Helen Lillias Mitchell MRDS MRHA (1915 – 10 January 2000) was an

Irish Irish may refer to: Common meanings * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ***Éire, Irish language name for the isle ** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...

craft artist and teacher. She was the founder of The Irish Guild of Weavers, Spinners, and Dyers and the Weaving Department of

National College of Art and Design The National College of Art and Design (NCAD) is Ireland's oldest art institution, offering the largest range of art and design degrees at undergraduate and postgraduate level in the country. Originating as a drawing school in 1746, many of th ...

Early life and education

Helen Lillias Mitchell was born in Rathgar in 1915. She was the youngest child of David W. Mitchell and Frances Kirby Mitchell and showed a talent for art from an early age, attending painting classes with

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first, and later with

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. With the encouragement of Davidson, Mitchell studied at 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 ...

School under

Dermod O'Brien William Dermod O'Brien PRHA DL Hon RA (10 June 1865 – 3 October 1945), commonly known as Dermod O'Brien, was an Irish painter, chiefly of landscapes and portraits. His work was part of the painting event in the art competition at the ...

, going on to study sculpture at the National College of Art and Design. From 1937 to 1938, she lived in Switzerland, studying sculpture and clay modelling.

Artistic career

Mitchell won second place in the RDS Taylor Art Award in 1940, for her statue ''St Patrick Struggling in his Soul for Peace.'' After

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she opened a weaving workshop at 84 Lower Mount Street, Dublin, where she developed her Golden Fleece emblem. She regularly attended

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's craft school at

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, Sweden from 1949 onwards, studying traditional techniques of weaving and spinning. Numerous students attended Mitchell's weaving workshop, which led to her being appointed to establish a Weaving Department at the National College of Art and Design in 1951. From here, she taught spinning, weaving and dyeing up until her retirement. Mitchell had a particular interest in craft weaving using natural fibres and dyes. She studied with traditional spinners, dyers and weavers in

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and

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. Mitchell founded The Irish Guild of Weavers, Spinners, and Dyers in 1975. She was an active member of

Royal Dublin Society The Royal Dublin Society (RDS) ( ga, Cumann Ríoga Bhaile Átha Cliath) is an Irish philanthropic organisation and members club which was founded as the 'Dublin Society' on 25 June 1731 with the aim to see Ireland thrive culturally and economi ...

, particularly the Society's Arts and Crafts programmes. She established the ''Lillias Mitchell Award'' in 1987, an annual award as part of the RDS National Crafts Competition in the Textiles category. She was awarded an Honorary Life Membership of the RDS in 1993. Mitchell continued to paint and sketch into her 80s, regularly exhibiting with the

Water Colour Society of Ireland Water Colour Society of Ireland (WCSI) is a watercolour society in Ireland, founded in 1870. The Society held its first exhibition in the Courthouse, Lismore, County Waterford in May 1871. History The ''Water Colour Society of Ireland (WCSI)'' w ...

. She was elected an Honorary Member of the Royal Hibernian Academy in 1995. She died on 10 January 2000.

Publications

In 1978, she published her anthology ''Irish Spinning, Weaving and Dyeing'', and in 1986 she published ''Irish Weaving: Discoveries and Personal Experiences.''

Influence and legacy

By bequest, she established The Golden Fleece Award which is an independent artistic prize fund. The Award was launched in 2001, and awards Irish artists working in woven textiles, spinning, dyeing, glassmaking, metalwork, ceramics, stonework or woodwork.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mitchell, Lillias 1915 births 2000 deaths 20th-century Irish women artists Alumni of the National College of Art and Design Artists from Dublin (city)