Mabel Frances Layng (9 November 1881 – December 1937) was an English landscape and figure painter.Staffordshire Past Track (http://www.staffspasttrack.org.uk/). Staffordshire Archives & Heritage. Retrieved 12 January 2017.
Early life and education
Layng was born at the Grammar School House, Cumberland Street,
Macclesfield
Macclesfield is a market town and civil parish in the unitary authority of Cheshire East in Cheshire, England. It is located on the River Bollin in the east of the county, on the edge of the Cheshire Plain, with Macclesfield Forest to its east ...
,
Cheshire
Cheshire ( ) is a ceremonial and historic county in North West England, bordered by Wales to the west, Merseyside and Greater Manchester to the north, Derbyshire to the east, and Staffordshire and Shropshire to the south. Cheshire's county t ...
; she was the eldest of two daughters of Alfred Edward Freestone Layng and Ada Mary Coates. Alfred Layng was widowed in 1883 and in March 1884 he took up the post of headmaster of King Edward VI School in
Stafford
Stafford () is a market town and the county town of Staffordshire, in the West Midlands region of England. It lies about north of Wolverhampton, south of Stoke-on-Trent and northwest of Birmingham. The town had a population of 70,145 in t ...
,
Staffordshire
Staffordshire (; postal abbreviation Staffs.) is a landlocked county in the West Midlands region of England. It borders Cheshire to the northwest, Derbyshire and Leicestershire to the east, Warwickshire to the southeast, the West Midlands Cou ...
, taking his daughters with him.
In 1902 Mabel Layng left Stafford to study at the St. John's Wood Art School. She then went on to study under
Frank Brangwyn
Sir Frank William Brangwyn (12 May 1867 – 11 June 1956) was a Welsh artist, painter, watercolourist, printmaker, illustrator, and designer.
Brangwyn was an artistic jack-of-all-trades. As well as paintings and drawings, he produced des ...
at the London School of Art in
Kensington
Kensington is a district in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea in the West End of London, West of Central London.
The district's commercial heart is Kensington High Street, running on an east–west axis. The north-east is taken up b ...
between 1906 and 1908.
Career
From 1914 until her death in 1937 she lived with her sister Ada in
Ealing
Ealing () is a district in West London, England, west of Charing Cross in the London Borough of Ealing. Ealing is the administrative centre of the borough and is identified as a major metropolitan centre in the London Plan.
Ealing was histor ...
,
Middlesex
Middlesex (; abbreviation: Middx) is a Historic counties of England, historic county in South East England, southeast England. Its area is almost entirely within the wider urbanised area of London and mostly within the Ceremonial counties of ...
, earning a living as a professional artist. Her work was first exhibited at the
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 purpo ...
in 1916 ("The Strolling Players"). Further paintings were accepted by the Royal Academy: "Mars and Venus" (1920), "The Picnic" (1921), "The Workroom" (1922) and "Crossing the Road" (1928),Jarman, A., (ed), ''Royal Academy Exhibitors 1905-1970, Volume III'', Calne: Hilmarton Manor Press (1987). and her work was also exhibited during her lifetime at the
Paris Salon
The Salon (french: Salon), or rarely Paris Salon (French: ''Salon de Paris'' ), beginning in 1667 was the official art exhibition of the Académie des Beaux-Arts in Paris. Between 1748 and 1890 it was arguably the greatest annual or biennial art ...
,
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 ...
,
Goupil Gallery
Goupil & Cie is an international auction house and merchant of contemporary art and collectibles. Jean-Baptiste Adophe Goupil founded Goupil & Cie in 1850. Goupil & Cie became a leading art dealership in 19th-century France, with its headquart ...
,
International Society
International is an adjective (also used as a noun) meaning "between nations".
International may also refer to:
Music Albums
* ''International'' (Kevin Michael album), 2011
* ''International'' (New Order album), 2002
* ''International'' (The T ...
, London Salon,
Royal Institute of Oil Painters
The Royal Institute of Oil Painters, also known as ROI, is an association of painters in London, England, and is the only major art society which features work done only in oil. It is a member society of the Federation of British Artists.
Histor ...
, Walker's Galleries in London,
Women's International Art Club
The Women's International Art Club, briefly known as the Paris International Art Club, was founded in Paris in 1900. The club was intended to "promote contacts between women artists of all nations and to arrange exhibitions of their work", and ...
and the Queen Street Gallery in London.
After Layng's death, her sister organised a memorial exhibition of her oil paintings and watercolours, held at the Arlington Gallery, Old Bond Street, London in March 1938. Many of the paintings in this exhibition were purchased by, or given to, museums and galleries across the United Kingdom. As of 2017, her paintings are at
Chelmsford Museum
The Chelmsford Museum is based in Oaklands House, an historic property off Moulsham Street in Chelmsford, Essex. It is a Grade II Listed building.
Oaklands House
The house was designed by Charles Pertwee for Frederick Wells, a director of the ...
,
Doncaster Museum and Art Gallery
Doncaster Museum and Art Gallery is a museum in Doncaster, South Yorkshire, England.
History
The first Doncaster Museum opened in 1909 at Beechfield House, utilising only the ground floor of the building, and operated a small zoo at the site fr ...
,
Ferens Art Gallery
The Ferens Art Gallery is an art gallery in the English city of Kingston upon Hull. The site and money for the gallery were donated to the city by Thomas Ferens, after whom it is named. The architects were S. N. Cooke and E. C. Davie ...
in Hull,
Graves Art Gallery
Graves Art Gallery is an art gallery in Sheffield, England. The gallery is located above the Central Library in Sheffield city centre. It houses permanent displays from the city’s historic and contemporary collection of British and European ar ...
in Sheffield, Macclesfield Museums,
Newport Museum
Newport Museum and Art Gallery ( cy, Amgueddfa ac Oriel Gelf Casnewydd) (known locally as the City Museum ( cy, Amgueddfa Dinas)) is a museum, library and art gallery in the city of Newport, South Wales. It is located in Newport city centre on ...
,
Northampton Museum and Art Gallery
Northampton Museum and Art Gallery is a public museum in Northampton, England. The museum is owned and run by West Northamptonshire Council and houses one of the largest collection of shoes in the world, with over 15,000 pairs,Nuneaton Museum and Art Gallery,
Russell-Cotes Art Gallery & Museum
The Russell-Cotes Museum (formally, the Russell-Cotes Art Gallery & Museum) is an art gallery and museum in Bournemouth, England. A Grade II* listed building originally known as East Cliff Hall, it is located on the top of the East Cliff, next ...
in Bournemouth,
Staffordshire County Museum
Staffordshire County Museum is housed in the Servants' Quarters of Shugborough Hall, Milford, Staffordshire, Milford, near Stafford, Staffordshire, England. The museum features a restored Victorian kitchen, laundry and brewhouse as well as perm ...
Service,
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 ...
,
The Hepworth Wakefield
The Hepworth Wakefield is an art museum in Wakefield, West Yorkshire, England, which opened on 21 May 2011. The gallery is situated on the south side of the River Calder and takes its name from artist and sculptor Barbara Hepworth who was born an ...
and
Wolverhampton Art Gallery
Wolverhampton Art Gallery is located in the City of Wolverhampton, in the West Midlands, United Kingdom. The building was funded and constructed by local contractor Philip Horsman (1825–1890), and built on land provided by the municipal auth ...