Dod Procter, born Doris Margaret Shaw, (1890–1972) was an English artist, and the wife of the artist Ernest Procter. Her painting ''Morning'' was bought for the public by the ''

Daily Mail The ''Daily Mail'' is a British daily middle-market tabloid newspaper and news websitePeter Wilb"Paul Dacre of the Daily Mail: The man who hates liberal Britain", ''New Statesman'', 19 December 2013 (online version: 2 January 2014) publish ...

'' in 1927. Procter and her husband attended art schools in England and in Paris together, where they were both influenced by

Impressionism Impressionism was a 19th-century art movement characterized by relatively small, thin, yet visible brush strokes, open composition, emphasis on accurate depiction of light in its changing qualities (often accentuating the effects of the passa ...

and the

Post-Impressionism Post-Impressionism (also spelled Postimpressionism) was a predominantly French art movement that developed roughly between 1886 and 1905, from the last Impressionist exhibition to the birth of Fauvism. Post-Impressionism emerged as a reaction ...

movements. They also worked together at times, sometimes sharing commissions and other times showing their work together in exhibitions. Procter was a lifelong artist, active after the untimely death of her husband in 1935. After Ernest's death, Procter travelled to the United States, Canada, Jamaica and Africa. She died in 1972 and is buried next to her husband at St Hilary Church, Cornwall. She was a member of several artists organisations, such as the Newlyn School and became President of St Ives Society of Artists (STISA) in 1966. Her work was 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 ...

on many occasions.

Biography

Early life and education

Doris "Dod" Shaw was born in

Hampstead Hampstead () is an area in London, which lies northwest of Charing Cross, and extends from the A5 road (Roman Watling Street) to Hampstead Heath, a large, hilly expanse of parkland. The area forms the northwest part of the London Borough o ...

, London in 1890. Her father was a ship's doctor and her mother was a former art student who had studied at 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 a ...

. The family moved to

Tavistock Tavistock ( ) is an ancient stannary and market town within West Devon, England. It is situated on the River Tavy from which its name derives. At the 2011 census the three electoral wards (North, South and South West) had a population of 13 ...

in Devon, but after the death of her husband, Dod's mother moved the family to Newlyn in 1907. There, at the age of 15, Dod enrolled in the School of Painting run by Elizabeth Forbes and

Stanhope Forbes Stanhope Alexander Forbes (18 November 1857 – 2 March 1947) was a British artist and a founding member of the influential Newlyn school of painters. He was often called 'the father of the Newlyn School'.Ernest Procter; they were considered Forbes' star pupils. In Newlyn, Dod met

Laura Knight Dame Laura Knight ( Johnson; 4 August 1877 – 7 July 1970) was an English artist who worked in oils, watercolours, etching, engraving and drypoint. Knight was a painter in the figurative, realist tradition, who embraced English Impressi ...

, who became a lifelong friend and a considerable influence on her career. In 1910 Dod and her mother went to Paris where Dod, alongside Ernest Procter, studied at the Atelier Colarossi. Dod and Ernest were both influenced by

and

Post-impressionism Post-Impressionism (also spelled Postimpressionism) was a predominantly French art movement that developed roughly between 1886 and 1905, from the last Impressionist exhibition to the birth of Fauvism. Post-Impressionism emerged as a reaction ...

and the artists that they met in France, such as

Pierre-Auguste Renoir Pierre-Auguste Renoir (; 25 February 1841 – 3 December 1919) was a French artist who was a leading painter in the development of the Impressionism, Impressionist style. As a celebrator of beauty and especially femininity, feminine sensuality ...

and

Paul Cézanne Paul Cézanne ( , , ; ; 19 January 1839 – 22 October 1906) was a French artist and Post-Impressionist painter whose work laid the foundations of the transition from the 19th-century conception of artistic endeavour to a new and radically d ...

. The couple married in 1912 at the church in

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 Chri ...

in Cornwall and a year later their son Bill was born. The family established a home at North Corner in Cornwall. Also in 1913, Dod Procter first exhibited at the Royal Academy of Art. During

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

Ernest served in France working with a Friends' Ambulance Unit detachment. The regular letters between the couple show Dod to be depressed at his absence as well as bored and short of money. After the war, the couple settled in Newlyn and this was the Procters' home for most of their working lives.

1920s

In 1920 Dod and Ernest Procter were commissioned to decorate the Kokine Palace in

Rangoon Yangon ( my, ရန်ကုန်; ; ), formerly spelled as Rangoon, is the capital of the Yangon Region and the largest city of Myanmar (also known as Burma). Yangon served as the capital of Myanmar until 2006, when the military government ...

by a Chinese millionaire, Ching Tsong. The commission took a year and required them working with Burmese, Indian and Chinese craftsmen often painting murals at considerable heights within the palace. However Ching Tsong was unimpressed with their work and refused to pay them their agreed fees or provide accommodation so the Procters painted portraits of local people and members of the British colonial administration for an income. The Procters also created designs for etched crystal. When she returned to England, Dod Procter began to focus on painting portraits, usually of young women. Throughout the 1920s Dod Procter continued to paint single female figures, sometimes nude, others in softly draped clothes. From around 1922, she painted a series of simplified, monumental images of young women of her acquaintance. They were typified by the volume of the figures, brought out by her use of light and shadow. ''The Back Bedroom'' (1926) and ''Girl on White'' (1923) were powerful, carefully observed portraits of young women. ''The Model'', a portrait of a young women deep in concentration, was regarded as one of the best paintings shown at the

in 1925. The model for the work was a Newlyn fisherman's 16-year-old daughter, Cissie Barnes, who also modelled, every day for five weeks, for Procter's best known work, ''Morning''. When ''Morning'' was displayed at the 1927 Royal Academy Summer Exhibition, it was voted Picture of the Year and bought by the ''

'' for the

Tate Tate is an institution that houses, in a network of four art galleries, the United Kingdom's national collection of British art, and international modern and contemporary art. It is not a government institution, but its main sponsor is the U ...

Gallery, where it now hangs. Procter sold the work for £300, but could have achieved ten times that amount.Rhoda Koenig
"More than a one-hit wonder"
, '' The First Post'', p. 2. Retrieved 8 February 2010. Prior to its permanent hanging in the Tate, ''Morning'' was shown in New York, and then on a two-year tour of Britain. A second, smaller version of the painting, known as ''Early Morning'', is held by the Royal Pavilion in

Brighton Brighton () is a seaside resort and one of the two main areas of the City of Brighton and Hove in the county of East Sussex, England. It is located south of London. Archaeological evidence of settlement in the area dates back to the Bronze A ...

. Both public and critics responded to ''Morning'', praising its "sensuous but sombre style" which evoked the west Cornish "silver light". Frank Rutter, art critic of ''

The Sunday Times ''The Sunday Times'' is a British newspaper whose circulation makes it the largest in Britain's quality press market category. It was founded in 1821 as ''The New Observer''. It is published by Times Newspapers Ltd, a subsidiary of News UK, whi ...

'', said in 1927 that ''Morning'' was "a new vision of the human figure which amounts to the invention of a twentieth century style in portraiture" and "She has achieved apparently with consummate ease that complete presentation of twentieth century vision in terms of plastic design after which Derain and other much praised French painters have been groping for years past."Elsie M. Lang, ''British Women in the Twentieth Century'', Kessinger Publishing, 2003. Despite this, a number of the nude paintings by Procter that accompanied ''Morning'' on tour were deemed unsuitable for display by some venues. Also considered controversial was Procter's 1929 submission to the Royal Academy. ''Virginal'' showed a young female nude holding a dove and when the Academy rejected the painting the story was reported in the several national newspapers. As well as Cissie Barnes other women who modelled for Procter included the artist Midge Bruford and also Eileen Mayo, who had come to Newlyn to model for Laura Knight and became an artist in her own right.

1930s

In the 1930s Procter's style of painting changed completely. Works such as ''The Orchard'' (1934), ''Sheila Among the Ferns'' (1935) and ''Kitchen at Myrtle Cottage'' (1935) display the meticulous finish and lighting of her earlier work but without her previous hard lines and solidly delineated bodies of colour. A floral design by Proctor was among the winning entries in the 1933 ''Famous Artists'' competition run by

Cadbury Cadbury, formerly Cadbury's and Cadbury Schweppes, is a British multinational confectionery company fully owned by Mondelez International (originally Kraft Foods) since 2010. It is the second largest confectionery brand in the world after Mar ...

's for a series of chocolate box designs and which were displayed at the Leicester Galleries in London. Ernest Procter died unexpectedly while travelling in 1935. The couple had often staged joint exhibitions at the Leicester Galleries and Dod continued to do so after Ernest's death. In 1938, Proctor decided to move to Zennor, near her friend, the artist Alethea Garstin. The subjects of her pictures were largely portraits and flowers. Garstin's influence was apparent in Procter's work in the latter part of her career. She became a full member of the Royal Academy in 1942. In 1945 she illustrated a colored frontispiece and line drawings for a story by Clare Collas, ''A Penny for the Guy''. Procter visited

Tenerife Tenerife (; ; formerly spelled ''Teneriffe'') is the largest and most populous island of the Canary Islands. It is home to 43% of the total population of the Archipelago, archipelago. With a land area of and a population of 978,100 inhabitant ...

in 1938 and again, with her friend, the artist Jeanne du Maurier, in 1946. In 1948, she visited

Basutoland Basutoland was a British Crown colony that existed from 1884 to 1966 in present-day Lesotho. Though the Basotho (then known as Basuto) and their territory had been under British control starting in 1868 (and ruled by Cape Colony from 1871), t ...

and in 1964 went to

Tanganyika Tanganyika may refer to: Places * Tanganyika Territory (1916–1961), a former British territory which preceded the sovereign state * Tanganyika (1961–1964), a sovereign state, comprising the mainland part of present-day Tanzania * Tanzania Main ...

. During the 1950s Procter spent some time in Jamaica, with Garstin, where she mainly painted portraits of children. During her lifetime and after her death her work fell out of favour.

Memberships

Procter was a member of, or affiliated with, the following organisations: *

Associate of 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 purpo ...

(ARA), from 1934 *

New English Art Club The New English Art Club (NEAC) was founded in London in 1885 as an alternative venue to the Royal Academy. It continues to hold an annual exhibition of paintings and drawings at the Mall Galleries in London, exhibiting works by both members and a ...

(NEAC), from 1929 * Newlyn Society of Artists (NSA), Newlyn, Cornwall *

Penwith Society of Arts The Penwith Society of Arts is an art group formed in St Ives, Cornwall, England, UK, in early 1949 by abstract artists who broke away from the more conservative St Ives School. It was originally led by Barbara Hepworth and Ben Nicholson, and ...

, from 1949 *

, from 1942 * SRA, 1966 * St Ives Society of Artists (STISA), from 1937 to 1949, President 1946

List of works

The following are a list of some of Procter's works:"Dod Procter - Artworks." The Athenaeum - Interactive Humanities Online. 6 March. 2017. * African Head - Painting, Oil on board * Ancilla with an Orange- Painting, Oil on canvas * Anemones - 1936, Painting, Oil on canvas * Aunt Lilla - 1946, Painting, Oil on canvas * Autumn Flowers - Painting, Oil on canvas * Blue ( Painting of a young girl) -1938, Painting, Oil on canvas * Boys and Coconuts - 1945, Painting, Oil on canvas * Mornings - 1929, Painting, Oil on canvas, 30x60cm * Early Morning, Newlyn - 1926, Painting, Oil on canvas * Eileen Mayo - Painting, Oil on canvas * Flowers on a chair - Painting, Oil on canvas * Gabriel in St. Lucia - Painting, Oil on canvas * A Girl Asleep - 1925. Painting, Oil on canvas * Girl in Blue - 1925, Painting, Oil on canvas * Girl With a Parrot - Painting, Oil on canvas * Glass - 1935, Painting, Oil on canvas * The Golden Girl - 1930, Painting, Oil on canvas * The Innocent - Painting, Oil on canvas * Jamaican Girl - 1960, Painting, Oil on canvas * Kitchen at Myrtle Cottage - 1930, Painting, Oil on canvas * Lilian - 1923, Painting, Oil on canvas, 52x42cm * Little Sister - Painting, Oil on canvas * Midge Bruford, The Model - Painting, Oil on canvas * Nasturtiums - Painting, Oil on canvas * The Orchard - 1934, Painting, Oil on canvas * The Pearl Necklace - Painting, Oil on canvas * The Quiet Hour - 1935, Painting, Oil on canvas * Self Portrait - Painting, Oil on canvas * Sketch of Burmese Children - Painting, Oil on canvas * The Sunday Shirt -1957, Painting, Oil on canvas * Tolcarne Inn - 1935, Painting, Oil on canvas * Winter Scene from the Artist’s House, Newlyn - Painting, Oil on canvas

Exhibitions

Her works were exhibited: * 1913: Royal Academy * 1918: International Society; * 1921 - 1926: Newlyn Art Gallery (NAG) * 1922 onwards: Royal Academy, including 1927's exhibit of ''Morning'' * 1928: International Exhibition, the Carnegie Institute * 1935: Carl Fischer Gallery, New York, also in 1936 * New English Art Club * Leicester Galleries Posthumous: * 1985: ''Painting in Newlyn 1900-1930'', NAG & Barbican (touring) * 1987: ''Looking West, Paintings inspired by Cornwall 1880s to present day'', NAG * 1989: ''A Century of Art in Cornwall, 1889-1989'', CCC centenary, Truro * 1990: ''Dod Procter RA and Ernest Procter ARA'', Newlyn Orion with Laing Art Gallery, Newcastle * 1992: ''Artists from Cornwall'', RWE, Bristol (selected) * 1996: ''Women Artists in Cornwall'' (mixed), Falmouth Art Gallery * 2002: ''Under the Open Sky'' (mixed), Penlee House Museum & Art Gallery * 2007: ''Dod Procter'', Penlee House Art Gallery

Museum and gallery holdings

Selected holdings: * Birkenhead Williamson Art Gallery and Museum: ''Anemones'' *

Brighton Museum & Art Gallery Brighton Museum & Art Gallery is a municipally-owned public museum and art gallery in the city of Brighton and Hove in the South East of England. It is part of the "Royal Pavilion & Museums, Brighton and Hove". It is free for local residents ...

): ''Early Morning'' (1927, oil on canvas, reduced version of 'Morning' at the Tate Gallery) * Bristol

Royal West of England Academy The Royal West of England Academy (RWA) is Bristol's oldest art gallery, located in Clifton, Bristol, near the junction of Queens Road and Whiteladies Road. Situated in a Grade 2* listed building, it hosts five galleries and an exhibition progra ...

: ''Ancilla with an Orange'' (1956, oil on canvas), ''Flowers on a Chair'' * Bristol Museums, Galleries and Archives: ''Winter Scene from the Artist's House, Newlyn'' * Burnley (Towneley Hall Art Gallery and Museum): ''The Hall Table'' * Hanley

Potteries Museum & Art Gallery The Potteries Museum & Art Gallery is in Bethesda Street, Hanley, one of the six towns of Stoke-on-Trent in Staffordshire. Admission is free. One of the four local authority museums in the city, the other three being Gladstone Pottery Museum, ...

: ''Clara'', ''Girl in White'' * Hastings

Jerwood Gallery The Hastings Contemporary is a museum of contemporary British art located on The Stade in Hastings, East Sussex and is a not-for-profit organisation. The gallery opened in March 2012 as the Jerwood Gallery and cost £4m to build. The gallery c ...

: ''Lilian'', ''Glass'' * Hull Ferens Art Gallery: ''Young Roman'' (c. 1928-1929, oil on canvas) * Leamington Spa (Mus & AG): ''An Innocent, or A New Day'' (oil on canvas) * London

: Morning (1926); ''Kitchen at Myrtle Cottage'' (1930-1935); Orchard (1934) * 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 pur ...

(1946) ''Autumn Flowers, (ca 1932-41) ''The Pearl Necklace'', ''Jamaican Girl'' * Melbourne

National Gallery of Victoria The National Gallery of Victoria, popularly known as the NGV, is an art museum in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Founded in 1861, it is Australia's oldest and most visited art museum. The NGV houses an encyclopedic art collection across two ...

: ''In a Strange Land'' (1919, oil on canvas) * Newcastle-upon-Tyne

Laing Art Gallery The Laing Art Gallery in Newcastle upon Tyne, England, is located on New Bridge Street West. The gallery was designed in the Baroque style with Art Nouveau elements by architects Cackett & Burns Dick and is now a Grade II listed building. It ...

''Girl in Blue'' * Penzance Penlee House: ''Aunt Lilla'' (c. 1943), ''Gabriel in St Lucia'', ''Self Portrait'', ''Little Sister'', "Tolcarne Inn" * Plymouth City Council Museum and Art Gallery: ''African Head'' * Sefton

Atkinson Art Gallery and Library The Atkinson is a building on the east side of Lord Street extending round the corner into Eastbank Street, Southport, Sefton, Merseyside, England. The building is a combination of two former buildings, the original Atkinson Art Gallery and ...

: ''Sketch of Burmese Children'' * Sheffield Museums: ''Nasturtiums'' * Southampton Southampton City Art Gallery: ''Black and White'' * Swansea

Glynn Vivian Art Gallery The Glynn Vivian Art Gallery is the public art gallery of the City and County of Swansea, in Wales, United Kingdom. The gallery is situated in Alexandra Road, near Swansea railway station, opposite the old Swansea Central Library. History The ...

: ''Early Morning, Newlyn'' * Walsall

The New Art Gallery Walsall The New Art Gallery Walsall is a modern and contemporary art gallery sited in the centre of the West Midlands town of Walsall, England. It was built with £21 million of public funding, including £15.75 million from the UK National Lottery an ...

: ''Spring Flowers'', ''The Quiet Hour'' * Woking

Ingram Collection of Modern British Art The Ingram Collection of Modern British Art is one of the largest and most significant publicly accessible collections of Modern British art in the UK, available to all through a programme of loans and exhibitions. The collection was created by me ...

The Lightbox The Lightbox is a public gallery and museum located in Woking, Surrey, in the South East of England. Three galleries host a range of exhibitions, changing regularly and it has a free museum of local history - 'Woking's Story'. It was opened on ...

: ''The Golden Girl''

References

External links

*
Dod Procter's work at the Tate galleryA description of ''Morning'' from ''The World's Famous Pictures'' by Martin Conway and Charles J. HolmesNational Portrait GalleryNational Archive records
{{DEFAULTSORT:Procter, Dod 1890 births 1972 deaths 20th-century English painters 20th-century English women artists Académie Colarossi alumni Artists from London Artists from Cornwall Newlyn School of Artists People from Hampstead Royal Academicians