Betty Rea
Encyclopedia
Elizabeth Marion Rea was an English
sculptor and educationalist.
in 1904. Her father was Dr. Arthur Bevan and her mother's maiden name was Barnardo; Dr.Thomas John Barnardo
was her great-uncle.
She was educated at Downe House School (in Kent at that time) and began to study painting at the Regent Street Polytechnic
in 1922, almost at once changing to sculpture and transferring her studies to the Royal College of Art
in 1924. Her teacher there was Ernest Cole
.
Henry Moore
was a student teacher at the RCA
at that time, and became a friend.
In 1926 she married James Rea, whose father became Baron Rea
, a Liberal peer, their two sons, Nicholas
and Julian, were born in 1928 and 1931. The couple divorced in 1942, he died in 1954.
During the 1930s, partly influenced by her friendship with Professor John Desmond Bernal, Betty Rea was greatly involved in anti-fascist, leftwing politics
. From 1934 to 1936 she was secretary
of the Artists' International Association
, founded in 1933, this organization sought to oppose imperialism
, fascism
and colonialism
through art.
For most of the war, Betty Rea taught painting
and modelling
in evacuated children's homes in Huntingdon
and the surrounding country.
She set up home with her colleague, Nan Youngman
, first in a caravan
in the grounds of Hinchingbrooke House
then in Godmanchester
and in 1946 at 'Papermills' in Cambridge
.
The children's paintings from this time were included in several British Council
exhibitions sent abroad and some are illustrated in Herbert Read
's "Education Through Art".
From 1949 she taught sculpture
at Homerton College, continuing this part-time until 1964, she also worked for some years as craft examiner for the Cambridge
Local Examinations Syndicate.
Betty Rea died in 1965.
Her 1959 Stretching Figure (bronze resin), was described by Gillian Whiteley as "expressing the diverse emotions, activities, and grace of youth". It is held by the Herbert Art Gallery and Museum
, Coventry
.
Her last work, 'Swimmers', completed posthumously by John W Mills, stands in the grounds of Cambridge
Parkside swimming pool
.
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
sculptor and educationalist.
Biography
Betty Rea was born in LondonLondon
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
in 1904. Her father was Dr. Arthur Bevan and her mother's maiden name was Barnardo; Dr.Thomas John Barnardo
Thomas John Barnardo
Thomas John Barnardo was a philanthropist and founder and director of homes for poor children, born in Dublin. From the foundation of the first Barnardo's home in 1870 to the date of Barnardo’s death, nearly 100,000 children had been rescued, trained and given a better life.- Early life :Barnardo...
was her great-uncle.
She was educated at Downe House School (in Kent at that time) and began to study painting at the Regent Street Polytechnic
University of Westminster
The University of Westminster is a public research university located in London, United Kingdom. Its origins go back to the foundation of the Royal Polytechnic Institution in 1838, and it was awarded university status in 1992.The university's headquarters and original campus are based on Regent...
in 1922, almost at once changing to sculpture and transferring her studies to the Royal College of Art
Royal College of Art
The Royal College of Art is an art school located in London, United Kingdom. It is the world’s only wholly postgraduate university of art and design, offering the degrees of Master of Arts , Master of Philosophy and Doctor of Philosophy...
in 1924. Her teacher there was Ernest Cole
Ernest Cole
-Overview:Ernest Cole was a black South African born in Eersterust in Pretoria, in 1940.He left school when the Bantu Education Act was put in place, and instead completed his matric via correspondance...
.
Henry Moore
Henry Moore
Henry Spencer Moore OM CH FBA was an English sculptor and artist. He was best known for his semi-abstract monumental bronze sculptures which are located around the world as public works of art....
was a student teacher at the RCA
Royal College of Art
The Royal College of Art is an art school located in London, United Kingdom. It is the world’s only wholly postgraduate university of art and design, offering the degrees of Master of Arts , Master of Philosophy and Doctor of Philosophy...
at that time, and became a friend.
In 1926 she married James Rea, whose father became Baron Rea
Baron Rea
Baron Rea, of Eskdale in the County of Cumberland, is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created in 1937 for the businessman and Liberal politician Sir Walter Rea, 1st Baronet, who had earlier represented Scarborough, Bradford North and Dewsbury in the House of Commons. He had...
, a Liberal peer, their two sons, Nicholas
Nicolas Rea, 3rd Baron Rea
John Nicolas Rea, 3rd Baron Rea commonly known as Nicolas Rea is a British peer, politician and doctor.The son of James Russell Rea and Betty Rea was educated in Dartington Hall School, in Belmont Hill School, Massachusetts and Dauntsey's School...
and Julian, were born in 1928 and 1931. The couple divorced in 1942, he died in 1954.
During the 1930s, partly influenced by her friendship with Professor John Desmond Bernal, Betty Rea was greatly involved in anti-fascist, leftwing politics
Politics
Politics is a process by which groups of people make collective decisions. The term is generally applied to the art or science of running governmental or state affairs, including behavior within civil governments, but also applies to institutions, fields, and special interest groups such as the...
. From 1934 to 1936 she was secretary
Secretary
A secretary, or administrative assistant, is a person whose work consists of supporting management, including executives, using a variety of project management, communication & organizational skills. These functions may be entirely carried out to assist one other employee or may be for the benefit...
of the Artists' International Association
Artists' International Association
The Artists International Association or AIA was an organization founded in London in 1933 out of discussion amongst Pearl Binder, Clifford Rowe, Misha Black, James Fitton, James Boswell, James Holland and Edward Ardizzone, the first meeting took place in Misha Black’s room at the Seven...
, founded in 1933, this organization sought to oppose imperialism
Imperialism
Imperialism, as defined by Dictionary of Human Geography, is "the creation and/or maintenance of an unequal economic, cultural, and territorial relationships, usually between states and often in the form of an empire, based on domination and subordination." The imperialism of the last 500 years,...
, fascism
Fascism
Fascism is a radical authoritarian nationalist political ideology. Fascists seek to rejuvenate their nation based on commitment to the national community as an organic entity, in which individuals are bound together in national identity by suprapersonal connections of ancestry, culture, and blood...
and colonialism
Colonialism
Colonialism is the establishment, maintenance, acquisition and expansion of colonies in one territory by people from another territory. It is a process whereby the metropole claims sovereignty over the colony and the social structure, government, and economics of the colony are changed by...
through art.
For most of the war, Betty Rea taught painting
Painting
Painting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a surface . The application of the medium is commonly applied to the base with a brush but other objects can be used. In art, the term painting describes both the act and the result of the action. However, painting is...
and modelling
Model (person)
A model , sometimes called a mannequin, is a person who is employed to display, advertise and promote commercial products or to serve as a subject of works of art....
in evacuated children's homes in Huntingdon
Huntingdon
Huntingdon is a market town in Cambridgeshire, England. The town was chartered by King John in 1205. It is the traditional county town of Huntingdonshire, and is currently the seat of the Huntingdonshire district council. It is known as the birthplace in 1599 of Oliver Cromwell.-History:Huntingdon...
and the surrounding country.
She set up home with her colleague, Nan Youngman
Nan Youngman
Nancy Mayhew Youngman OBE, was an English painter and educationalist: born Maidstone, Kent 28 June 1906; died Cambridge 17 April 1995. Youngman is remembered primarily as a painter, but from before the war to the mid-1960s she was an influential figure in art education, as a teacher, an author and...
, first in a caravan
Travel trailer
A travel trailer or caravan is towed behind a road vehicle to provide a place to sleep which is more comfortable and protected than a tent . It provides the means for people to have their own home on a journey or a vacation, without relying on a motel or hotel, and enables them to stay in places...
in the grounds of Hinchingbrooke House
Hinchingbrooke House
Hinchingbrooke House in Huntingdon, Cambridgeshire, was built around an 11th century nunnery. After the Reformation it passed into the hands of the Cromwell family, and subsequently, became the home of the Earls of Sandwich, including John Montagu, 4th Earl of Sandwich, reputedly the "inventor" of...
then in Godmanchester
Godmanchester
Godmanchester is a small town and civil parish within the Huntingdonshire district of Cambridgeshire, in England. It lies on the south bank of the River Great Ouse, south of the larger town of Huntingdon, and on the A14 road....
and in 1946 at 'Papermills' in Cambridge
Cambridge
The city of Cambridge is a university town and the administrative centre of the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It lies in East Anglia about north of London. Cambridge is at the heart of the high-technology centre known as Silicon Fen – a play on Silicon Valley and the fens surrounding the...
.
The children's paintings from this time were included in several British Council
British Council
The British Council is a United Kingdom-based organisation specialising in international educational and cultural opportunities. It is registered as a charity both in England and Wales, and in Scotland...
exhibitions sent abroad and some are illustrated in Herbert Read
Herbert Read
Sir Herbert Edward Read, DSO, MC was an English anarchist, poet, and critic of literature and art. He was one of the earliest English writers to take notice of existentialism, and was strongly influenced by proto-existentialist thinker Max Stirner....
's "Education Through Art".
From 1949 she taught sculpture
Sculpture
Sculpture is three-dimensional artwork created by shaping or combining hard materials—typically stone such as marble—or metal, glass, or wood. Softer materials can also be used, such as clay, textiles, plastics, polymers and softer metals...
at Homerton College, continuing this part-time until 1964, she also worked for some years as craft examiner for the Cambridge
Cambridge
The city of Cambridge is a university town and the administrative centre of the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It lies in East Anglia about north of London. Cambridge is at the heart of the high-technology centre known as Silicon Fen – a play on Silicon Valley and the fens surrounding the...
Local Examinations Syndicate.
Betty Rea died in 1965.
Works
Betty Rea's sculpture has been the subject of recent research published by the Henry Moore Institute, Leeds in 2003.Her 1959 Stretching Figure (bronze resin), was described by Gillian Whiteley as "expressing the diverse emotions, activities, and grace of youth". It is held by the Herbert Art Gallery and Museum
Herbert Art Gallery and Museum
Herbert Art Gallery & Museum is a museum, art gallery, records archive, learning centre and creative arts facility on Jordan Well, Coventry, United Kingdom....
, Coventry
Coventry
Coventry is a city and metropolitan borough in the county of West Midlands in England. Coventry is the 9th largest city in England and the 11th largest in the United Kingdom. It is also the second largest city in the English Midlands, after Birmingham, with a population of 300,848, although...
.
Her last work, 'Swimmers', completed posthumously by John W Mills, stands in the grounds of Cambridge
Cambridge
The city of Cambridge is a university town and the administrative centre of the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It lies in East Anglia about north of London. Cambridge is at the heart of the high-technology centre known as Silicon Fen – a play on Silicon Valley and the fens surrounding the...
Parkside swimming pool
Swimming pool
A swimming pool, swimming bath, wading pool, or simply a pool, is a container filled with water intended for swimming or water-based recreation. There are many standard sizes; the largest is the Olympic-size swimming pool...
.
External links
- Betty Rea/John W Mills 'Bathers' sculpture
- http://www.visitharlow.com/what-to-see-and-do/theatres-and-galleries/collections/sculpture-collection/artist_70'Kore' HarlowHarlowHarlow is a new town and local government district in Essex, England. It is located in the west of the county and on the border with Hertfordshire, on the Stort Valley, The town is near the M11 motorway and forms part of the London commuter belt.The district has a current population of 78,889...
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