''For the Australian writer, Margaret Geddes, see Margaret Geddes (disambiguation).'' Margaret Geddes (7 November 1914 – 1998) was a British oil painter of landscapes and figure subjects who later developed an abstract style.

Biography

Geddes was born in

Cheam Cheam () is a suburb of London, England, south-west of Charing Cross. It is divided into North Cheam, Cheam Village and South Cheam. Cheam Village contains the listed buildings Lumley Chapel and the 16th-century Whitehall. It is adjacent to ...

in Surrey and attended school in

Eastbourne Eastbourne () is a town and seaside resort in East Sussex, on the south coast of England, east of Brighton and south of London. Eastbourne is immediately east of Beachy Head, the highest chalk sea cliff in Great Britain and part of the la ...

. She studied at the

Westminster School of Art The Westminster School of Art was an art school in Westminster, London. History The Westminster School of Art was located at 18 Tufton Street, Deans Yard, Westminster, and was part of the old Royal Architectural Museum. H. M. Bateman described ...

in London, where she was taught by both

Walter Bayes Walter John Bayes (31 May 1869 – 21 January 1956) was an English painter and illustrator who was a founder member of both the Camden Town Group and the London Group and also a renowned art teacher and critic. Biography Early life Bayes was bo ...

and Mark Gertler, from 1930 to 1936. Geddes began exhibiting in group shows while still a student and in 1938 was elected to the National Society of Painters, Sculptors and Gravers. During World War II Geddes worked as a draughtswoman in the Fire Service Department of the Home Office. After the war, she resumed her exhibition career, showing regularly with the

London Group The London Group is a society based in London, England, created to offer additional exhibiting opportunities to artists besides the Royal Academy of Arts. Formed in 1913, it is one of the oldest artist-led organisations in the world. It was form ...

, the

New English Art Club The New English Art Club (NEAC) was founded in London in 1885 as an alternative venue to the Royal Academy. It continues to hold an annual exhibition of paintings and drawings at the Mall Galleries in London, exhibiting works by both members and a ...

, the

Society of Women Artists The Society of Women Artists (SWA) is a British art body dedicated to celebrating and promoting fine art created by women. It was founded as the Society of Female Artists (SFA) in about 1855, offering women artists the opportunity to exhibit and ...

and at the Royal Academy. The

Leicester Galleries Leicester Galleries was an art gallery located in London from 1902 to 1977 that held exhibitions of modern British, French and international artists' works. Its name was acquired in 1984 by Peter Nahum, who operates "Peter Nahum at the Leiceste ...

and the

Redfern Gallery The Redfern Gallery is an exhibition space in the West End of London specialising in contemporary British art. It was founded by Arthur Knyvett-Lee and Anthony Maxtone Graham in 1923 as an artists' cooperative on the top floor of Redfern H ...

also displayed her work. Her first solo exhibition was hosted by the

Artists' International Association The Artists' International Association (AIA) was an organisation founded in London in 1933 out of discussion among Pearl Binder, Clifford Rowe, Misha Black, James Fitton, James Boswell, James Holland, Edward Ardizzone, Peter Laszlo Peri'Artis ...

in 1950. Further solo exhibitions at the Halesworth Gallery in Suffolk and at Teddington in 1973 followed. From 1951 to 1955 Geddes served as the chairperson of the

Women's International Art Club The Women's International Art Club, briefly known as the Paris International Art Club, was founded in Paris in 1900. The club was intended to "promote contacts between women artists of all nations and to arrange exhibitions of their work", and ...

. Over time, Geddes's painting moved from figuration to abstraction. In 1996 Geddes, with Alzheimer's Disease retired to a nursing home. Retrospectives of her work were held at the Woodlands Art Gallery in London during 1998 and at Camden Fine Art in Bath the following year.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Geddes, Margaret 1914 births 1998 deaths 20th-century English painters 20th-century English women artists Alumni of the Westminster School of Art English women painters People from Cheam 20th-century women painters