Phyllis Bray (30 August 1911 – 1991) was a British artist and illustrator known for involvement in the
East London Group of artists, for the murals she produced and for illustrating children's books.
During her career she 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 ...
and at several leading London galleries.
Biography
Bray was born in Norwood in west London. Her father, William de Bray, was a British diplomat, who was at one point an attaché to the court of the mother of Tsar
Nicholas II of Russia.
Bray obtained a scholarship to study 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 ...
from 1927 to 1931, where her tutor was
Henry Tonks
Henry Tonks, Fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons, FRCS (9 April 1862 – 8 January 1937) was a British surgeon and later draughtsman and painter of figure subjects, chiefly interiors, and a Caricature, caricaturist. He became an influentia ...
.
At the Slade Bray won several prizes.
In 1933 she was elected to the
London Group and also married her first husband, the artist, and fellow evening-class teacher, John Cooper and together they were to become core members of the
East London Group.
Bray became known for her landscapes, which she painted in both oils and watercolours, and for her murals. For over forty years Bray worked with the muralist
painting in churches across Britain.
Bray also worked on a number of solo projects, such as the three murals, on ''Music'', ''Drama'' and ''Ballet'', she produced for the People's Palace on the
Mile End Road in east London and which is now part of
Queen Mary University of London. A mural Bray painted for St Crispin's Church in
Bermondsey remains intact.
Several leading publishers, including the
Oxford University Press
Oxford University Press (OUP) is the university press of the University of Oxford. It is the largest university press in the world, and its printing history dates back to the 1480s. Having been officially granted the legal right to print books ...
and
Faber & Faber
Faber and Faber Limited, usually abbreviated to Faber, is an independent publishing house in London. Published authors and poets include T. S. Eliot (an early Faber editor and director), W. H. Auden, Margaret Storey, William Golding, Samuel B ...
, commissioned Bray to illustrate books, including several works for children. Bray also designed a 1938 poster for
London Transport promoting the
Wimbledon tennis championship.
[ Bray designed advertising material for ]Shell-Mex & BP
Shell-Mex and BP Ltd was a British joint venture between petroleum companies Royal Dutch Shell (Shell) and BP. It was formed in 1932 when both companies decided to merge their United Kingdom marketing operations,Reference and contact details: GB ...
and for the John Lewis Partnership
The John Lewis Partnership plc (JLP) is a British company which operates John Lewis & Partners department stores, Waitrose & Partners supermarkets, its banking and financial services, and other retail-related activities. The privately-held publ ...
.[ Throughout the 1950s and 1960s Bray built up a collection of jewellery, mostly from the medieval and Renaissance periods, which was sold at ]Christie's
Christie's is a British auction house founded in 1766 by James Christie (auctioneer), James Christie. Its main premises are on King Street, St James's in London, at Rockefeller Center in New York City and at Alexandra House in Hong Kong. It is ...
in 1989.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 1950, 1952, 1955 and in 1960.Bath
Bath may refer to:
* Bathing, immersion in a fluid
** Bathtub, a large open container for water, in which a person may wash their body
** Public bathing, a public place where people bathe
* Thermae, ancient Roman public bathing facilities
Plac ...
.Walker Art Gallery
The Walker Art Gallery is an art gallery in Liverpool, which houses one of the largest art collections in England outside London. It is part of the National Museums Liverpool group.
History of the Gallery
The Walker Art Gallery's collection ...
in Liverpool, the Blackpool Art Gallery, New College, Oxford
New College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1379 by William of Wykeham in conjunction with Winchester College as its feeder school, New College is one of the oldest colleges at th ...
, and the UK Government Art Collection hold examples of her work.
References
Further reading
* ''From Bow to Biennale: Artists of the East London Group'' (2012), by David Buckman, published by Francis Boutle Publishers ()
External links
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bray, Phyllis
1911 births
1991 deaths
20th-century English painters
20th-century English women artists
Alumni of the Slade School of Fine Art
Artists from London
English muralists
British women muralists
English women painters