Mary Augusta McEvoy née Spencer Edwards (22 October 1870 - 4 November 1941) was a British artist known for her paintings of portraits, interiors and flowers.

Biography

McEvoy was born in Freshford in

Somerset ( en, All The People of Somerset) , locator_map = , coordinates = , region = South West England , established_date = Ancient , established_by = , preceded_by = , origin = , lord_lieutenant_office =Lord Lieutenant of Somerset , lord_ ...

and studied at the

Slade School of Art The UCL Slade School of Fine Art (informally The Slade) is the art school of University College London (UCL) and is based in London, England. It has been ranked as the UK's top art and design educational institution. The school is organised as ...

in London. Between 1900 and 1906 she was a regular exhibitor 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 ...

. In 1902 she married the artist

Ambrose McEvoy Arthur Ambrose McEvoy (12 August 1877 – 4 January 1927) was an English artist. His early works are landscapes and interiors with figures, in a style influenced by James McNeill Whistler. Later he gained success as a portrait painter, mainly o ...

and in due course gave up a full-time art career although she worked with her husband on at least one major project. In 1909 Ambrose McEvoy was commissioned to paint a series of decorations for St Columba's Church, Long Tower in Derry which were to consist of three original works and twenty-two copies of bible scenes as depicted by Old Masters. While Ambrose created the three original pieces, it is believed that Mary worked on the twenty-two copies, finding suitable sources, making cartoons and then painting enlarged versions onto copper panels for the church. After Ambrose died in 1927 Mary resumed painting and began exhibiting her work again. Between 1928 and 1938 she exhibited twelve works at the Royal Academy in London and also had works shown at the Paris Salon. During the 1930s Knoedlers Gallery in London showed a series of, mostly female, portraits by McEvoy. The

Tate Tate is an institution that houses, in a network of four art galleries, the United Kingdom's national collection of British art, and international modern and contemporary art. It is not a government institution, but its main sponsor is the U ...

collection holds her 1901 painting ''Interior: Girl Reading'' and also a bust of her by the sculptor

Jacob Epstein Sir Jacob Epstein (10 November 1880 – 21 August 1959) was an American-British sculptor who helped pioneer modern sculpture. He was born in the United States, and moved to Europe in 1902, becoming a British subject in 1911. He often produce ...

. Both the Hugh Lane Municipal Gallery of Modern Art in Dublin and the

Southampton City Art Gallery The Southampton City Art Gallery is an art gallery in Southampton, southern England. It is located in the Civic Centre on Commercial Road. The gallery opened in 1939 with much of the initial funding from the gallery coming from two bequests, o ...

hold examples of her later works.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:McEvoy, Mary 1870 births 1941 deaths 20th-century English women artists Alumni of the Slade School of Fine Art Artists from Somerset English portrait painters English women painters