Kate Elizabeth Bunce (25 August 1856 – 24 December 1927) 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 ...
painter
Painting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a solid surface (called the "matrix" or "support"). The medium is commonly applied to the base with a brush, but other implements, such as knives, sponges, and ai ...
and
poet
A poet is a person who studies and creates poetry. Poets may describe themselves as such or be described as such by others. A poet may simply be the creator ( thinker, songwriter, writer, or author) who creates (composes) poems (oral or writte ...
associated with the
Arts and Crafts movement.
The daughter of
John Thackray Bunce
John Thackray Bunce (11 April 1828 – 28 June 1899) was a British journalist and author. He served as editor of ''Aris's Birmingham Gazette'' from 1860 to 1862, and of the ''Birmingham Post'' from 1862 to 1898.
Early years
Bunce was bor ...
– a patron of
Birmingham Museum & Art Gallery
Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery (BM&AG) is a museum and art gallery in Birmingham, England. It has a collection of international importance covering fine art, ceramics, metalwork, jewellery, natural history, archaeology, ethnography, local h ...
and editor of the ''
Birmingham Post
The ''Birmingham Post'' is a weekly printed newspaper based in Birmingham, England, with a circulation of 2,545 and distribution throughout the West Midlands. First published under the name the ''Birmingham Daily Post'' in 1857, it has had a s ...
'' during its Liberal heyday – Bunce was born in
Birmingham
Birmingham ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper, 2.92 million in the West ...
and educated at home. She studied at the
Birmingham School of Art
The Birmingham School of Art was a municipal art school based in the centre of Birmingham, England. Although the organisation was absorbed by Birmingham Polytechnic in 1971 and is now part of Birmingham City University's Faculty of Arts, Design a ...
in the 1880s, first exhibiting artworks with the
Royal Birmingham Society of Artists
The Royal Birmingham Society of Artists or RBSA is an art society, based in the Jewellery Quarter in Birmingham, England, where it owns and operates an art gallery, the RBSA Gallery, on Brook Street, just off St Paul's Square. It is both a re ...
in 1874 and with 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 ...
from 1887.
She was elected as an associate of the
Royal Birmingham Society of Artists
The Royal Birmingham Society of Artists or RBSA is an art society, based in the Jewellery Quarter in Birmingham, England, where it owns and operates an art gallery, the RBSA Gallery, on Brook Street, just off St Paul's Square. It is both a re ...
in 1888 and many of her works were displayed in a number of Birmingham churches.
Career
Her earliest known work is ''The Sitting Room'' (1887), and in 1893 Bunce was one of the artists invited to contribute murals to hang in
Birmingham Town Hall
Birmingham Town Hall is a concert hall and venue for popular assemblies opened in 1834 and situated in Victoria Square, Birmingham, England. It is a Grade I listed building.
The hall underwent a major renovation between 2002 and 2007. It no ...
. Her initial style was that of the Birmingham School, where she was a prizewinning student during the 1880s.
Her work became increasingly influenced by
Burne-Jones
The Burne-Jones Baronetcy, of Rottingdean in the County of Sussex, and of The Grange in the Parish of Fulham in the County of London, was a title in the Baronetage of the United Kingdom. It was created on 4 May 1894 for the artist and designer ...
,
Rossetti
The House of Rossetti is an Italian noble, and Boyar Princely family appearing in the 14th-15th century, originating among the patrician families, during the Republic of Genoa, with branches of the family establishing themselves in the Kingdom o ...
, and the
Pre-Raphaelites
The Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood (later known as the Pre-Raphaelites) was a group of English painters, poets, and art critics, founded in 1848 by William Holman Hunt, John Everett Millais, Dante Gabriel Rossetti, William Michael Rossetti, James ...
, and was characterised by strong figure drawing and a clear use of colour. Later in her life she painted a series of decorative pieces in churches, often alongside metalwork by her sister
Myra Bunce.
She exhibited her work across England between the years 1887 and 1912 in London, Manchester, Birmingham, and Liverpool.
Her
reredos
A reredos ( , , ) is a large altarpiece, a screen, or decoration placed behind the altar in a church. It often includes religious images.
The term ''reredos'' may also be used for similar structures, if elaborate, in secular architecture, for ex ...
in the church of
St Alban's, Bordesley features many species of birds.
Personal life
Bunce lived all of her life in
Edgbaston
Edgbaston () is an affluent suburban area of central Birmingham, England, historically in Warwickshire, and curved around the southwest of the city centre.
In the 19th century, the area was under the control of the Gough-Calthorpe family an ...
and died unmarried.
A
Birmingham Civic Society
Birmingham Civic Society is a voluntary body in Birmingham, England, and is registered with the Civic Trust.
History
The society was founded at an inaugural meeting on 10 June 1918 in the Birmingham Council House. The first president of the ...
blue plaque in her honour was unveiled at St Alban's church in September 2015, by the Lord Mayor of Birmingham.
Gallery
File:Kate Elizabeth Bunce - The Chance Meeting.jpg, ''The Chance Meeting''
File:Kate Bunce - 'Portrait of Mrs. Macneile Dixon' - 01.jpg, ''Portrait of Mrs. Macneile Dixon''
File:Bunce Melody.jpg, ''Melody (Musica)'', circa 1895
File:St Alban's - Bunce reredos - Andy Mabbett - 79.JPG, Reredos
A reredos ( , , ) is a large altarpiece, a screen, or decoration placed behind the altar in a church. It often includes religious images.
The term ''reredos'' may also be used for similar structures, if elaborate, in secular architecture, for ex ...
by Kate Bunce. Copperwork by her sister Myra. St Alban the Martyr, Birmingham, England.
File:St Alban's - Bunce reredos - Andy Mabbett - 03.JPG, Reredos
File:St Alban's - Bunce reredos - Andy Mabbett - 26.JPG, Reredos detail
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bunce, Kate
1856 births
1927 deaths
Arts and Crafts movement artists
Members and Associates of the Royal Birmingham Society of Artists
Artists from Birmingham, West Midlands
19th-century English painters
20th-century English painters
Alumni of the Birmingham School of Art
Pre-Raphaelite painters
Female Pre-Raphaelite painters