Felicity Ursula Hartland Charlton (1913 – 18 March 2009) was a British artist known for combining realism and fantasy elements in her paintings often of figures in gardens. Although born in Bristol, Charlton spent the majority of her life working in Wales.

Biography

Charlton was born in the

Clifton Clifton may refer to: People *Clifton (surname) *Clifton (given name) Places Australia * Clifton, Queensland, a town **Shire of Clifton *Clifton, New South Wales, a suburb of Wollongong *Clifton, Western Australia Canada *Clifton, Nova Scotia ...

area of Bristol and attended the

West of England College of Art The University of the West of England (also known as UWE Bristol) is a public research university, located in and around Bristol, England. The institution was know as the Bristol Polytechnic in 1970; it received university status in 1992 and ...

in the city. There she met her future husband, the artist

Evan Charlton Evan Charlton (1904–1984) was a British artist who painted surrealist landscapes and interiors. Early life and education Charlton, whose mother was Welsh, was born in London. He studied chemistry at University College, London, where he gradua ...

, who was teaching at the college. Felicity Charlton moved to Wales in 1938 and throughout World War II worked as an agricultural labourer there. After the war, she resumed her artistic career and took part in a number of group shows. These included the 1949 Welsh Arts Council exhibition ''Twenty-Five Paintings by Contemporary Welsh Artists'', the 1951 ''Festival Exhibition of Contemporary Welsh Painting'' and the

National Library of Wales The National Library of Wales ( cy, Llyfrgell Genedlaethol Cymru), Aberystwyth, is the national legal deposit library of Wales and is one of the Welsh Government sponsored bodies. It is the biggest library in Wales, holding over 6.5 million boo ...

exhibition ''The Artist in Wales'' that toured during 1952. A number of solo shows, at

Abergavenny Abergavenny (; cy, Y Fenni , archaically ''Abergafenni'' meaning "mouth of the River Gavenny") is a market town and community in Monmouthshire, Wales. Abergavenny is promoted as a ''Gateway to Wales''; it is approximately from the border wi ...

in 1973,

Bath Bath may refer to: * Bathing, immersion in a fluid ** Bathtub, a large open container for water, in which a person may wash their body ** Public bathing, a public place where people bathe * Thermae, ancient Roman public bathing facilities Plac ...

in both 1989 and 1991 and, in 1993, a retrospective at

Newport Museum and Art Gallery Newport Museum and Art Gallery ( cy, Amgueddfa ac Oriel Gelf Casnewydd) (known locally as the City Museum ( cy, Amgueddfa Dinas)) is a museum, library and art gallery in the city of Newport, South Wales. It is located in Newport city centre on ...

followed. She also exhibited with the South Wales Group and at the

National Eisteddfod of Wales The National Eisteddfod of Wales (Welsh language, Welsh: ') is the largest of several eisteddfodau that are held annually, mostly in Wales. Its eight days of competitions and performances are considered the largest music and poetry festival in Eur ...

. Evan Charlton also based his career in Wales, as an art lecturer in Cardiff, and the couple had a number of joint exhibitions. These included a major retrospective, ''Evan and Felicity Charlton: Paintings 1937-86'' at the Royal West of England Academy in Bristol. Works by Felicity Charlton are held by the Newport Museum, the Glynn Vivian Art Gallery in

Swansea Swansea (; cy, Abertawe ) is a coastal city and the second-largest city of Wales. It forms a principal area, officially known as the City and County of Swansea ( cy, links=no, Dinas a Sir Abertawe). The city is the twenty-fifth largest in ...

and the National Museum Cardiff. The New Hall Art Collection in Cambridge and the Contemporary Art Society for Wales also hold examples. Cardiff Metropolitan University awards an annual prize, the Evan and Felicity Charlton Travel Award, in memory of the couple.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Charlton, Felicity 1913 births 2009 deaths 20th-century English painters 20th-century English women artists 21st-century English painters 21st-century English women artists Alumni of the University of the West of England, Bristol Artists from Bristol English women painters People from Clifton, Bristol