Lady Mabel Marguerite Annesley ''HRUA'' (25 February 1881 – 19 June 1959) was a

wood-engraver Wood engraving is a printmaking technique, in which an artist works an image or ''matrix'' of images into a block of wood. Functionally a variety of woodcut, it uses relief printing, where the artist applies ink to the face of the block and pr ...

and

watercolour Watercolor (American English) or watercolour (British English; see spelling differences), also ''aquarelle'' (; from Italian diminutive of Latin ''aqua'' "water"), is a painting method”Watercolor may be as old as art itself, going back to t ...

painter. Her work is in many collections, including the British Museum, the Victoria and Albert Museum, the National Gallery of Canada and the Museum of New Zealand. She exhibited in the

Festival of Britain The Festival of Britain was a national exhibition and fair that reached millions of visitors throughout the United Kingdom in the summer of 1951. Historian Kenneth O. Morgan says the Festival was a "triumphant success" during which people: ...

in 1952.

Early life and family

She was born on 25 February 1881, at Annesley Lodge,

Regent's Park Regent's Park (officially The Regent's Park) is one of the Royal Parks of London. It occupies of high ground in north-west Inner London, administratively split between the City of Westminster and the Borough of Camden (and historically betwee ...

, London, the daughter of

Hugh Annesley, 5th Earl Annesley Hugh Annesley, 5th Earl Annesley (26 January 1831 – 15 December 1908) was a British military commissioned officer, officer and Member of Parliament (United Kingdom), Member of Parliament for County Cavan (UK Parliament constituency), County C ...

(1831–1908), lieutenant-colonel in the Scots Fusilier Guards and landowner, and his first wife, Mabel Wilhelmina Frances Markham, Countess Annesley (1858–1891). Her mother was the greatgranddaughter of Sir Francis Grant, eminent Victorian portrait painter and president of 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 ...

. Her half-sister,

Lady Constance Malleson Lady Constance Malleson (24 October 1895 – 5 October 1975) was a British writer and actress (appearing as Colette O'Niel). The daughter of Hugh Annesley, 5th Earl Annesley, Malleson studied at the Royal Academy of Drama Art and was a popular t ...

was a writer, actress, and mistress of

Bertrand Russell Bertrand Arthur William Russell, 3rd Earl Russell, (18 May 1872 – 2 February 1970) was a British mathematician, philosopher, logician, and public intellectual. He had a considerable influence on mathematics, logic, set theory, linguistics, ...

. She was initially taught at home, then in 1895, at fourteen, she began study at the Frank Calderon School of Animal Painting in London. At eighteen she was elected a member of the Belfast Art Society and exhibited with the Society for many years, from 1899 to 1926. She married Gerald Sowerby (1878–1913) in 1904. Sowerby was flag lieutenant to Admiral

Prince Louis of Battenberg Admiral of the Fleet Louis Alexander Mountbatten, 1st Marquess of Milford Haven, (24 May 185411 September 1921), formerly Prince Louis Alexander of Battenberg, was a British naval officer and German prince related by marriage to the British ...

and flag commander to the commander-in-chief, Portsmouth. The couple had one son, Gerald Francis Sowerby (later Annesley). Her husband died in 1913, and a year later she inherited

Castlewellan Castlewellan () is a small town in County Down, in the south-east of Northern Ireland close to the Irish Sea. It is beside Castlewellan Lake and Slievenaslat mountain, southwest of Downpatrick. It lies between the Mourne Mountains and Slieve C ...

Castle after the death of her brother Francis. She moved back to the Castle in 1914, and reverted to her maiden name. The Castle was home to a world-famous arboretum, with Annesley working hard to recover from losses incurred due to death duties. Gerald Francis Sowerby (5 November 1904-April 1992) married firstly Lady Elizabeth Jocelyn, daughter of the

Earl of Roden Earl of Roden is a title in the Peerage of Ireland. It was created in 1771 for Robert Jocelyn, 2nd Viscount Jocelyn. This branch of the Jocelyn family descends from the 1st Viscount, prominent Irish lawyer and politician Robert Jocelyn, the s ...

, secondly Mary Macdonald, and thirdly Elizabeth Cromwell.

Artistic career

At the age of about forty she learnt the technique of wood engraving at the

Central School A central school was a selective secondary education school with a focus on technical and commercial skills in the English education system. It was positioned between the more academic grammar schools and the ordinary elementary schools where m ...

in London under the tutelage of

Noel Rooke Noel Rooke (1881–1953) was a British wood-engraver and artist. His ideas and teaching made a major contribution to the revival of British wood-engraving in the twentieth century. Biography Rooke was born in Acton, London and he would remain in ...

from 1920 to 1921. She was soon regarded as one of its three or four leading exponents in Britain along with artists like

Gwen Raverat Gwendolen Mary "Gwen" Raverat (née Darwin; 26 August 1885 – 11 February 1957), was an English wood engraver who was a founder member of the Society of Wood Engravers. Her memoir ''Period Piece'' was published in 1952. Biography Gwendolen Ma ...

and

Robert Gibbings Robert John Gibbings (23 March 1889 – 19 January 1958) was an Irish artist and author who was most noted for his work as a wood engraver and sculptor, and for his books on travel and natural history.Martin J. Andrews, ''The Life and Work of R ...

. She exhibited 27 prints with the Society of Wood Engravers between 1922 and 1939, being elected a member in 1925. She also exhibited at her studio 12 Lombard Street, Belfast in 1925, lecturing on wood-engraving. Annesley illustrated a number of volumes for the

Golden Cockerel Press The Golden Cockerel Press was an English fine press operating between 1920 and 1961. History The private press made handmade limited editions of classic works. The type was hand-set and the books were printed on handmade paper, and sometimes ...

, including ''Songs from Robert Burns'' (1925), and for Duckworths ''County Down Songs'' (1924) and ''Apollo in Mourne'' (1926) by the Ulsterman Richard Rowley. When she developed

arthritis Arthritis is a term often used to mean any disorder that affects joints. Symptoms generally include joint pain and stiffness. Other symptoms may include redness, warmth, swelling, and decreased range of motion of the affected joints. In som ...

in later life, employing lino in place of boxwood to continue working. She exhibited with the

Watercolour 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 ...

in 1926, with the Dublin Painters in 1938, and was included in a 1930 exhibition of Irish art held in Brussels. Annesley designed pageant costumes with

William Conor William Conor OBE RHA PPRUA ROI (1881–1968) was a Belfast-born artist. Celebrated for his warm and sympathetic portrayals of working-class life in Ulster, William Conor studied at the Government School of Design in Belfast in the 1890s ...

for the 1500th anniversary of the landing of St Patrick at Saul, Co. Down held in 1932 at Castle Ward, Strangford. Circa 1933 a selection of her work, watercolours, wood-engravings, and silverpoints was exhibited at the Batsford Gallery, London. The Ulster Unit exhibition showed her work in 1934, the same year she was elected an honorary member of the

Royal Ulster Academy The Royal Ulster Academy (RUA) has existed in one form or another since 1879. It started life then, as The Belfast Ramblers' Sketching Club drawn from the staff of Marcus Ward & Co who held their first show in Ward's Library on Botanic Avenue in 18 ...

. Her collection of contemporary wood-engravings, alongside 20 of her works, where donated at the

Belfast Museum and Art Gallery The Ulster Museum, located in the Botanic Gardens in Belfast, has around 8,000 square metres (90,000 sq. ft.) of public display space, featuring material from the collections of fine art and applied art, archaeology, ethnography, treasures ...

in 1939. She moved home several times, living also in

Belfast Belfast ( , ; from ga, Béal Feirste , meaning 'mouth of the sand-bank ford') is the capital and largest city of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan on the east coast. It is the 12th-largest city in the United Kingdo ...

Connemara Connemara (; )( ga, Conamara ) is a region on the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic coast of western County Galway, in the west of Ireland. The area has a strong association with traditional Irish culture and contains much of the Connacht Irish-speak ...

and in

Rathfriland Rathfriland () is a market town in County Down, Northern Ireland. History In older documents written in English, the town's name was usually spelt ''Rathfylan'' or ''Rathfrilan''.

. During the Second World War she emigrated to

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

but returned to England in 1953, settling in

Suffolk Suffolk () is a ceremonial county of England in East Anglia. It borders Norfolk to the north, Cambridgeshire to the west and Essex to the south; the North Sea lies to the east. The county town is Ipswich; other important towns include Lowes ...

. Annesley was a trustee of the Bishop Suter Art Gallery in Nelson whilst living in New Zealand, purchasing for the board when she visited England.

Later life and recognition

Lady Mabel Annesley died of myelomatosis on 19 June 1959 in Clare, Suffolk, and was buried in

Long Melford Long Melford, colloquially and historically also referred to as Melford, is a large village and civil parish in the Babergh District, Babergh district, in the county of Suffolk, England. It is on Suffolk's border with Essex, which is marked by ...

, Suffolk. She left an unfinished autobiography called ''As the Sight Is Bent'', which was published by the Museum Press in 1964. In it she says that Paul Nash and David Jones were particular influences. A memorial show of her work was held at the Whitworth Art Gallery in 1960. She is commemorated by an

Ulster History Circle The Ulster History Circle is a heritage organisation that administers Blue Plaques for the area that encompasses the province of Ulster on the island of Ireland. It is a voluntary, not-for-profit organisation, placing commemorative plaques in pub ...

blue plaque at the Arboretum,

Castlewellan Forest Park Castlewellan Forest Park is located in the town of Castlewellan in County Down, Northern Ireland. The park covers some 460 hectares, including woodland and a 40 hectare lake. It was opened to the public in 1967 after the Forest Service of the D ...

, County Down.

Arms

References

External links