Rosamund Mary Beatrice Fletcher (5 August 1908 — 18 February 1993) was an English sculptor. Her works were shown over twenty times at the Royal Academy Summer Exhibition from 1938 to 1965. In 1957, she became a Fellow 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 ...

and remained a Fellow until her death in 1993. Her sculpture ''The End of the Covert'' won a bronze medal in the art competitions at the 1948 Summer Olympics.

Early life and education

Fletcher was born on 5 August 1908 in

Dorking Dorking () is a market town in Surrey in South East England, about south of London. It is in Mole Valley District and the council headquarters are to the east of the centre. The High Street runs roughly east–west, parallel to the Pipp Br ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

, the daughter of Blandford and Norah Fletcher. Her father, who was a painter, convinced her not to take up art during her childhood. Fletcher went to the Ruskin School of Drawing and Fine Art from 1935 to 1937 and graduated from the

Slade School of Fine 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 1939. She also attended programs about

casting Casting is a manufacturing process in which a liquid material is usually poured into a mold, which contains a hollow cavity of the desired shape, and then allowed to solidify. The solidified part is also known as a ''casting'', which is ejected ...

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

and

Oxford Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

Career

After graduating, Fletcher first showcased her artwork at the Royal Academy Summer Exhibition in

in 1938. From 1938 to 1965, over thirty of her sculptures were shown at the Summer Exhibition. During this time period, Fletcher also participated at a children's exhibition held by the

in 1947. Outside of England, Fletcher's artwork was shown in a 1950

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 ...

exhibition and a 1951

Royal Glasgow Institute of the Fine Arts The Royal Glasgow Institute of the Fine Arts (RGI) is an independent organisation in Glasgow, founded in 1861, which promotes contemporary art and artists in Scotland. The institute organizes the largest and most prestigious annual art exhibitio ...

event. For her individual works, Fletcher created a 15–piece artwork on the

Stations of the Cross The Stations of the Cross or the Way of the Cross, also known as the Way of Sorrows or the Via Crucis, refers to a series of images depicting Jesus Christ on the day of Crucifixion of Jesus, his crucifixion and accompanying prayers. The station ...

. She also made statues of Saints

Edward the Confessor Edward the Confessor ; la, Eduardus Confessor , ; ( 1003 – 5 January 1066) was one of the last Anglo-Saxon English kings. Usually considered the last king of the House of Wessex, he ruled from 1042 to 1066. Edward was the son of Æth ...

and Edmund Campion. In international exhibitions, Fletcher won a bronze medal 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 ...

for her sculpture ''The End of the Covert'', in the

reliefs Relief is a sculptural method in which the sculpted pieces are bonded to a solid background of the same material. The term ''relief'' is from the Latin verb ''relevo'', to raise. To create a sculpture in relief is to give the impression that the ...

event. Her sculptures were held in various schools and religious places throughout England while also appearing in

Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett language, Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut assachusett writing systems, məhswatʃəwiːsət'' English: , ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is the most populous U.S. state, state in the New England ...

at the Samuel Slater Memorial.

Honours and death

In 1940, Fletcher was awarded the

Lady Feodora Gleichen Lady Feodora Georgina Maud Gleichen (20 December 1861 London – 22 February 1922 London) was a British sculptor of figures and portrait busts and designer of decorative objects. Background Born Countess Feodora Georgina Maud von Gleichen, ...

Fund. In 1957, she became a Fellow of the

and held this position until her death in 1993. She had previously joined the Royal Society in 1945 as a member before her fellowship. On 18 February 1993, Fletcher died in

Braintree, Essex Braintree is a town and former civil parish in Essex, England. The principal settlement of Braintree District, it is located northeast of Chelmsford and west of Colchester. According to the 2011 Census, the town had a population of 41,634, ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fletcher, Rosamund 1908 births 1993 deaths 20th-century British sculptors 20th-century English women artists Alumni of the Slade School of Fine Art English women sculptors Medalists at the 1948 Summer Olympics Olympic bronze medalists in art competitions Olympic bronze medallists for Great Britain Olympic competitors in art competitions People from Dorking