Flavia Ria Joan Blois, later Baroness Burntwood, (28 December 191428 March 1980) was a British landscape artist.

Biography

Blois was born at

Cockfield Hall Cockfield Hall in Yoxford in Suffolk, England is a Grade I listed private house standing in of historic parkland, partly dating from the 16th century. Cockfield Hall takes its name from the Cokefeud Family, established there at the beginning ...

Yoxford Yoxford is a village in East Suffolk, England, close to the Heritage Coast, Minsmere Reserve (RSPB), Aldeburgh and Southwold. It is known for its antique shops and (as "Loxford") for providing the setting for a Britten opera. The name 'Yoxfor ...

Suffolk Suffolk () is a ceremonial county of England in East Anglia. It borders Norfolk to the north, Cambridgeshire to the west and Essex to the south; the North Sea lies to the east. The county town is Ipswich; other important towns include Lowes ...

into the

Blois family The Blois family (formerly spelled, and usually pronounced, Bloyse) have been substantial landowners in Suffolk for several centuries. Until recently the family home was at Cockfield Hall in Yoxford, Suffolk, a Grade 1 listed private house standin ...

. Her father was Sir Ralph Barrett MacNaghten Blois, a baronet, and her mother was Winifred Grace Blois née Kennard. Flavia Blois studied art in London, first at the

Chelsea School of Art Chelsea College of Arts is a constituent college of the University of the Arts London based in London, United Kingdom, and is a leading British art and design institution with an international reputation. It offers further and higher educat ...

and then at the

Euston Road School The Euston Road School is a term applied to a group of English painters, active either as staff or students at the School of Drawing and Painting in London between 1937 and 1939. The School opened in October 1937 at premises in Fitzroy Street bef ...

. She studied in Paris during 1939 and 1940 after which she turned away from portrait painting to depicting landscapes and street scenes. Blois painted many landscapes in the

East Anglia East Anglia is an area in the East of England, often defined as including the counties of Norfolk, Suffolk and Cambridgeshire. The name derives from the Anglo-Saxon kingdom of the East Angles, a people whose name originated in Anglia, in ...

countryside, usually working in oils in her studio from ink notes made outdoors. She exhibited 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 ...

on a regular basis and with both the

London Group The London Group is a society based in London, England, created to offer additional exhibiting opportunities to artists besides the Royal Academy of Arts. Formed in 1913, it is one of the oldest artist-led organisations in the world. It was form ...

and the

New English Art Club The New English Art Club (NEAC) was founded in London in 1885 as an alternative venue to the Royal Academy. It continues to hold an annual exhibition of paintings and drawings at the Mall Galleries in London, exhibiting works by both members and a ...

. During her career she had three solo gallery shows. In 1948 Blois married Julian Snow who, in 1970, became a

Life peer In the United Kingdom, life peers are appointed members of the peerage whose titles cannot be inherited, in contrast to hereditary peers. In modern times, life peerages, always created at the rank of baron, are created under the Life Peerages ...

as Baron Burntwood, having previously been the Labour Party MP for Lichfield and Tamworth. Blois died in 1980 at

Westminster Westminster is an area of Central London, part of the wider City of Westminster. The area, which extends from the River Thames to Oxford Street, has many visitor attractions and historic landmarks, including the Palace of Westminster, Bu ...

in central London.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Blois, Flavia 1914 births 1980 deaths 20th-century English painters 20th-century English women artists Alumni of Chelsea College of Arts

Burntwood Burntwood is a former mining town and civil parish in the Lichfield District in Staffordshire, England, approximately west of Lichfield and north east of Brownhills. The town had a population of 26,049 and forms part of Lichfield district. ...

Daughters of baronets English women painters Artists from Suffolk Spouses of life peers