Mary Sargant Florence
Encyclopedia
Mary Sargant Florence was a British painter of figure subjects
, mural
decorations in fresco
and occasional landscapes in watercolour and pastel
. She was born in London
, née Sargant, sister of the sculptor F.W. Sargant. She studied in Paris
under Luc-Olivier Merson
and at the Slade School under Alphonse Legros
. She was a member of the New English Art Club
and the Society of Painters in Tempera
.
In 1888 she married Henry Smyth Florence, an American musician. They had two children. After her husband's death by drowning, she moved to Marlow, Buckinghamshire
, and built her house "Lordswood" (1899–1900), where she lived until 1940.
She is known for her works Children at Chess (c.1903), Suffer Little Children to Come unto Me (1913) and Pentecost (c.1913). She painted fresco
decorations at the Old School, Oakham
, Rutland
(c.1909–14), and at Bournville School
near Birmingham
(1912–14). Her frescoes at Oakham were commissioned by her brother, the headmaster of Oakham School
and illustrate the Arthurian story of Gareth
.
She was a suffragist and a member of the committee for the Hague Peace Congress
. With the Cambridge University scholar and editor C.K. Ogden
she published a book on militarism
and feminism
, which argued that women had the prerogative and responsibility to combat international militarism.
In 1940, she wrote Colour Co-Ordination, a work on the history, theory and aesthetics of colour
. She edited two volumes of the Papers of the Society of Painters in Tempera.
She died at Twickenham
, Middlesex.
She was the mother of Alix Strachey
, the British psychoanalyst and translator into English of the works of Sigmund Freud
.
Figure painting
Figure painting is a form of the visual arts in which the artist uses a live model as the subject of a two-dimensional piece of artwork using paint as the medium. The live model can be either nude or partly or fully clothed and the painting is a representation of the full body of the model...
, mural
Mural
A mural is any piece of artwork painted or applied directly on a wall, ceiling or other large permanent surface. A particularly distinguishing characteristic of mural painting is that the architectural elements of the given space are harmoniously incorporated into the picture.-History:Murals of...
decorations in fresco
Fresco
Fresco is any of several related mural painting types, executed on plaster on walls or ceilings. The word fresco comes from the Greek word affresca which derives from the Latin word for "fresh". Frescoes first developed in the ancient world and continued to be popular through the Renaissance...
and occasional landscapes in watercolour and pastel
Pastel
Pastel is an art medium in the form of a stick, consisting of pure powdered pigment and a binder. The pigments used in pastels are the same as those used to produce all colored art media, including oil paints; the binder is of a neutral hue and low saturation....
. She was born in London
London
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...
, née Sargant, sister of the sculptor F.W. Sargant. She studied in Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
under Luc-Olivier Merson
Luc-Olivier Merson
Luc-Olivier Merson was a French academic painter and illustrator also known for his postage stamp and currency designs....
and at the Slade School under Alphonse Legros
Alphonse Legros
Alphonse Legros , painter, etcher and sculptor was born in Dijon. His father was an accountant, and came from the neighbouring village of Véronnes....
. She was a member of the New English Art Club
New English Art Club
The New English Art Club was founded in London in 1885 as an alternate venue to the Royal Academy.-History:Young English artists returning from studying art in Paris mounted the first exhibition of the New English Art Club in April 1886...
and the Society of Painters in Tempera
Society of Painters in Tempera
The Society of Painters in Tempera was founded in 1901 by Christiana Herringham and a group of British painters who were interested in reviving the art of tempera painting. Lady Herringham was an expert copyist of the Italian Old Masters and had translated Il Libro dell' Arte o Trattato della...
.
In 1888 she married Henry Smyth Florence, an American musician. They had two children. After her husband's death by drowning, she moved to Marlow, Buckinghamshire
Marlow, Buckinghamshire
Marlow is a town and civil parish within Wycombe district in south Buckinghamshire, England...
, and built her house "Lordswood" (1899–1900), where she lived until 1940.
She is known for her works Children at Chess (c.1903), Suffer Little Children to Come unto Me (1913) and Pentecost (c.1913). She painted fresco
Fresco
Fresco is any of several related mural painting types, executed on plaster on walls or ceilings. The word fresco comes from the Greek word affresca which derives from the Latin word for "fresh". Frescoes first developed in the ancient world and continued to be popular through the Renaissance...
decorations at the Old School, Oakham
Oakham
-Oakham's horseshoes:Traditionally, members of royalty and peers of the realm who visited or passed through the town had to pay a forfeit in the form of a horseshoe...
, Rutland
Rutland
Rutland is a landlocked county in central England, bounded on the west and north by Leicestershire, northeast by Lincolnshire and southeast by Peterborough and Northamptonshire....
(c.1909–14), and at Bournville School
Bournville School
Bournville School and sixth form centre is a coeducational, state comprehensive school, with Specialist Business and Enterprise College and Music College status, for students aged 11–19 years, located on Griffins Brook Lane, Bournville, Birmingham in the United Kingdom.Since 2002 Bournville has...
near Birmingham
Birmingham
Birmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It is the most populous British city outside the capital London, with a population of 1,036,900 , and lies at the heart of the West Midlands conurbation, the second most populous urban area in the United Kingdom with a...
(1912–14). Her frescoes at Oakham were commissioned by her brother, the headmaster of Oakham School
Oakham School
Oakham School is a British co-educational independent school in the historic market town of Oakham in Rutland, accepting around 1,000 pupils, aged from 10 to 18, both male and female, as boarders and day pupils . The Good Schools Guide called the school "a privileged but unpretentious and...
and illustrate the Arthurian story of Gareth
Gareth
Sir Gareth was a Knight of the Round Table in Arthurian Legend. He was the youngest son of Lot and of Morgause, King Arthur's half-sister, thus making him Arthur's nephew, as well as brother to Gawain, Agravain, Gaheris, and half brother of Mordred...
.
She was a suffragist and a member of the committee for the Hague Peace Congress
Peace congress
A peace congress, in international relations, has at times been defined in a way that would distinguish it from a peace conference , as an ambitious forum to carry out dispute resolution in international affairs, and prevent wars...
. With the Cambridge University scholar and editor C.K. Ogden
Charles Kay Ogden
Charles Kay Ogden was an English linguist, philosopher, and writer. Described as a polymath but also an eccentric and outsider, he took part in many ventures related to literature, politics, the arts and philosophy, having a broad impact particularly as an editor, translator, and activist on...
she published a book on militarism
Militarism
Militarism is defined as: the belief or desire of a government or people that a country should maintain a strong military capability and be prepared to use it aggressively to defend or promote national interests....
and feminism
Feminism
Feminism is a collection of movements aimed at defining, establishing, and defending equal political, economic, and social rights and equal opportunities for women. Its concepts overlap with those of women's rights...
, which argued that women had the prerogative and responsibility to combat international militarism.
In 1940, she wrote Colour Co-Ordination, a work on the history, theory and aesthetics of colour
Color
Color or colour is the visual perceptual property corresponding in humans to the categories called red, green, blue and others. Color derives from the spectrum of light interacting in the eye with the spectral sensitivities of the light receptors...
. She edited two volumes of the Papers of the Society of Painters in Tempera.
She died at Twickenham
Twickenham
Twickenham is a large suburban town southwest of central London. It is the administrative headquarters of the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames and one of the locally important district centres identified in the London Plan...
, Middlesex.
She was the mother of Alix Strachey
Alix Strachey
Alix Strachey , née Sargant-Florence, was an American-born British psychoanalyst and with her husband the translator into English of the works of Sigmund Freud....
, the British psychoanalyst and translator into English of the works of Sigmund Freud
Sigmund Freud
Sigmund Freud , born Sigismund Schlomo Freud , was an Austrian neurologist who founded the discipline of psychoanalysis...
.