Lily Williams
ARHA (20 October 1874 – 16 January 1940) was an Irish portrait painter. Aside from her portraiture, she is known for her Irish stamp designs.
Life
Lily Williams was born Elizabeth Josephine Williams in
Rathmines
Rathmines () is an affluent inner suburb on the Southside of Dublin in Ireland. It lies three kilometres south of the city centre. It begins at the southern side of the Grand Canal and stretches along the Rathmines Road as far as Rathgar to t ...
, Dublin on 20 October 1874. She initially studied art under
Mary Manning, going on to enrol in the
Dublin Metropolitan School of Art
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 ...
. She studied alongside
Estella Solomons
Estella Francis Solomons (1882–1968) was one of the leading Irish artists of her generation.
Early life and family
She was born in Dublin, Ireland, the daughter of Maurice Solomons (1832–1922), and poet Rosa Jane Jacobs. Her father was an o ...
and
Cissie Beckett.
She was a member of the
Dublin Sketching Club.
Williams exhibited with 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 ...
annually from 1904 to 1939. She became an associate of the RHA in 1929.
Williams was a
Republican
Republican can refer to:
Political ideology
* An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law.
** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...
and supporter of
Sinn Féin
Sinn Féin ( , ; en, " eOurselves") is an Irish republican and democratic socialist political party active throughout both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland.
The original Sinn Féin organisation was founded in 1905 by Arthur Gri ...
, which led to her falling out with her Protestant,
Unionist family
during the
Easter Rising
The Easter Rising ( ga, Éirí Amach na Cásca), also known as the Easter Rebellion, was an armed insurrection in Ireland during Easter Week in April 1916. The Rising was launched by Irish republicans against British rule in Ireland with the a ...
in 1916. Some of her best known paintings feature nationalist themes or are portraits of figures relating to
Irish independence.
She designed the
Irish Free State
The Irish Free State ( ga, Saorstát Éireann, , ; 6 December 192229 December 1937) was a state established in December 1922 under the Anglo-Irish Treaty of December 1921. The treaty ended the three-year Irish War of Independence between th ...
's
Cross of Cong postal stamp in 1922, a design which was used until 1968.
Williams died on 16 January 1940 at her home in
Ranelagh
Ranelagh ( , ; ) is an affluent residential area and urban village on the Southside of Dublin, Ireland in the postal district of D06.
History
The district was originally a village known as Cullenswood just outside Dublin, surrounded by lande ...
, Dublin. The
Hugh Lane Gallery
The Hugh Lane Gallery, officially Dublin City Gallery The Hugh Lane and originally the Municipal Gallery of Modern Art, is an art museum operated by Dublin City Council and its subsidiary, the Hugh Lane Gallery Trust. It is in Charlemont House ( ...
hold a half-length portrait by her of
Arthur Griffith
Arthur Joseph Griffith ( ga, Art Seosamh Ó Gríobhtha; 31 March 1871 – 12 August 1922) was an Irish writer, newspaper editor and politician who founded the political party Sinn Féin. He led the Irish delegation at the negotiations that prod ...
, in
oils
An oil is any nonpolar chemical substance that is composed primarily of hydrocarbons and is hydrophobic (does not mix with water) & lipophilic (mixes with other oils). Oils are usually flammable and surface active. Most oils are unsaturated ...
. Williams was featured in the 2014 exhibition, ''Irish Women artists: 1870 - 1970''.
Her papers are held in the
National Library of Ireland
The National Library of Ireland (NLI; ga, Leabharlann Náisiúnta na hÉireann) is the Republic of Ireland's national library located in Dublin, in a building designed by Thomas Newenham Deane. The mission of the National Library of Ireland is ...
.
Selected work
* Portrait of Dr
Kathleen Lynn
Kathleen Florence Lynn (28 January 1874 – 14 September 1955) was an Irish Sinn Féin politician, activist and medical doctor.
Lynn was so greatly affected by the poverty and disease among the poor in the west of Ireland that, at 16, she decid ...
, held in the collections of the
Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland
The Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland (RCSI) is a medical professional and educational institution, which is also known as RCSI University of Medicine and Health Sciences, Ireland's first private university. It was established in 1784 ...
* ''Hibernia'' (1907)
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Williams, Lily
1874 births
1940 deaths
Artists from Dublin (city)
19th-century Irish women artists
20th-century Irish women artists
Irish nationalists