Mildred Bendall (27 November 1891 – 27 December 1977) was an active force of the avant-garde in Bordeaux, and instrumental in building a real exchange with Paris.GALLIANO - DES GARETS Françoise, ''La Vie culturelle à Bordeaux 1945-1975'', Bordeaux, pp. 32-35, 81-82 and 112-114E. BÉNÉZIT, ''Dictionnaire Critique et Documentaire des Peintres, Sculpteurs, Dessinateurs et Graveurs''; Vol. 2, Gründ, Paris, 1999, p. 281

Early years

Born in Bordeaux in 1891, Mildred was the third and youngest child of Manley Forbes Bendall, a highly successful English merchant, and Marie-Blanche-Elisabeth Chrisman. Bendall trained as a painter during 1910–1914 at the atelier of local fashionable painter Félix Carme and her work ''Coin de Salon Bordelais'' won a first in the 'Peinture au Palmarès de l'Union Féminine de Bordeaux'. Bendall's early paintings emulate the 'Chardinesque' style of her tutor, but nonetheless, show her solid grounding in drawing, technique and composition, which later earned her the respect of

Henri Matisse Henri Émile Benoît Matisse (; 31 December 1869 – 3 November 1954) was a French visual artist, known for both his use of colour and his fluid and original draughtsmanship. He was a draughtsman, printmaker, and sculptor, but is known prima ...

and

Albert Marquet Albert Marquet (27 March 1875 – 14 June 1947) was a French painter, associated with the Fauvist movement. He initially became one of the Fauve painters and a lifelong friend of Henri Matisse. Marquet subsequently painted in a more naturali ...

.FERMON, An Jo, "The Painting of Mildred Bendall: The Joy of Colour in Life and Nature" in ''Mildred Bendall: A Retrospective Exhibition'', exhibition catalogue, Patridge Fine Art, London, 2008 In 1920, Bendall gained admission to the '

Salon des Artistes Français The Salon (french: Salon), or rarely Paris Salon (French: ''Salon de Paris'' ), beginning in 1667 was the official art exhibition of the Académie des Beaux-Arts in Paris. Between 1748 and 1890 it was arguably the greatest annual or biennial art ...

' in Paris, which eventually prompted her move to Paris during 1927–1928. It was her time at the '

Académie de la Grande Chaumière The Académie de la Grande Chaumière is an art school in the Montparnasse district of Paris, France. History The school was founded in 1904 by the Catalan painter Claudio Castelucho on the rue de la Grande Chaumière in Paris, near the Acadé ...

' in Montparnasse, where the painters of the '

École de Paris The School of Paris (french: École de Paris) refers to the French and émigré artists who worked in Paris in the first half of the 20th century. The School of Paris was not a single art movement or institution, but refers to the importance ...

' congregated, that transformed her style. Her friendship with Matisse in particular left a lasting influence on Bendall and her work. She adopted to great effect his 'Fauve' ideas on colour as building blocks for form and space. Although Bendall never married, Jean-Gérard Matisse, the son of the painter, did propose to her.POLDEN Sarah, ''Mildred Bendall'', Whitford and Hughes, London, 1987

Career development

Under Matisse's guidance, Bendall became an active force of the avant-garde in Bordeaux, and built a real exchange between the provincial capital and Paris. In 1928, she helped to found the 'Artistes Indépendants bordelais' as a counter-movement against traditional Academism. Under her influence Bonnard,

Braque Georges Braque ( , ; 13 May 1882 – 31 August 1963) was a major 20th-century List of French artists, French painter, Collage, collagist, Drawing, draughtsman, printmaker and sculpture, sculptor. His most notable contributions were in his all ...

, Utrillo, Matisse and

Picasso Pablo Ruiz Picasso (25 October 1881 – 8 April 1973) was a Spanish painter, sculptor, printmaker, ceramicist and Scenic design, theatre designer who spent most of his adult life in France. One of the most influential artists of the 20th ce ...

all submitted paintings to its yearly exhibitions. In 1929, Bendall was also a founding member of 'Le Studio', a free and loosely grouped academy, and first to provide life-drawing classes in Bordeaux. In 1937, the Galerie de Paris, in Paris exhibited Bendall's work in 'Jeune France', alongside canvasses by

Kees van Dongen Cornelis Theodorus Maria "Kees" van Dongen (26 January 1877 – 28 May 1968) was a Dutch-French painter who was one of the leading Fauvism, Fauves. Van Dongen's early work was influenced by the Hague School and symbolism and it evolved gradually ...

Max Jacob Max Jacob (; 12 July 1876 – 5 March 1944) was a French poet, painter, writer, and critic. Life and career After spending his childhood in Quimper, Brittany, he enrolled in the Paris Colonial School, which he left in 1897 for an artistic ca ...

and

Raoul Dufy Raoul Dufy (; 3 June 1877 – 23 March 1953) was a French Fauvism, Fauvist painter. He developed a colorful, decorative style that became fashionable for designs of ceramic art, ceramics and textile as well as decorative schemes for public bu ...

. The Musée National d'Art Moderne, Paris, purchased the work ''Bouquet a la table ronde''.

Late life

Following the Second World War and until her death in 1977, Bendall, remained true to expressive colour and strong composition. Her unique blend of Fauvism and Expressionism articulates her individual visual enjoyment of Nature and its satisfying harmonies, in painting strong and tender, modern in technique yet attractive and sumptuous in appearance.

Notes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bendall, Mildred 1891 births 1977 deaths 20th-century French women artists Alumni of the Académie de la Grande Chaumière French women painters Artists from Bordeaux