Mary Morton (21 March 1879 – 15 June 1965) was a British sculptor.

Early life and education

Morton was born in

Stroud Stroud is a market town and civil parish in Gloucestershire, England. It is the main town in Stroud District. The town's population was 13,500 in 2021. Below the western escarpment of the Cotswold Hills, at the meeting point of the Five ...

, England on 21 March 1879. Her father was George Morton, a surgeon who was born around 1839 in the

East Indies The East Indies (or simply the Indies), is a term used in historical narratives of the Age of Discovery. The Indies refers to various lands in the East or the Eastern hemisphere, particularly the islands and mainlands found in and around t ...

. She attended the Bristol School of Art before studying at the modelling school of the

Royal College of Art The Royal College of Art (RCA) is a public research university in London, United Kingdom, with campuses in South Kensington, Battersea and White City. It is the only entirely postgraduate art and design university in the United Kingdom. It offe ...

between 1911 and 1913.

Professional career

In 1913 Morton became a

Royal West of England Academy The Royal West of England Academy (RWA) is Bristol's oldest art gallery, located in Clifton, Bristol, near the junction of Queens Road and Whiteladies Road. Situated in a Grade 2* listed building, it hosts five galleries and an exhibition program ...

Academician. In 1928 she became an Associate of the

Royal Society of British Sculptors The Royal Society of Sculptors is a British charity established in 1905 which promotes excellence in the art and practice of sculpture. Its headquarters are a centre for contemporary sculpture on Old Brompton Road, South Kensington, London. It ...

before becoming a Fellow in 1948. Her work was part of the sculpture event in the art competition at the

1948 Summer Olympics The 1948 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XIV Olympiad and also known as London 1948) were an international multi-sport event held from 29 July to 14 August 1948 in London, England, United Kingdom. Following a twelve-year hiatus ca ...

. She also worked closely with the Associate of the Society of Women Artists and exhibited 105 works with the society between 1913 and 1960. Her sculpture of

Charles Kennedy Scott Charles James Kennedy Osborne Scott (16 November 18762 July 1965) was an English organist and choral conductor who played an important part in developing the performance of choral and polyphonic music in England, especially of early and modern En ...

is held by the

Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance is a music and dance conservatoire based in London, England. It was formed in 2005 as a merger of two older institutions – Trinity College of Music and Laban Dance Centre. The conservatoire has ...

and her woodcarving,'' Study of a Nude Girl beneath a Tree Carved with Foliage'', is held by the Royal West of England Academy. 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 ...

she worked as an

ARP warden Air Raid Precautions (ARP) refers to a number of organisations and guidelines in the United Kingdom dedicated to the protection of civilians from the danger of air raids. Government consideration for air raid precautions increased in the 1920s an ...

Princess Beatrice Hospital The Princess Beatrice Hospital was a London hospital located in Earl's Court, which operated from 1887 to 1978, latterly as a maternity hospital. History The hospital was founded in 1887 as part of the celebrations of Queen Victoria’s Golden ...

Death

Morton died on 15 June 1965 in Sopworth House, 4 Rosecroft Avenue,

Hampstead Hampstead () is an area in London, which lies northwest of Charing Cross, and extends from Watling Street, the A5 road (Roman Watling Street) to Hampstead Heath, a large, hilly expanse of parkland. The area forms the northwest part of the Lon ...

, London. At the time of her death, her estate was worth £22,900.

Exhibitions

* Aberdeen Artists' Society Exhibition of Works of Modern Artists, 1929 and 1931. * Bristol Academy – 1907, 1913 and 1915. * City of Manchester Art Gallery – 1927. *

Leeds City Art Gallery Leeds Art Gallery in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England, is a gallery, part of the Leeds Museums & Galleries group, whose collection of 20th-century British Art was designated by the British government in 1997 as a collection "of national importance" ...

– 1910 and 1927. *

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 ...

– 1909, 1912–1919, 1921–1922, 1927–1928, 1930–1935 and 1940–1941. * The Royal Glasgow Institute of the Fine Arts, exhibited 12 times between 1923 and 1940. *

The Royal Scottish Academy The Royal Scottish Academy (RSA) is the country’s national academy of art. It promotes contemporary Scottish art. The Academy was founded in 1826 by eleven artists meeting in Edinburgh. Originally named the Scottish Academy, it became the ...

– Exhibited two works in 1914, two works in 1927, one work in 1928, one work in 1929, one work in 1930, one work in 1932, one work in 1934, one work in 1935, one work in 1936, two works in 1937, one work in 1939, one work in 1940, one work in 1941, one work in 1942, one work in 1944, two works in 1946 and one work in 1948. *

– 1916, 1918, 1919, 1920, 1921, 1922, 1923–1924, 1924, 1925–1926, 1926–1927, 1927–1928, 1928–1829 and 1929–1930.

References

1879 births 1965 deaths 20th-century British sculptors 20th-century English women artists English women sculptors Olympic competitors in art competitions People from Stroud Alumni of the Royal College of Art {{UK-sculptor-stub