed the British Independent Society with Coxon, Moore, and Underwood. She exhibited with the London Group – of which she was later a member – in 1928, and had her first solo exhibition in 1932 at the Zwemmer Gallery. She was also a member of the "Twenties Group" founded by

Lucy Wertheim Lucy Carrington Wertheim (''née'' Pearson; 1882, in Whitechapel, London – 1971, in Brighton) was an English gallery owner who founded the Twenties Group of "English artists in their twenties" in 1930 and was Christopher Wood's main patron b ...

. In the 1930s, she taught at Chelsea School of Art and designed sets for the Camargo Ballet. During the Second World War, Ginesi worked as an ambulance driver, and, with Coxon, taught painting in Guildford. A retrospective of Ginesi's work was exhibited in 1956 in Cartwright Hall, Bradford. In 1985, she exhibited along with Raymond Coxon at the Michael Parkin Gallery in London. She also exhibited work at the

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 ...

and in America. Ginesi's paintings were generally representational, with her style becoming more abstract from the 1960s onward. She mostly worked on landscapes and nature studies.

Personal life

In 1922, Ginesi became engaged to the painter Raymond Coxon, who she had met at Leeds School of Art; she married him in 1926. The sculptor

was best man at their wedding, and gave the couple his ''Head of a Virgin'' (1922) as a wedding present. Coxon and Ginesi lived in Hammersmith, London, over 60 years; from 1938 they also owned a studio in Sussex.

References

Works cited

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External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ginesi, Edna 1902 births 2000 deaths 20th-century English painters 20th-century English women artists Alumni of Leeds Arts University Alumni of the Royal College of Art Artists from Leeds English people of Italian descent English women painters