Isabel Codrington Pyke-Nott, later Isabel Konody then Isabel Mayer (1874-1943), was a British artist. She painted figures in watercolour and oils and also produced miniatures.

Biography

Codrington was born in Bydown in

Devon Devon ( , historically known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South West England. The most populous settlement in Devon is the city of Plymouth, followed by Devon's county town, the city of Exeter. Devon is ...

and in 1889, aged 15, was enrolled in the

Royal Academy School 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 ...

in London where she was awarded two medals. In October 1901 she married the art critic

P.G. Konody Paul George Konody (30 July 1872 – 30 November 1933) was a Hungary, Hungarian-born, London-based art critic and historian, who wrote for several London newspapers, as well as writing numerous books and articles on noted artists and collections, ...

(1872-1933), who was then the editor of an art magazine and also wrote regularly for several newspapers. The couple had two daughters during the following five years. Codrington continued to paint, and a watercolour by her won a medal at the 1907 Exposition International d'Arte in Barcelonia. The Konodys lived in London and enjoyed a social scene that featured many artists, poets and writers. In 2015 an unpublished poem written to Codrington in 1909 by

Ezra Pound Ezra Weston Loomis Pound (30 October 1885 – 1 November 1972) was an expatriate American poet and critic, a major figure in the early modernist poetry movement, and a Fascism, fascist collaborator in Italy during World War II. His works ...

emerged and was sold at auction in Edinburgh. The Konodys divorced in 1912 and Codrington continued her artistic career. In due course she married Gustavus Mayer, a partner in the

Bond Street Bond Street in the West End of London links Piccadilly in the south to Oxford Street in the north. Since the 18th century the street has housed many prestigious and upmarket fashion retailers. The southern section is Old Bond Street and the l ...

art dealers Colnaghi & Co. In 1919 the

Imperial War Museum Imperial War Museums (IWM) is a British national museum organisation with branches at five locations in England, three of which are in London. Founded as the Imperial War Museum in 1917, the museum was intended to record the civil and military ...

acquired a large oil painting, ''Cantine Franco-Britannique, Vitry-le-François'', by Codrington of a World War One canteen for French troops. During the 1920s she was a regular exhibitor 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 ...

and the

Fine Art Society The Fine Art Society is a gallery based in both London and in Edinburgh's New Town (originally Bourne Fine Art, established 1978). The New Bond Street, London gallery closed its doors in August 2018 after being occupied by The Fine Art Society si ...

in London and also had works shown in Paris, both at the Knoedler Galleries and at the

Paris Salon The Salon (french: Salon), or rarely Paris Salon (French: ''Salon de Paris'' ), beginning in 1667 was the official art exhibition of the Académie des Beaux-Arts in Paris. Between 1748 and 1890 it was arguably the greatest annual or biennial art ...

. In 1923 a work by Codrington received an honourable mention at the Salon des Artistes Francais. Between 1928 and 1932 Codrington was a regular exhibitor in Scotland frequently showing at the

Royal Scottish Academy The Royal Scottish Academy (RSA) is the country’s national academy of art. It promotes contemporary Scottish art. The Academy was founded in 1826 by eleven artists meeting in Edinburgh. Originally named the Scottish Academy, it became the ...

, the

Royal Glasgow Institute of the Fine Arts The Royal Glasgow Institute of the Fine Arts (RGI) is an independent organisation in Glasgow, founded in 1861, which promotes contemporary art and artists in Scotland. The institute organizes the largest and most prestigious annual art exhibitio ...

and the

Royal Hibernian Academy The Royal Hibernian Academy (RHA) is an artist-based and artist-oriented institution in Ireland, founded in Dublin in 1823. Like many other Irish institutions, such as the RIA, the academy retained the word "Royal" after most of Ireland became in ...

. Codrington also exhibited with the

Royal West of England Academy The Royal West of England Academy (RWA) is Bristol's oldest art gallery, located in Clifton, Bristol, near the junction of Queens Road and Whiteladies Road. Situated in a Grade 2* listed building, it hosts five galleries and an exhibition program ...

. A solo exhibition of her flower paintings was held in 1935 and 1936 at the Rembrandt Gallery in

Vigo Street Vigo Street (originally Vigo Lane) is a short street in central London that is named after the Anglo-Dutch naval victory over the French and Spanish in the 1702 Battle of Vigo Bay. It has important literary connections. Location The street ru ...

in London.

Manchester City Art Gallery Manchester Art Gallery, formerly Manchester City Art Gallery, is a publicly owned art museum on Mosley Street in Manchester city centre. The main gallery premises were built for a learned society in 1823 and today its collection occupies three c ...

and the

Ferens Art Gallery The Ferens Art Gallery is an art gallery in the English city of Kingston upon Hull. The site and money for the gallery were donated to the city by Thomas Ferens, after whom it is named. The architects were S. N. Cooke and E. C. Davie ...

in Hull also hold examples of her work. For most of her adult life, Codrington lived in

Woldingham Woldingham is a village and civil parish high on the North Downs between Oxted and Warlingham in Surrey, England, within the M25, southeast of London. The village has 2,141 inhabitants, many of whom commute to London, making Woldingham part o ...

Surrey Surrey () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South East England, bordering Greater London to the south west. Surrey has a large rural area, and several significant urban areas which form part of the Greater London Built-up Area. ...

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Codringham, Isabel 1874 births 1943 deaths 20th-century English painters 20th-century English women artists Alumni of the Royal Academy Schools Artists from Devon English women painters People from North Devon (district) World War I artists