Ruth Simpson (née Alison, 1889 – 1964) was a British artist who was an active member of the

Newlyn School The Newlyn School was an art colony of artists based in or near Newlyn, a fishing village adjacent to Penzance, on the south coast of Cornwall, from the 1880s until the early twentieth century. The establishment of the Newlyn School was reminisc ...

of artists and the

Lamorna Lamorna ( kw, Nansmornow) is a village, valley and cove in west Cornwall, England, UK. It is on the Penwith peninsula approximately south of Penzance. Lamorna became popular with the artists of the Newlyn School, including Alfred Munnings, Lau ...

artists colony.

Biography

Simpson was born in Newcastle, the daughter of Alister and Ada Alison. She studied art under

Elizabeth Elizabeth or Elisabeth may refer to: People * Elizabeth (given name), a female given name (including people with that name) * Elizabeth (biblical figure), mother of John the Baptist Ships * HMS ''Elizabeth'', several ships * ''Elisabeth'' (sch ...

and Stanhope Forbes at their school, the Forbes School of Painting, in

Newlyn Newlyn ( kw, Lulyn: Lu 'fleet', Lynn/Lydn 'pool') is a seaside town and fishing port (the largest fishing port in England) in south-west Cornwall, UK.Ordnance Survey: Landranger map sheet 203 ''Land's End'' Newlyn lies on the shore of Mount ...

during 1911 and 1912. In Newlyn, Simpson lodged with her sister Rose and together they led a full social life. During this time Simpson met the artist Charles Walter Simpson and the couple married in 1913. Their daughter, Leonora, was born the following year in Newlyn. Subsequently, the family lived in different locations throughout Cornwall, including at

Carbis Bay Carbis Bay (Cornish: ''Karrbons'', meaning "causeway") is a seaside resort and village in Cornwall, England. It lies southeast of St Ives, on the western coast of St Ives Bay, on the Atlantic coast. The South West Coast Path passes above th ...

and at St Ives. A joint show of their work was held in 1919. In St Ives, starting in 1920 the Simpsons ran their own painting school, the Shore Studio, with Ruth specializing in teaching portrait painting. In 1924, they closed the painting school and moved to London but returned to Cornwall in 1931 and settled in Lamorna where they remained until 1945, when they moved to

Penzance Penzance ( ; kw, Pennsans) is a town, civil parish and port in the Penwith district of Cornwall, United Kingdom. It is the most westerly major town in Cornwall and is about west-southwest of Plymouth and west-southwest of London. Situated ...

. It appears Ruth Simpson did little, if any, painting after returning from London and she died at

Redruth Redruth ( , kw, Resrudh) is a town and civil parishes in Cornwall, civil parish in Cornwall, England. The population of Redruth was 14,018 at the 2011 census. In the same year the population of the Camborne-Redruth urban area, which also inc ...

in 1964 and is buried in the cemetery at

Paul Paul may refer to: *Paul (given name), a given name (includes a list of people with that name) *Paul (surname), a list of people People Christianity *Paul the Apostle (AD c.5–c.64/65), also known as Saul of Tarsus or Saint Paul, early Chris ...

. As an artist, Ruth Simpson largely focused on portrait painting. She developed a distinct style of portraiture, working with colour in a modern style and often using bright coloured backgrounds. She had three works in group shows hosted by the

Society of Women Artists The Society of Women Artists (SWA) is a British art body dedicated to celebrating and promoting fine art created by women. It was founded as the Society of Female Artists (SFA) in about 1855, offering women artists the opportunity to exhibit and ...

. She painted several portraits of women artists who were based in Cornwall, including

Ella Naper Ella Louise Naper, ( Champion), (9 February 1886 – 1972) was an English jeweller, potter, designer and painter. Biography Naper was born in Charlton, one of the nine children of Alfred Champion, a fireman, and Mary Ann Champion. She attende ...

and

Gertrude Harvey Gertrude Harvey (née Bodinnar, 1879 – 1966) was a British artist who was an active member of the Newlyn School of artists and a regular exhibitor at the Royal Academy. Biography Gertrude Harvey was the eighth of the ten children born to ...

. Her three-quarter length ''Portrait of an Officer'' is in the collection of the

Imperial War Museum Imperial War Museums (IWM) is a British national museum organisation with branches at five locations in England, three of which are in London. Founded as the Imperial War Museum in 1917, the museum was intended to record the civil and military ...

while her portrait of

Frank Ver Beck William Francis "Frank" Ver Beck (June 1, 1858 – July 13, 1933) was an American illustrator known for his comedic drawings of animals. Biography Ver Beck was born in Richland Township, Belmont County, Ohio as the son of a shoemaker. He studied ...

is held by the

Royal Cornwall Museum The Royal Cornwall Museum in Truro holds an extensive mineral collection rooted in Cornwall's mining and engineering heritage (including much of the mineral collection of Philip Rashleigh). The county's artistic heritage is reflected in the mus ...

. Works by Simpson were included in the exhibition ''Painting in Newlyn 1880–1930'' held at the

Barbican Centre The Barbican Centre is a performing arts centre in the Barbican Estate of the City of London and the largest of its kind in Europe. The centre hosts classical and contemporary music concerts, theatre performances, film screenings and art exhi ...

during 1985.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Simpson, Ruth 1889 births 1964 deaths 20th-century English painters 20th-century English women artists English women painters Lamorna Art colony Newlyn School of Artists Painters from Cornwall People from Newlyn