Edith Ellen Henrietta Massey (1863-1946) and Gwenddolen Elizabeth Evileen Massey (1864-1960), known as the Massey Sisters, were two Welsh artists and

botanists This is a list of botanists who have Wikipedia articles, in alphabetical order by surname. The List of botanists by author abbreviation is mostly a list of plant taxonomists because an author receives a standard abbreviation only when that auth ...

who created a unique record of the plant-life of

Anglesey Anglesey (; cy, (Ynys) Môn ) is an island off the north-west coast of Wales. It forms a principal area known as the Isle of Anglesey, that includes Holy Island across the narrow Cymyran Strait and some islets and skerries. Anglesey island ...

in the late 19th and early 20th century.

Life and career

Edith and Gwenddolen Massey were born on the island of

, off the coast of North Wales. They lived at Cornelyn Manor, near

Llangoed Llangoed () is a small village, community and electoral ward just north of Beaumaris, on the Isle of Anglesey or ''Ynys Môn'', at . The Royal Mail postcode begins LL58. Llangoed ward has a population of 1,275 (2001), falling at the 2011 census to ...

, a country house built in 1861 by their father William Massey (1817-1897), who was Deputy Lieutenant and later High Sheriff of Anglesey (1864). Historian John Smith has written that the sisters had a "remarkable" talent for making detailed and exceptional botanical studies despite the fact that it appears they had little training. Edith gathered the flower and plant specimens while her younger sister Gwenddolen painted them in

watercolours 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 ...

. They are known to have painted more than 500 studies, annotated with the species names in Welsh, English and Latin. Gwenddolen died aged 96 on October 1960 and is buried with her sister and family at St Seiriol's Church, Penmon. Neither sister married or had children and their estate was inherited by their nearest surviving relative Sybil Mary, whose mother was a niece to the Massey Sisters' mother. After Mary's death, the collection of watercolour paintings was bought at auction by Anglesey Borough Council for £2,000 in 1982. Together with the previously acquired collection of works of

Charles Tunnicliffe Charles Frederick Tunnicliffe, Order of the British Empire, OBE, Royal Academy of Arts, RA (1 December 1901 – 7 February 1979) was an internationally renowned naturalistic painter of British birds and other wildlife. He spent most of his work ...

, this formed the start of the island's museum service, according to John Smith.

Reception

The sisters' paintings are held by

Oriel Ynys Môn Oriel Môn is a museum and arts centre located in Llangefni, Anglesey (Ynys Môn), Wales. A two-part centre, the History Gallery provides an insight into the island's culture, history and environment. The Art Gallery has a changing programme ...

Llangefni Llangefni (meaning "church on the River Cefni", ) is the county town of Anglesey in Wales and contains the principal offices of the Isle of Anglesey County Council. United Kingdom Census 2011 recorded Llangefni's population as 5,116 people, ma ...

, where a selection of them are on permanent display. In 2010, the

University of Cardiff , latin_name = , image_name = Shield of the University of Cardiff.svg , image_size = 150px , caption = Coat of arms of Cardiff University , motto = cy, Gwirionedd, Undod a Chytgord , mottoeng = Truth, Unity and Concord , established = 1 ...

funded a five-year research project led by author Tristan Hughes to promote knowledge of the Massey sisters to the wider public and to place their work in its historical context.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Massey, Edith and Gwenddolen 19th-century Welsh women artists 20th-century Welsh women artists People from Anglesey Sibling artists Welsh botanists