Vera Dorothea Stanley Alder (29 October 1898 – 26 May 1984) was an English portrait

painter Painting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a solid surface (called the "matrix" or "support"). The medium is commonly applied to the base with a brush, but other implements, such as knives, sponges, and ...

and mystic. She wrote several books and pamphlets on

self-help Self-help or self-improvement is a self-guided improvement''APA Dictionary of Physicology'', 1st ed., Gary R. VandenBos, ed., Washington: American Psychological Association, 2007.—economically, intellectually, or emotionally—often with a subs ...

and

spirituality The meaning of ''spirituality'' has developed and expanded over time, and various meanings can be found alongside each other. Traditionally, spirituality referred to a religious process of re-formation which "aims to recover the original shape ...

. She founded the World Guardian Fellowship.

Background and family life

Vera Dorothea Stanley Alder was born 29 October 1898 at Eglingham, near

Alnwick Alnwick ( ) is a market town in Northumberland, England, of which it is the traditional county town. The population at the 2011 Census was 8,116. The town is on the south bank of the River Aln, south of Berwick-upon-Tweed and the Scottish bor ...

Northumberland Northumberland () is a county in Northern England, one of two counties in England which border with Scotland. Notable landmarks in the county include Alnwick Castle, Bamburgh Castle, Hadrian's Wall and Hexham Abbey. It is bordered by land ...

. Her father David Julius Alder (born 3 April 1871) was Danish and her mother Sylvia Marie Stanley (born 12 December 1880) was English. Her first sister Karen, who later became a leading actress was born on 11 August 1901. Her second sister Sonya Patricia who married Sir James Marjoribanks was born on 20 May 1910. Vera was a fourth cousin of

Niels Bohr Niels Henrik David Bohr (; 7 October 1885 – 18 November 1962) was a Danish physicist who made foundational contributions to understanding atomic structure and quantum theory, for which he received the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1922 ...

, the

Nobel Prize The Nobel Prizes ( ; sv, Nobelpriset ; no, Nobelprisen ) are five separate prizes that, according to Alfred Nobel's will of 1895, are awarded to "those who, during the preceding year, have conferred the greatest benefit to humankind." Alfr ...

winner and atomic physicist. Vera was educated at Roedean School in

Sussex Sussex (), from the Old English (), is a historic county in South East England that was formerly an independent medieval Anglo-Saxon kingdom. It is bounded to the west by Hampshire, north by Surrey, northeast by Kent, south by the Englis ...

until 1914 and went to 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 ...

in London in 1917 to study portrait painting. She also studied painting in

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. Si ...

. Vera first married Roland Hunt, a naval architect, on 12 June 1943 with whom she shared a common enthusiasm for esoteric subjects. They divorced on 23 May 1956.From "Certificate of making Decree Nisi Absolute." In the High Court of Justice, Probate, Divorce and Admiralty Division (Divorce), London. Between Vera Dorothea Stanley Hunt and Roland Thomas Hunt. No 4074/8786/55 Roland later emigrated to

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

where he died. On 16 February 1963 Vera married Aage Larsen, her Danish publisher; the marriage lasted until her death on 26 May 1984, in

Bournemouth Bournemouth () is a coastal resort town in the Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole council area of Dorset, England. At the 2011 census, the town had a population of 183,491, making it the largest town in Dorset. It is situated on the English ...

, where Vera was cremated on Wednesday 6 June the local paper noting that she had a 'wide-ranging and exuberant interest in spiritual life'. In the early 1970s, she resided for a time at Acacia House, London, and likely presented lectures there.

Career and works

Vera had a successful career as a portrait painter using both oil paints and pastels. In 1923, for example, she exhibited portraits of Lady Douglas, Lady Poynter, and Princess Tatiana Wiazemsky (granddaughter of

Harry Gordon Selfridge Harry Gordon Selfridge, Sr. (11 January 1858 – 8 May 1947) was an American retail magnate who founded the London-based department store Selfridges. His 20-year leadership of Selfridges led to his becoming one of the most respected and wealthy ...

) at the Lyceum club in Paris where she had a studio. In 1926 she exhibited portraits of Lady Beaverbrook and others in London, and in 1927 she exhibited at the Cercle Nautique in Cannes portraits of Princess Elizabeth of Greece and Denmark, Baron de Saint-Marc and the actor and cricketer Aubrey Smith. She became a vegetarian and wrote seven books, one of which (''From the Mundane to the Magnificent'') she described as a "spiritual autobiography." Her books have been translated into several languages. Her devotees include such widely divergent people as

Elvis Presley Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977), or simply Elvis, was an American singer and actor. Dubbed the " King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as one of the most significant cultural figures of the 20th century. His ener ...

progressive rock Progressive rock (shortened as prog rock or simply prog; sometimes conflated with art rock) is a broad genre of rock music that developed in the United Kingdom and United States through the mid- to late 1960s, peaking in the early 1970s. I ...

musicians and

hippies A hippie, also spelled hippy, especially in British English, is someone associated with the counterculture of the 1960s, originally a youth movement that began in the United States during the mid-1960s and spread to different countries around ...

. The singer and songwriter

Jon Anderson John Roy Anderson (born 25 October 1944) is an English singer, songwriter and musician, best known as the lead singer of the progressive rock band Yes, which he formed in 1968 with bassist Chris Squire. He was a member of the band across thre ...

said he got inspiration for his music from his third eye based on Vera Stanley Alder's book ''The Finding of the Third Eye''. The author and spiritual teacher Judy Zebra "J. Z." Knight was accused by her bodyguard of using ideas found in Vera Stanley Alder's book ''From the Mundane to the Magnificent'' (mixing

quantum physics Quantum mechanics is a fundamental theory in physics that provides a description of the physical properties of nature at the scale of atoms and subatomic particles. It is the foundation of all quantum physics including quantum chemistry, qua ...

with

New Age New Age is a range of spiritual or religious practices and beliefs which rapidly grew in Western society during the early 1970s. Its highly eclectic and unsystematic structure makes a precise definition difficult. Although many scholars consi ...

ideas). One commentator described Stanley Alder as "A painter and mystic who was particularly successful in finding a way to join both technological and social progress with a mystic spirituality." Stanley Alder founded the World Union Fellowship, which later became the World Guardian Fellowship that published the Journal of World Guardians and which continued, after her death.Parrish-Harra, Reverend Carol E. Ph
The Way We Were—A Love Story of Student and Spiritual Teacher
Retrieved on 1 April 2008

Works

* Stanley Alder, Vera (1938). ''The Finding of the Third Eye''

Rider (imprint) Rider is a publishing imprint of Ebury Publishing, a Penguin Random House division. The list was started by William Rider & Son in Britain in 1908 when he took over the occult publisher Phillip Wellby. The editorial director of the new list w ...

and Company, London, UK * Stanley Alder, Vera (1939). ''The Initiation of the World''

and Company, London, UK * Stanley Alder, Vera (1940). ''The Fifth Dimension''

and Company, London, UK * Stanley Alder, Vera (1942). ''Wisdom in Practice''

and Company, London, UK * Stanley Alder, Vera (1950). ''Humanity Comes of Age'' Andrew Dakers Ltd. (Later republished as ''When Humanity Comes of Age''

and Company, London, UK ) * Stanley Alder, Vera (1958). ''The Secret of the Atomic Age''

and Company, London, UK * Stanley Alder, Vera (1979). ''From the Mundane to the Magnificent''

and Company, London, UK ll the above were reissued in paperback from 1968 on by Samuel Weiser, 734 Broadway, New York 10003, USA] * Stanley Alder, Vera, ''The Story of World Union Fellowship'' (Pamphlet) The World Union Fellowship Publishing Company and Photospeed Lithographic Company, London, UK * Stanley Alder, Vera (1976). ''The Time is Now! A Guide to World Regeneration'' (Pamphlet) World Guardian Publishing Co. and Comet Press Ltd., Bedford, UK * Stanley Alder, Vera, ''The New World Civilization'' (Pamphlet) C.W. Daniel & Co, Ashingdon. UK * Stanley Alder, Vera, ''Self Training in the Art of Living'' 12 talks on cassettes The Speakers International Agency, 29 Old Bond Street, London W1X 4LJ, UK, with titles:

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Alder, Vera Stanley 1898 births 1984 deaths 20th-century English painters 20th-century English women artists 20th-century English women writers 20th-century English writers Alumni of the Slade School of Fine Art English occultists English portrait painters English pamphleteers English self-help writers English women painters People educated at Roedean School, East Sussex Women mystics