Juliet Kathleen Pannett ( née Somers; 15 July 1911 – 22 August 2005) was an English portrait painter.

Background

Born in Hove, East Sussex, Pannett started painting at three, and wanted to be a professional artist by seventeen. She trained at Brighton College of Art in the 1920s under Louis Ginnett, and received her first artistic commission at eighteen to draw local Sussex characters for the ''Sussex County Magazine''. Pannett maintained a studio in Hove and was elected a member of the Society of Graphic Artists in 1934. She was a professional artist until her marriage in 1938. Pannett married Major Rick Pannett who had been injured in the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

when he was shot in the mouth. The bullet had pierced his cheek and missed all his bones. Pannett gave up painting after the birth of her children. Suffering from depression, it was alleviated when she resumed painting. In 1949 the family moved to

Croydon Croydon is a large town in south London, England, south of Charing Cross. Part of the London Borough of Croydon, a local government district of Greater London. It is one of the largest commercial districts in Greater London, with an extensi ...

where she built a studio in her garage. The Pannett family later moved to

Angmering Angmering is a village and civil parish between Littlehampton and Worthing in West Sussex on the southern edge of the South Downs National Park, England; about two-thirds of the parish (mostly north of the A27 road) fall within the Park. It is ...

in Sussex in 1964.

Noted portraits

Among her subjects were Field-Marshal Montgomery, film director

Jean Cocteau Jean Maurice Eugène Clément Cocteau (, , ; 5 July 1889 – 11 October 1963) was a French poet, playwright, novelist, designer, filmmaker, visual artist and critic. He was one of the foremost creatives of the s ...

, athlete

Chris Chataway Chris Chataway (born ) is an Australian Anglican priest and musician who has served as Dean of Perth since 1 February 2020. He previously served as Archdeacon An archdeacon is a senior clergy position in the Church of the East, Chaldean Cath ...

, Louis Armstrong and Leonard Bernstein. Pannett was a keen cricketer and drew such cricketers as

Maurice Tate Maurice William Tate (30 May 1895 – 18 May 1956) was an English cricketer of the 1920s and 1930s and the leader of England's Test bowling attack for a long time during this period. He was also the first Sussex cricketer to take a wicket with ...

and

Bob Wyatt Robert Elliott Storey Wyatt (2 May 1901 – 20 April 1995) was an English cricketer who played for Warwickshire, Worcestershire and England in a career lasting nearly thirty years from 1923 to 1951. He was born at Milford Heath House in Surrey ...

. Pannett preferred to paint men rather than women, describing men as she found them "less troublesome as sitters...They never ask me not to put in their double chin or to leave out their wrinkles." Before the televised proceedings of the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of parliament. T ...

Pannett was employed by the

Illustrated London News ''The Illustrated London News'' appeared first on Saturday 14 May 1842, as the world's first illustrated weekly news magazine. Founded by Herbert Ingram, it appeared weekly until 1971, then less frequently thereafter, and ceased publication i ...

from 1957 to 1964 to sketch the events of the House. Sitting in the gallery of the Commons Pannett drew such historically significant events as

Winston Churchill Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (30 November 187424 January 1965) was a British statesman, soldier, and writer who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom twice, from 1940 to 1945 during the Second World War, and again from ...

's last appearance in the house in 1964. Pannett later formally drew several other

British Prime Ministers The prime minister of the United Kingdom is the principal minister of the crown of His Majesty's Government, and the head of the British Cabinet. There is no specific date for when the office of prime minister first appeared, as the role was no ...

, including Alec Douglas-Home, who told her that he had "the biggest head in London" and could never find a hat to fit him. Later Prime Ministers painted by Pannett included

Edward Heath Sir Edward Richard George Heath (9 July 191617 July 2005), often known as Ted Heath, was a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1970 to 1974 and Leader of the Conservative Party from 1965 to 1975. Heath a ...

, James Callaghan and

Margaret Thatcher Margaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher (; 13 October 19258 April 2013) was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990 and Leader of the Conservative Party from 1975 to 1990. She was the first female British prime ...

. For several years around 1960, Pannett supplied the Radio Times with drawings of musicians and other figures being broadcast on BBC radio. In February 1963, she was commissioned by ''The Illustrated London News'' to do several sketches of C. S. Lewis. She painted Queen Elizabeth II in 1989 for the

Chartered Insurance Institute The Chartered Insurance Institute (also known as the CII) is a professional body dedicated to building public trust in the insurance and financial planning profession. The CII's purpose, as set out in its 1912 royal charter, is to 'Secure an ...

. Pannett had previously drawn Princes

Andrew Andrew is the English form of a given name common in many countries. In the 1990s, it was among the top ten most popular names given to boys in List of countries where English is an official language, English-speaking countries. "Andrew" is freq ...

and Edward. Upon seeing the portrait

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 E ...

commissioned a pastel drawing from her of the Queen for the 25th anniversary of the Independence of Malta.

Recognition

Due to her failing eyesight her last major portrait was of General Sir John Wilsey. She was appointed a

Member of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

(MBE) in the 1993 New Year Honours,UK list: and was a member of the Pastel Society and a fellow of the Royal Society of Arts and an Honorary Freeman of the

Worshipful Company of Painter-Stainers The Worshipful Company of Painter-Stainers is one of the livery companies of the City of London. An organisation of painters of metals and wood is known to have existed as early as 1283. A similar organisation of stainers, who generally worked o ...

, who awarded her their gold medal in 1995. At the time of her death in 2005 she was the oldest living artist to have work in the National Portrait Gallery's collection. Her husband had died in 1980, she was survived by her two children, who are both artists. Her autobiography, ''My Colourful Life'' was published in 2006.

References

External links

Pannett at the National Portrait Gallery
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Pannett, Juliet 1911 births 2005 deaths 20th-century English painters 20th-century English women artists Alumni of the University of Brighton English autobiographers English portrait painters English women painters Members of the Order of the British Empire People from Angmering People from Hove Women autobiographers