Helen Christian Sutherland (24 February 1881 – 29 April 1965), married name Helen Denman, was an English art patron and collector.
Life
She was the daughter of
Sir Thomas Sutherland
Sir Thomas Sutherland, ( 16 August 1834 – 1 January 1922) was a Scottish banker and politician, initially elected to represent the Liberal Party (UK), Liberal Party and then as a Liberal Unionist Party, Liberal Unionist. He founded The Hongko ...
, and his only surviving child. She married
Richard Denman in 1904; the marriage was annulled in 1913.
They had separated in 1909; Denman married May Spencer in 1914.
After her marriage failed, Sutherland began to collect art. Initially she took guidance from Freddy Mayor of the
Mayor Gallery. From the mid-1920s she collected mainly from a group of artist friends. In 1929 she took a lease on
Rock Hall, Northumberland.
She was an early patron of the
Ashington Group.
David Jones met Sutherland through
Jim Ede
Harold Stanley Ede (7 April 1895 – 15 March 1990), also known as Jim Ede, was a British collector of art and friend to artists.
Life and career
Jim Ede was born in Penarth, Wales, the son of solicitor Edward Hornby Ede and Mildred, a teacher ...
;
Ben and
Winifred Nicholson met her through the artist Constance Lane, in 1925.
Through
Michael Roberts and his wife
Janet Adam Smith, the poet
Kathleen Raine was introduced to Sutherland, who fostered her two children with
Charles Madge during World War II.
Sutherland was one of
Piet Mondrian
Pieter Cornelis Mondriaan (), after 1906 known as Piet Mondrian (, also , ; 7 March 1872 – 1 February 1944), was a Dutch painter and art theoretician who is regarded as one of the greatest artists of the 20th century. He is known for being ...
's early English supporters, buying a picture by 1938. From 1939 she lived at Cockley Moor, near Dockray,
Penrith, now in
Cumbria, in a house redesigned by
Leslie Martin in Modernist style.
She left her art collection to
Nicolete Gray
Nicolete Gray (sometimes Nicolette Gray) (20 July 1911–8 June 1997) was a British scholar of art and calligraphy. She was the youngest daughter of the poet, dramatist and art scholar Laurence Binyon and his wife, writer, editor and trans ...
.
Notes
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sutherland, Helen
1881 births
1965 deaths
English art collectors
Women art collectors
English art patrons