Mary Viola Paterson (19 February 1899 – 1981) was a British painter, wood engraver and colour woodcut artist.

Biography

Paterson was born in Helensburgh in Scotland into an artistic family, her father being the architect

Alexander Nisbet Paterson Alexander Nisbet Paterson ARIBA PRIAS (1862–1947) was a Scottish architect, mainly working in the Arts and Crafts style. He was president of the Royal Institute of Architects in Scotland (RIAS). Life He was born on 3 May 1862 at 7 Ber ...

whilst her mother,

Maggie Hamilton Margaret Hamilton (1 September 1867 – 31 January 1952) was a Scottish artist known for her paintings and embroidery work. Biography Hamilton was born in Glasgow and grew up in Helensburgh after her family moved there. Although she had no for ...

, was a painter and embroiderer. The artist James Paterson, one of the Glasgow Boys, was an uncle of Viola Paterson as was William Paterson who ran a

Bond Street Bond Street in the West End of London links Piccadilly in the south to Oxford Street in the north. Since the 18th century the street has housed many prestigious and upmarket fashion retailers. The southern section is Old Bond Street and the l ...

art gallery. She was the subject of a painting by

William Russell Flint Sir William Russell Flint (4 April 1880 – 30 December 1969) was a Scottish artist and illustrator who was known especially for his watercolours of women. He also worked in oils, tempera, and printmaking. Biography Flint was born in Edi ...

entitled ''The Fawn Habit''. While attending a finishing school in London during 1917 and 1918 Paterson took lessons, on a part-time basis, from

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 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 ...

before returning to Scotland and studying at the

Glasgow School of Art The Glasgow School of Art (GSA; gd, Sgoil-ealain Ghlaschu) is a higher education art school based in Glasgow, Scotland, offering undergraduate degrees, post-graduate awards (both taught and research-led), and PhDs in architecture, fine art, and ...

from 1919 to 1923. She continued her studies in Paris at the Académie de la Grande Chaumière until 1925 and also attended the school run by

André Lhote André Lhote (5 July 1885 – 24 January 1962) was a French Cubist painter of figure subjects, portraits, landscapes and still life. He was also active and influential as a teacher and writer on art. Early life and education Lhote was born ...

in Montparnasse. Paterson remained based in Paris but also travelled widely throughout Europe, including making extended visits to both Malta and Venice. Paterson designed three stained glass windows for St. Bride's Church in Helensburgh which were completed and installed in 1931. After a period of time in the south of France, Paterson returned to Britain, sailing on one of the last commercial departures from the Mediterranean before the start of

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. During the war she served with the

Admiralty Admiralty most often refers to: *Admiralty, Hong Kong * Admiralty (United Kingdom), military department in command of the Royal Navy from 1707 to 1964 *The rank of admiral * Admiralty law Admiralty can also refer to: Buildings *Admiralty, Tr ...

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 ...

and then lived in the Chelsea area of London when the conflict ended. In 1955 she returned to Helensburgh, where she lived at Long Croft, the family home designed by her father, for the remainder of her life. Paterson was a prolific painter and printmaker. She often produced colour woodcut prints in limited editions of six or twelve, often combining printed areas with painted watercolour additions. She developed a technique, which she called Wood Types, for engraving lines onto a wood block to separate different painted areas of colour. Notable prints by Paterson included ''Ballet Dancers'' shown at the Society of Graver Painters in Colour in 1932, ''Lobster'' shown at the Redfern Gallery in 1937 and a series of colour lithographs, ''Fishing in the River Bank'', which she produced in 1940. Paterson 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 ...

in London, with the

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 ...

, the

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 ...

, the

Society of Scottish Artists The Society of Scottish Artists is a Scottish artist-run organization which seeks to ''promote and encourage experimentation and the "adventurous spirit" in Scottish art.'' It was founded in 1891 and its main space for annual exhibitions has bee ...

and the Society of Artist Printmakers. Among commercial galleries both the Belgrave and Parkin Galleries hosted shows of her work. Her work was also included in the Belgrave Gallery's 1977 exhibition on the Paterson family and a solo retrospective was held at The Round House at

Havering-atte-Bower Havering-atte-Bower is a village and outlying settlement of Greater London, England. It is located in the far north of the London Borough of Havering, on the border with Essex, and is northeast of Charing Cross. It was one of three former paris ...

during 1983. The

British Museum The British Museum is a public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is among the largest and most comprehensive in existence. It docum ...

holds three examples of her prints and the

Victoria and Albert Museum The Victoria and Albert Museum (often abbreviated as the V&A) in London is the world's largest museum of applied arts, decorative arts and design, housing a permanent collection of over 2.27 million objects. It was founded in 1852 and nam ...

has an example of her ''Lobster'' print.

References

External links

Viola Paterson
on ArtNet {{DEFAULTSORT:Paterson, Viola 1899 births 1981 deaths 20th-century British printmakers 20th-century Scottish painters 20th-century Scottish women artists Alumni of the Académie de la Grande Chaumière Alumni of the Glasgow School of Art Alumni of the Slade School of Fine Art People from Helensburgh Scottish wood engravers Scottish women painters Women engravers 20th-century engravers