Stella Lewis Marks MVO, RMS, ASMP (November 27, 1887 – November 18, 1985) was born in the

City of Melbourne The City of Melbourne is a local government area in Victoria, Australia, located in the central city area of Melbourne. In 2018, the city has an area of and had a population of 169,961. Estimated resident population, 30 June 2018. The ...

, Australia. She was an artist, active in Australia, the

United States of America The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territor ...

, and

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It is ...

. She is best known as a portrait

miniaturist A portrait miniature is a miniature portrait painting, usually executed in gouache, watercolor, or enamel. Portrait miniatures developed out of the techniques of the miniatures in illuminated manuscripts, and were popular among 16th-century eli ...

, although she also made larger works in oils, charcoal, and pastels. She was a member of the

Royal Society of Miniature Painters, Sculptors and Gravers The Royal Society of Miniature Painters, Sculptors and Gravers, more commonly known as the Royal Miniature Society (RMS), is an art society founded in 1895 dedicated to upholding and continuing the tradition of miniature painting and sculpture, ...

, and the

American Society of Miniature Painters The American Society of Miniature Painters (ASMP) was an association of miniature painters, organized in March 1899. The ten founding members of the ASMP included Virginia Richmond Reynolds, Isaac A. Josephi, William Jacob Baer, Alice Beckingto ...

. In the early 20th century, she painted a number of well-known personalities, particularly in America, before moving to the UK in 1934. In 1948, she was commissioned to paint a portrait miniature of

Queen Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 1926 – 8 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until her death in 2022. She was queen regnant of 32 sovereign states during ...

, who was then H.R.H. the Princess Elizabeth, by the Duke of Edinburgh, and since then she painted 14 miniatures of members of the British royal family. She was awarded the honor, Member of the

Royal Victorian Order The Royal Victorian Order (french: Ordre royal de Victoria) is a dynastic order of knighthood established in 1896 by Queen Victoria. It recognises distinguished personal service to the British monarch, Canadian monarch, Australian monarch, ...

on December 30, 1978. She was married to fellow artist

Montagu Marks Montagu Marks (1890–1972) was an Australian artist. He was born in Melbourne in 1890, moved to Perth in 1896 and later studied at the National Gallery School at Melbourne. During World War I he was a pilot in the Canadian Royal Flying Corps ...

, who became prominent in the British film industry as general manager of

London Films London Films Productions is a British film and television production company founded in 1932 by Alexander Korda and from 1936 based at Denham Film Studios in Buckinghamshire, near London. The company's productions included ''The Private Life ...

Life and work

Stella Marks was born in Carlton, Melbourne, Australia, to Mary (née Fennell) Lewis and James Joseph Lewis. She received her artistic training at the

National Gallery of Victoria Art School The National Gallery of Victoria Art School, associated with the National Gallery of Victoria, was a private fine arts college founded in 1867 and was Australia's leading art school of 50 years. It is also referred to as the 'National Gallery ...

under

Lindsay Bernard Hall Lindsay Bernard Hall (28 December 1859 – 14 February 1935) was an English-born Australian artist, teacher and art gallery director. Early life and career Hall was born at Garston, Liverpool, England, the son of a broker of the same fam ...

and

Frederick McCubbin Frederick McCubbin (25 February 1855 – 20 December 1917) was an Australian artist, art teacher and prominent member of the Heidelberg School art movement, also known as Australian impressionism. Born and raised in Melbourne, Victoria, McCubb ...

. In 1912, she painted her first miniature after being persuaded to do so by fellow artists

Penleigh Boyd Theodore Penleigh Boyd (15 August 1890 – 27 November 1923) was a British born Australian artist. Penleigh Boyd was a member of the Boyd artistic dynasty: his parents Arthur Merric Boyd (1862–1940) and Emma Minnie Boyd (née à Beckett) w ...

and

. She moved to

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the U ...

with her husband in 1914 and quickly made a name for herself in artistic and society circles. In 1916 she was commissioned by the

Governor General of Canada The governor general of Canada (french: gouverneure générale du Canada) is the federal viceregal representative of the . The is head of state of Canada and the 14 other Commonwealth realms, but resides in oldest and most populous realm, ...

, the

Duke of Connaught and Strathearn Duke of Connaught and Strathearn was a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom that was granted on 24 May 1874 by Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland to her third son, Prince Arthur. At the same time, he was also ...

, to paint a miniature of his daughter, the

Princess Patricia of Connaught Lady Victoria Patricia Helena Elizabeth Ramsay, (born Princess Patricia of Connaught; 17 March 1886 – 12 January 1974) was a granddaughter of Queen Victoria. Upon her marriage to Alexander Ramsay, she relinquished her title of a British prin ...

. It was reported that 100,000 copies of the miniature, which was considered by the Princess to be the best existing portrait of herself, were printed and sold on behalf of the

Canadian Red Cross The Canadian Red Cross Society ()Japan, Australia, and

) were of the famous spy,

Sydney Reilly Sidney George Reilly (; – 5 November 1925)—known as "Ace of Spies"—was a Russian-born adventurer and secret agent employed by Scotland Yard's Special Branch and later by the Foreign Section of the British Secret Service Bureau, the pre ...

, and his 'wife' Nadine; the actresses Marjorie Williamson, Mrs. Madge Carr and

Edith Day Edith Day (born Edith Marie Day; April 10, 1896 – May 1, 1971) was an American actress and singer best known for her roles in Edwardian musical comedies and operettas, first on Broadway and then in London's West End. Life and career Born in ...

; musician, Jan Cherniavsky; multi-millionaire, Knox Studebaker; a Japanese lady, Mrs. T. Akaboshi; the occultist,

Aleister Crowley Aleister Crowley (; born Edward Alexander Crowley; 12 October 1875 – 1 December 1947) was an English occultist, ceremonial magician, poet, painter, novelist, and mountaineer. He founded the religion of Thelema, identifying himself as the prop ...

; musician and dancer,

Maud Allan Maud Allan (born as either Beulah Maude Durrant or Ulah Maud Alma Durrant;Birthname given as Ulah Maud Alma DurrantMcConnell, Virginia A. ''Sympathy for the Devil: The Emmanuel Baptist Murders of Old San Francisco'', University of Nebraska Pr ...

; and

Joseph McKenna Joseph McKenna (August 10, 1843 – November 21, 1926) was an American politician who served in all three branches of the U.S. federal government, as a member of the U.S. House of Representatives, as U.S. Attorney General and as an Associate Ju ...

, Associate Justice of the

Supreme Court of the United States The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. federal court cases, and over state court cases that involve a point ...

. The latter two were purchased by the

Felton Bequest Alfred Felton (8 November 1831 – 8 January 1904) was an Australian entrepreneur, art collector and philanthropist. Biography Alfred Felton was born at Maldon, Essex, England, the fifth child of six sons and three daughters of William Felton, a ...

on behalf of the National Gallery of Victoria's permanent collection. In 1934, although not an American citizen, Marks was offered the presidency of the American Society of Miniature Painters. She had to turn down the honor due to her move to the UK. She left New York because her husband, Montagu Marks, joined the film mogul Alexander Korda and became general manager of London Films Productions. At the time Montagu Marks was pivotal in helping to secure funding for Alexander Korda from Prudential Insurance. Between 1931 and 1940, a number of Marks' works were exhibited at the London

Royal Academy of Arts 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 purp ...

. In 1941, she painted a miniature of

Mary Churchill Mary Soames, Baroness Soames, (; 15 September 1922 31 May 2014) was an English author. The youngest of the five children of Winston Churchill and his wife, Clementine, she worked for public organisations including the Red Cross and the Women ...

, Winston Churchill's youngest daughter. It is said that Winston Churchill always carried the miniature with him on his wartime journeys. In 1948, on the recommendation of Sir James Mann, director of the

Wallace Collection The Wallace Collection is a museum in London occupying Hertford House in Manchester Square, the former townhouse of the Seymour family, Marquesses of Hertford. It is named after Sir Richard Wallace, who built the extensive collection, along ...

, the Duke of Edinburgh commissioned Marks to paint H.R.H. the Princess Elizabeth. As a result of this Royal commission, she painted miniatures of

Prince Philip Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh (born Prince Philip of Greece and Denmark, later Philip Mountbatten; 10 June 1921 – 9 April 2021) was the husband of Queen Elizabeth II. As such, he served as the consort of the British monarch from El ...

and all the royal children, including the first ever portrait of

Prince Charles Charles III (Charles Philip Arthur George; born 14 November 1948) is King of the United Kingdom and the 14 other Commonwealth realms. He was the longest-serving heir apparent and Prince of Wales and, at age 73, became the oldest person to ...

, aged two. Another notable miniature of Marks' later work was a "miniature within a miniature" of Sir Winston Churchill painted in 1966. On December 30, 1978, Marks was awarded the honor, Member of the Victorian Order.''The London Gazette'', Op. cit. In 1980, she resigned from the Royal Miniature Society because she had become almost completely blind. Marks died on November 18, 1985, in Kent, United Kingdom.

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Marks, Stella 1887 births 1985 deaths Australian women painters Australian portrait painters 20th-century Australian painters 20th-century Australian women artists Portrait miniaturists Artists from Melbourne Members of the Royal Victorian Order People from Carlton, Victoria Australian expatriates in the United States Australian emigrants to England National Gallery of Victoria Art School alumni