Gladys Emma Peto (1890–1977) was an

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

artist, fashion designer, illustrator and writer of children's books.

Early life and education

Peto was born in Cookham, the only daughter of William Peto and Mary Jane Reeves of Cannon Court,

Maidenhead Maidenhead is a market town in the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead in the county of Berkshire, England, on the southwestern bank of the River Thames. It had an estimated population of 70,374 and forms part of the border with southern Bu ...

. She attended Maidenhead High School, then Harvington College in

Ealing Ealing () is a district in West London, England, west of Charing Cross in the London Borough of Ealing. Ealing is the administrative centre of the borough and is identified as a major metropolitan centre in the London Plan. Ealing was histor ...

. She later went on to study at the Maidenhead School of Arts in 1908, and London's School of Art in 1911. She undertook a design course at the John Hassall Correspondence school in 1918.

Career

Peto created drawings for "The letters of Phrynette" in ''

The Sketch ''The Sketch'' was a British illustrated weekly journal. It ran for 2,989 issues between 1 February 1893 and 17 June 1959. It was published by the Illustrated London News Company and was primarily a society magazine with regular features on roy ...

''. This was similar to the series "Letters of Eve" in '' The Tatler''. The latter was illustrated by

Annie Fish Annie Fish (27 March 1890 – 10 October 1964) was a British cartoonist and illustrator. Her illustration of "Eve" in ''The Tatler'' spawned films, theatre and books. Life Fish was born in Horfield in Bristol in 1890 before her family moved to L ...

and there was a court case. Her family was not especially artistic. As a girl in Maidenhead, she would go out "in her father's trap" and notice interesting people along the way. She would get home and sketch them. She moved with her husband, who had retired from the Army, to

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. Nort ...

in 1939 and retired from commercial art in 1946. She devoted her remaining years to painting

landscape A landscape is the visible features of an area of land, its landforms, and how they integrate with natural or man-made features, often considered in terms of their aesthetic appeal.''New Oxford American Dictionary''. A landscape includes the ...

s in

watercolor Watercolor (American English) or watercolour (British English; see spelling differences), also ''aquarelle'' (; from Italian diminutive of Latin ''aqua'' "water"), is a painting method”Watercolor may be as old as art itself, going back to t ...

s and to drawing and cultivating flowers. She suffered a

stroke A stroke is a medical condition in which poor blood flow to the brain causes cell death. There are two main types of stroke: ischemic, due to lack of blood flow, and hemorrhagic, due to bleeding. Both cause parts of the brain to stop functionin ...

in 1970 that paralyzed her right, and dominant, hand, but continued to draw, paint and write with her left hand.Comprehensive Gladys Peto website by Jeanette Payne
/ref> In the 1930s, it was the "in" thing to wear a Peto dress. Peto's advertising illustrations for Allen and Hanbury's infant formula,

Ovaltine Ovaltine (also known by its original name Ovomaltine) is a brand of milk flavoring product made with malt extract (except in the blue packaging in the United States), sugar (except in Switzerland), and whey. Some flavors also have cocoa. Ovaltin ...

and many other products were featured in magazines and posters. In 1922, she married Dr Cuthbert Lindsay Emmerson of the

Royal Army Medical Corps The Royal Army Medical Corps (RAMC) is a specialist corps in the British Army which provides medical services to all Army personnel and their families, in war and in peace. The RAMC, the Royal Army Veterinary Corps, the Royal Army Dental Corps a ...

, and she traveled with him to

Malta Malta ( , , ), officially the Republic of Malta ( mt, Repubblika ta' Malta ), is an island country in the Mediterranean Sea. It consists of an archipelago, between Italy and Libya, and is often considered a part of Southern Europe. It lies ...

Cyprus Cyprus ; tr, Kıbrıs (), officially the Republic of Cyprus,, , lit: Republic of Cyprus is an island country located south of the Anatolian Peninsula in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Its continental position is disputed; while it is geo ...

and

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediter ...

. He retired in 1946 as a Colonel and died in 1977.''England & Wales, Civil Registration Marriage Index, 1916-2005''

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Peto, Gladys Emma 1890 births 1977 deaths English children's writers English fashion designers British women fashion designers People from Maidenhead Date of birth missing Date of death missing 20th-century English businesspeople