Freda Nellie Skinner (31 January 1911 – 19 July 1993) was a British sculptor and woodcarver who was head of sculpture at

Wimbledon School of Art Wimbledon College of Arts, formerly Wimbledon School of Art, is a constituent college of the University of the Arts London specialising in theatre, screen and performance art. It is located in Wimbledon and Merton Park, South West London. ...

from 1945 to 1971. Skinner was born in Warlingham, Surrey, where her father, Norman, had a farm; she showed an early interest in art at age 11 with a pair of paintings of a prized Champion Devon Red bull and a cow. She studied under

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

Alan Durst Alan Lydiat Durst (1883–1970) was a British sculptor and wood carver and member of the London Group of artists. Three of Durst's work are held in the permanent collection of Tate Gallery. Personal life Alan Durst was born at the rectory in ...

The Royal College of Art The Royal College of Art (RCA) is a public research university in London, United Kingdom, with campuses in South Kensington, Battersea and White City. It is the only entirely postgraduate art and design university in the United Kingdom. It off ...

, her course fees being met, in part, by neighbours including

Ethel Ethel (also '' æthel'') is an Old English word meaning "noble", today often used as a feminine given name. Etymology and historic usage The word means ''æthel'' "noble". It is frequently attested as the first element in Anglo-Saxon names, b ...

and Sybil Pye. She then went on to teach toy making and sculpture at Kingston School of Art, and was head of sculpture at Wimbledon School of Art 1945 to 1971. She was a Fellow of the

Royal Society of British Sculptors The Royal Society of Sculptors is a British charity established in 1905 which promotes excellence in the art and practice of sculpture. Its headquarters are a centre for contemporary sculpture on Old Brompton Road, South Kensington, London. It ...

and a member of the Society of Portrait Sculptors. Her 1972 sculpture ''Virgin and Child'' is in the Lady Chapel of St Elphege's Church, Wallington, south London. She also carved the foundation stone for the

Barbican Art Centre The Barbican Centre is a performing arts centre in the Barbican Estate of the City of London and the largest of its kind in Europe. The centre hosts classical and contemporary music concerts, theatre performances, film screenings and art exh ...

in central London, in 1972. She exhibited at the Royal Academy Summer Exhibition six times, and also at the Architects Association,

Holland Park Holland Park is an area of Kensington, on the western edge of Central London, that contains a street and public park of the same name. It has no official boundaries but is roughly bounded by Kensington High Street to the south, Holland Road ...

Orangery, Mall Galleries, The London Group, Suffolk Galleries, Bruton Street Gallery and Wykeham Galleries. In 1993 there was a retrospective exhibition of her work at the Bruton Street Gallery in central London. Two of her jigsaw works for

Abbatt Toys Abbatt is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Agnes Dean Abbatt (1847–1917), American artist * Jonathan Abbatt, Canadian chemist * Marjorie Abbatt Marjorie Abbatt, née Norah Marjorie Cobb (18 March 1899 – 10 November 1991 ...

are held in the V&A. In 1944 she was recorded living at The Ivy House, French Street,

Sunbury-on-Thames Sunbury-on-Thames (or commonly Sunbury) is a suburban town on the north bank of the River Thames in the Borough of Spelthorne, Surrey, centred southwest of central London. Historically part of the county of Middlesex, in 1965 Sunbury and other ...

, then at 35 Deodar Road, Putney, from the late 1940s to about 1981. She moved to Amesbury in Wiltshire in 1981 and died in

West Amesbury West or Occident is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from east and is the direction in which the Sun sets on the Earth. Etymology The word "west" is a Germanic word passed into some ...

, Wiltshire on 19 July 1993.

Gallery

File:Dulwich, St Thomas More Church, Madonna and Child.jpg, Madonna and Child File:Richmond, St John the Divine, Stations of the Cross XII.jpg, Stations of the Cross XII, St John the Divine File:Roundwood Park, The Spirit of Youth by Freda Skinner (1).jpg, The Spirit of Youth File:St. Mary's Church, Battersea, Parish war memorial.jpg, War memorial, Battersea

Works exhibited at the Royal Academy

Selected works

Bibliography

*''Woodcarving'' (1961) New York: Sterling Pub. Co

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Skinner, Freda 1911 births 1993 deaths 20th-century British sculptors British women sculptors Alumni of the Royal College of Art Academics of Wimbledon College of Arts People from Surrey