M. Alison Atkins
Encyclopedia
Life
Margaret was born in FulhamFulham
Fulham is an area of southwest London in the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham, SW6 located south west of Charing Cross. It lies on the left bank of the Thames, between Putney and Chelsea. The area is identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London...
, London to Arthur Atkins and Kate Bollaert. Her father was, in turn, a tea dealer, merchant and wholesale dealer. She had a brother Arthur and, it is believed, a sister, Mary.
At the time of the 1901 census, aged 22, she was noted as being an 'art student'.
Little is actually known of her private or professional life. By 1908 she had moved to 90 Burnt Ash Hill, Lee, London and was displaying her art at local exhibitions. Whilst there she exhibited Bringing home the Christmas tree, An elf maiden and Titania's baby.
Around 1917 Atkins was living at 35 Leamington Road Villas, Westbourne Park, W11 and in 1917 exhibited a painting called Sweet William Cottage.
Atkins' flourished between 1906 and 1919. She was not recorded as a member of the Society of Women Artists.
Known works
- An example of her illustrations can be found in the book Mohamed Aben Ahmar or "The invention of the Moorish arch: a legend" by Stephen Syeds. The book was published in 1905 by Leadenhall Press LTDLeadenhall PressThe Leadenhall Press was founded by Andrew White Tuer as the publishing division of the London partnership of Field & Tuer, following a move to 50 Leadenhall Street in 1868. The firm began as job printers, stationers, and manufacturers in 1862, when Tuer joined with Abraham Field , an established...
in LondonLondonLondon 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...
and Charles Scribner's SonsCharles Scribner's SonsCharles Scribner's Sons, or simply Scribner, is an American publisher based in New York City, known for publishing a number of American authors including Ernest Hemingway, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Kurt Vonnegut, Stephen King, Robert A. Heinlein, Thomas Wolfe, George Santayana, John Clellon...
in New YorkNew YorkNew York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
.
- "Listen to My Sweet Pipings". Pen and ink and watercolour over pencil on drawing board. 26.1 × 14.3 cm http://www.bridgeman.co.uk/search/view_image2.asp?image_id=135533 (not to be confused with a painting of the same name by John William WaterhouseJohn William WaterhouseJohn William Waterhouse was an English painter known for working in the Pre-Raphaelite style. He worked several decades after the breakup of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood, which had seen its heydey in the mid-nineteenth century, leading him to have gained the moniker of "the modern Pre-Raphaelite"...
). The copyright for the image is current held with the York Museum Trust.
- "The Duck Pond", which appeared in Vol. 37, page 609 of The Girl’s Own Paper. Volume 37 was probably published circa 1915.
Resources
- The Society of Women Artist Exhibitors 1855-1996 by Charles Baile de Laperriere.
- National probate calendars (1918 onwards)
- Paddington registers
- Bromley directories
- Birth Record: Sep 1878. District: Fulham. Volume: 1a. Page: 200 (Maraget Alison Atkins)
- Birth Record: Sep 1874. District: Woolwich. Volume: 1d. Page: 933 (Mary Francisca Atkins)
- Birth Record: Sep 1844. District: Epsom. Volume: 4. Page: 127 (Arthur Nias Atkins)
- Marriage Record: Mar 1873. District: Marylebone. Volume: 1a: Page: 768 (Arthu/Bollaert)