Mary Dobson (born 1912) was a British artist, who was originally a painter and illustrator but later specialised in producing stained glass and mosaic works.

Biography

Dobson was born in London and attended the Bournemouth Municipal School of Art from 1930 to 1934, then studied at

Chelsea Polytechnic Chelsea College of Arts is a constituent college of the University of the Arts London based in London, United Kingdom, and is a leading British art and design institution with an international reputation. It offers further and higher educat ...

in London during 1936 and 1937 before spending a year at the

Central School of Arts and Crafts The Central School of Art and Design was a public school of fine and applied arts in London, England. It offered foundation and degree level courses. It was established in 1896 by the London County Council as the Central School of Arts and Cr ...

. While still a student she established herself as a freelance illustrator. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

Dobson served in the

Women's Royal Naval Service The Women's Royal Naval Service (WRNS; popularly and officially known as the Wrens) was the women's branch of the United Kingdom's Royal Navy. First formed in 1917 for the First World War, it was disbanded in 1919, then revived in 1939 at the ...

and after she was demobbed in 1947 returned to producing illustrations for a range of publications. These included ''

The Strand Magazine ''The Strand Magazine'' was a monthly British magazine founded by George Newnes, composed of short fiction and general interest articles. It was published in the United Kingdom from January 1891 to March 1950, running to 711 issues, though the ...

'', ''Nursery World'' and newspapers including both the ''

Daily Mail The ''Daily Mail'' is a British daily middle-market tabloid newspaper and news websitePeter Wilb"Paul Dacre of the Daily Mail: The man who hates liberal Britain", ''New Statesman'', 19 December 2013 (online version: 2 January 2014) publish ...

'' and '' Daily Herald''. Dobson had her first solo exhibition of her paintings in 1953 and also exhibited at 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 ...

in London and with 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 ...

and 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 ...

, with whom she was a board member. Later Dobson specialised in stained glass and mosaic works. In 1957 and 1958 she created painted and stained glass windows for the Hastings Fishermen's Museum, which is housed in a former church. As well as London, Dobson lived for a time at

Shipbourne Shipbourne ( ) is a village and civil parish situated between the towns of Sevenoaks and Tonbridge, in the borough of Tonbridge and Malling in the English county of Kent. In 2020 it was named as the most expensive village in Kent. It is located i ...

in Kent.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dobson, Mary 1912 births Year of death missing 20th-century English painters 20th-century English women artists Alumni of Chelsea College of Arts Alumni of the Central School of Art and Design Artists from London British women illustrators English stained glass artists and manufacturers English women painters Royal Navy personnel of World War II 20th-century women painters