Mildred Anne Butler
Encyclopedia
Mildred Anne Butler, R.A.
R.W.S.
(January 11, 1858 – October 11, 1941) was an Irish
artist, who worked in watercolour and oil of landscape, genre and animal subjects. Butler was born and spent most of her life in Kilmurry, Thomastown
, County Kilkenny
and was associated with the Newlyn School
of painters.
Mildred Anne's en plein air
style is dominated by the theme of nature and reflects scenes of domesticity around the family home in Kilmurry. She achieved distinction in her lifetime and exhibited in major galleries in Ireland
and England
. Among her patrons were Queen Mary of Teck
and Louis IV, Grand Duke of Hesse
.
She became a member of the Royal Academy
in 1893. In 1896, Butler's Morning Bath was exhibited at the Royal Academy. It was the first work by a female artist to be purchased by the trustees of the Chantrey Bequest and was then presented to the Tate
. She became an associate member of the Royal Watercolour Society
in 1896 and was granted full membership in 1937.
She was one of the first academicians elected by the Ulster Academy of Arts
in 1930. She virtually stopped painting by the 1930s due to arthritis and died in 1941, aged 83. Around four hundred pieces of her work were sold as part of the artist's studio sale in 1980. She is celebrated in an Postage stamp
by An Post
.
and was the youngest daughter of Captain Henry Butler, a grandson of the Edmund Butler, 11th Viscount Mountgarret
. Knowledge of Butler's life and working methods are almost entirely on the watercolours themselves and on her diaries, which are preserved for most years between 1892 and 1938. Butler’s quirky titles such as Ancient Rubbish, A Tit-Bit and Chucked; Green Eyed Jealousy: Ravens amongst trees show the artist’s playful sensibility. Her father, Henry Butler, was an amateur artist favouring subjects from nature he encountered on journeys abroad, in particular exotic plants and animals. Butler spent most of her life in the family home at Kilmurry with frequent trips to England and the continent. She continued painting until the 1930s when she stopped painting due to arthritis and died in 1941, aged 83.
in the late 1880s with the English watercolourist Paul Jacob Naftel, whom she credited for her understanding of watercolours. Butler like her friend Rose Barton, whom also studied under Naftel, did not follow his choice of landscape, instead she devoted herself to cattle, birds, and flower gardens. She continued her studies at Westminster School of Art
under William Frank Calderon
who specialised in animal painting and later opened a school of animal painting. At Frank Calderon's School she studied the subject of cows, and it was that work for which she was elected to the Old Society, the Royal Academy
.
In her late twentieths she made annual visits to the continent until the outbreak of war. She travelled to France, Belgium
and Switzerland and Italy. In Paris
studied studied drawing, figure drawing and fine art painting. While in Paris she became associated with the Newlyn school
and went on to spent the summers of 1894 and 1895 in Newlyn
in Cornwall
. Newlyn at that time was the centre for a group of artists who were interested in plein-air subjects, many of whom had previously studied in France. She was attached to the Newlyn School
, and Norman Garstin
's studio in particular alongside contemporaries such as Walter Osborne
and Sir John Lavery. Garstin like Osborne
had been a pupil of the Antwerp master Charles Verlat. Butler established a friendship with Luke Fildes
, Stanhope Forbes
and whom she met at Newlyn. The influence of the Limerick
born Garstin, and Forbes, and the contact with the Newlyn School
informed Butler's development and remained an important influence on her work throughout her life.
Butler continuously exhibited there throughout her career and proved herself to be a keen business woman capable of marketing her watercolours successfully with patrons such as Queen Mary of Teck
and Louis IV, Grand Duke of Hesse
. At Frank Calderon's School she studied the subject of cows, and it was that work for which she was elected to the Old Society, the Royal Academy
, which she became a member of the Royal Academy
in 1893. She was one of the first nine academicians elected by the Ulster Academy of Arts
in 1930. She was granted full membership into the Royal Watercolour Society
in 1937, having been an associate member since 1896.
She painted en plein air
with instils her work with animated freshness, which she depicts with a degree of realism and expression. Paintings such as Meditation (1889) were considered revolutionary by the art establishment and by critics of the day. The critic of the magazine Hearth and Home described her habit of painting in the open air
, rare at the time, and said it give an actuality and a freshness to the painting.
, A High Court of Justice (1892) R.A.
, Green-Eyed Jealousy (1894) R.A.
, The Morning Bath (1896) R.A.
, Raiders from the Rookery (1896) R.A.
, Cead Mile Failte (1898) R.A.
. Works that she was elected to the R.W.S.
in 1896 include Dull December, Loiterers and Beside the Pond. Sunshine Holiday (1898) R.W.S.
was another notable work. Her works appears in a number of collections including Morning Bath in the Tate
and paintings in the National Gallery of Ireland
, the Ulster Museum
in Belfast
and the Hugh Lane Gallery in Dublin. A small watercolour of crows hangs in Queen Mary's Dolls' House
at Windsor
. Throughout her career Butler's works were showcased as far abroad as the United States
and Japan
.
She first exhibited at the Dudley Gallery in Piccadilly
. She exhibited in various galleries and institutions including the Royal Hibernian Academy
, the Watercolour Society of Ireland, the Belfast Ramblers' Sketching Club
, the Royal Academy
(1889–1902) and the Royal Watercolour Society
. In 1906 she exhibited at the Watercolour Society of Ireland, in Dublin, with works such as The Garden Cart and later that winter in London, at the Old Water-Colour Society
where the exhibition included pieces such as Where the Grass Grows Green. In Spring 1919 an exhibition at the Royal Watercolour Society
, London, included Tramore Strand, Low water (1889) The Delegates (1923) was exhibited at the New Irish Salon.
In 1980, watercolours, drawings and sketches, together with notes, letters and diaries were sold as part of the artist's studio sale. Some were sold in Ireland and others at a studio sale at Christie's
in London. The National Gallery of Ireland
purchased seven fine watercolours for its permanent collection. Fota House in Cork contains one of her works. An Exhibition of Butler's work was held by the Kilkenny Art Gallery Society at Kilkenny Castle
in June 1981 which included pieces such as Where the Grass Grows Green (1904) It was further exhibited at the Bank of Ireland, Baggot Street, Dublin in August 1981 and at Christies, King Street, London in September 1981. In 1987 Kilkenny Art Gallery, Kilkenny, presented an exhibition Mildred Anne Butler, which included Cats Chasing Birds (1918). Between August–September 1987 the Crawford Municipal Art Gallery, Cork, presented an exhibition Mildred Anne Butler 1858-1941. An Irish Edwardian Watercolour Collection which included Figures beside a horse and chaise (1896) In April to June 1988 Ulster Museum and Art Gallery, Belfast, presented an exhibition Mildred Anne Butler which included Cats Chasing Birds (1918). She is celebrated on an Postage stamp
in an An Post
collection for female Irish
artists.
Green-Eyed Jealousy (1894) R.A.
The Morning Bath (1896) R.A.
, Tate
, London
.
Beside the Pond (1896) R.W.S. Election 1896
Dull December (1896) R.W.S. Election 1896
Loiterers (1896) R.W.S. Election 1896
Raiders from the Rookery (1896) R.A.
Sunshine Holiday (1898) R.W.S.
Cead Mile Failte (1898) R.A.
Toll from the Turnip Cart (1896)
The Wanderers (1898), Hugh Lane Gallery, Dublin.
The Garden Cart
Doves outside the Conservatory, Kilmurry
Tramore Strand, Low water 1889
Where the Grass Grows Green
The Delegates (1923)
Dandelions and Scillas
The Garden Path (1922)
Procession through the bluebells
Madonna Lilies
Side-cars
Foxgloves
Poppies (1904)
The Lily Pond (1897)
In the Conservatory, Kilmurry
View in Pembroke Street, Dublin
A garden path, probably Kilmurry
A summer's day
Hollyhocks
Winter Survival
Low water, Tramore, Waterford (1919)
Station cabbies (1898)
Poppies at Kilmurry: View across a wild Garden; and In flower
Autumn by the Lake (1890)
Figures beside a horse and chaise
Horses grazing (1998)
Cats Chasing Birds (1918)
Peacocks
The Spring Garden, Kilmurry
Study of a Delphinium
Sheep in a meadow
The Grinding Wheel, Kilmurry
Cattle grazing, Kilmurry
Edge of the Woods
Cattle in the shade, Kilmurray (1917)
Lismore, Waterford
Two cats, Kilmurry
The Kilmurry Estate
Meditation (1889)
Cattle Resting in a Summer Meadow (1899)
A Dead Magpie in a Tree
A Trout Stream
Procession through the Bluebells
Crucifixion and hollyhocks
Lilac Phlox
The Farmyard
"Chucked; Green Eyed Jealousy": Ravens amongst trees
Spring Garden (1916)
The Sentinels: Rooks in the snow (1895)
A Nap, Kilmurry, Co Kilkenny
The Flowers of August (1900)
Peacocks and Peahens on a Sunlit Lawn
At Lismore, Co Waterford (1913)
Fine Feathers
Threashing in a riverside Field (1910)
Peacocks at Kilmurry (1910)
Doves at the Edge of a Garden
A Cat stalking Pigeons
Rose Peany
Crows resting in a snow covered Landscape
A Summer Border (1914)
Young Jackdaws
Aix les Bains
A bluebell wood
Kilmurry
A French Chateau (1901)
Cattle grazing
Trees by a meadow
Royal Academy
The Royal Academy of Arts is an art institution based in Burlington House on Piccadilly, London. The Royal Academy of Arts has a unique position in being an independent, privately funded institution led by eminent artists and architects whose purpose is to promote the creation, enjoyment and...
R.W.S.
Royal Watercolour Society
The Royal Watercolour Society is an English institution of painters working in watercolours...
(January 11, 1858 – October 11, 1941) was an Irish
Irish people
The Irish people are an ethnic group who originate in Ireland, an island in northwestern Europe. Ireland has been populated for around 9,000 years , with the Irish people's earliest ancestors recorded having legends of being descended from groups such as the Nemedians, Fomorians, Fir Bolg, Tuatha...
artist, who worked in watercolour and oil of landscape, genre and animal subjects. Butler was born and spent most of her life in Kilmurry, Thomastown
Thomastown
-Landmarks:Kilfane Glen is a restored historic 1790s garden of romantic era with waterfall, woodland walks and cottage orne. The garden is listed as an Irish Heritage garden and was awarded assistance in 1993 by the European Union Cultural Commission...
, County Kilkenny
County Kilkenny
County Kilkenny is a county in Ireland. It is part of the South-East Region and is also located in the province of Leinster. It is named after the city of Kilkenny. The territory of the county was the core part of the ancient Irish Kingdom of Osraige which in turn was the core of the Diocese of...
and was associated with the Newlyn School
Newlyn School
The Newlyn School is a term used to describe an art colony of artists based in or near to Newlyn, a fishing village adjacent to Penzance, Cornwall, from the 1880s until the early 20th century. The establishment of the Newlyn School was reminiscent of the Barbizon School in France, where artists...
of painters.
Mildred Anne's en plein air
En plein air
En plein air is a French expression which means "in the open air", and is particularly used to describe the act of painting outdoors.Artists have long painted outdoors, but in the mid-19th century working in natural light became particularly important to the Barbizon school and Impressionism...
style is dominated by the theme of nature and reflects scenes of domesticity around the family home in Kilmurry. She achieved distinction in her lifetime and exhibited in major galleries in Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
and England
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...
. Among her patrons were Queen Mary of Teck
Mary of Teck
Mary of Teck was the queen consort of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Empress of India, as the wife of King-Emperor George V....
and Louis IV, Grand Duke of Hesse
Louis IV, Grand Duke of Hesse
Louis IV , was the fourth Grand Duke of Hesse and by Rhine, reigning from 13 June 1877 until his death...
.
She became a member of the Royal Academy
Royal Academy
The Royal Academy of Arts is an art institution based in Burlington House on Piccadilly, London. The Royal Academy of Arts has a unique position in being an independent, privately funded institution led by eminent artists and architects whose purpose is to promote the creation, enjoyment and...
in 1893. In 1896, Butler's Morning Bath was exhibited at the Royal Academy. It was the first work by a female artist to be purchased by the trustees of the Chantrey Bequest and was then presented to the Tate
Tate
-Places:*Tate, Georgia, a town in the United States*Tate County, Mississippi, a county in the United States*Táté, the Hungarian name for Totoi village, Sântimbru Commune, Alba County, Romania*Tate, Filipino word for States...
. She became an associate member of the Royal Watercolour Society
Royal Watercolour Society
The Royal Watercolour Society is an English institution of painters working in watercolours...
in 1896 and was granted full membership in 1937.
She was one of the first academicians elected by the Ulster Academy of Arts
Royal Ulster Academy
The Royal Ulster Academy has existed in one form or another since 1879. It started life then, as The Belfast Ramblers' Sketching Club...
in 1930. She virtually stopped painting by the 1930s due to arthritis and died in 1941, aged 83. Around four hundred pieces of her work were sold as part of the artist's studio sale in 1980. She is celebrated in an Postage stamp
Postage stamps of Ireland
The postage stamps of Ireland are issued by the postal operator of the independent Irish state. Ireland was part of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland when the world's first postage stamps were issued in 1840. These stamps, and all subsequent British issues, were used in Ireland until...
by An Post
An Post
An Post is the State-owned provider of postal services in the Republic of Ireland. An Post provides a universal postal service to all parts of the country as a member of the Universal Postal Union...
.
Life
Mildred Anne was born in 1858 in Kilmurry, a Georgian House near ThomastownThomastown
-Landmarks:Kilfane Glen is a restored historic 1790s garden of romantic era with waterfall, woodland walks and cottage orne. The garden is listed as an Irish Heritage garden and was awarded assistance in 1993 by the European Union Cultural Commission...
and was the youngest daughter of Captain Henry Butler, a grandson of the Edmund Butler, 11th Viscount Mountgarret
Edmund Butler, 11th Viscount Mountgarret
Edmund Butler, 11th Viscount Mountgarret was an Irish peer and politician.He was the son of Edmund Butler, 10th Viscount Mountgarret and Charlotte Bradstreet, daughter of Sir Simon Bradstreet, 1st Bart. He married with Henrietta Butler, daughter of Somerset Hamilton Butler, 1st Earl of Carrick on...
. Knowledge of Butler's life and working methods are almost entirely on the watercolours themselves and on her diaries, which are preserved for most years between 1892 and 1938. Butler’s quirky titles such as Ancient Rubbish, A Tit-Bit and Chucked; Green Eyed Jealousy: Ravens amongst trees show the artist’s playful sensibility. Her father, Henry Butler, was an amateur artist favouring subjects from nature he encountered on journeys abroad, in particular exotic plants and animals. Butler spent most of her life in the family home at Kilmurry with frequent trips to England and the continent. She continued painting until the 1930s when she stopped painting due to arthritis and died in 1941, aged 83.
Career
Her father Henry may have encouraged her to paint in her youth but her artistic training began 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 the late 1880s with the English watercolourist Paul Jacob Naftel, whom she credited for her understanding of watercolours. Butler like her friend Rose Barton, whom also studied under Naftel, did not follow his choice of landscape, instead she devoted herself to cattle, birds, and flower gardens. She continued her studies at Westminster School of Art
Westminster School of Art
The Westminster School of Art was an art school in Westminster, London. It was located at 18 Tufton Street, Deans Yard, Westminster, and was part of the old Architectural Museum.H. M. Bateman described it in 1903 as...
under William Frank Calderon
William Frank Calderon
William Frank Calderon aka W. Frank Calderon , was an English Victorian painter of portraits, landscapes, figure subjects and sporting pictures...
who specialised in animal painting and later opened a school of animal painting. At Frank Calderon's School she studied the subject of cows, and it was that work for which she was elected to the Old Society, the Royal Academy
Royal Academy
The Royal Academy of Arts is an art institution based in Burlington House on Piccadilly, London. The Royal Academy of Arts has a unique position in being an independent, privately funded institution led by eminent artists and architects whose purpose is to promote the creation, enjoyment and...
.
In her late twentieths she made annual visits to the continent until the outbreak of war. She travelled to France, Belgium
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
and Switzerland and Italy. 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...
studied studied drawing, figure drawing and fine art painting. While in Paris she became associated with the Newlyn school
Newlyn School
The Newlyn School is a term used to describe an art colony of artists based in or near to Newlyn, a fishing village adjacent to Penzance, Cornwall, from the 1880s until the early 20th century. The establishment of the Newlyn School was reminiscent of the Barbizon School in France, where artists...
and went on to spent the summers of 1894 and 1895 in Newlyn
Newlyn
Newlyn is a town and fishing port in southwest Cornwall, England, United Kingdom.Newlyn forms a conurbation with the neighbouring town of Penzance and is part of Penzance civil parish...
in Cornwall
Cornwall
Cornwall is a unitary authority and ceremonial county of England, within the United Kingdom. It is bordered to the north and west by the Celtic Sea, to the south by the English Channel, and to the east by the county of Devon, over the River Tamar. Cornwall has a population of , and covers an area of...
. Newlyn at that time was the centre for a group of artists who were interested in plein-air subjects, many of whom had previously studied in France. She was attached to the Newlyn School
Newlyn School
The Newlyn School is a term used to describe an art colony of artists based in or near to Newlyn, a fishing village adjacent to Penzance, Cornwall, from the 1880s until the early 20th century. The establishment of the Newlyn School was reminiscent of the Barbizon School in France, where artists...
, and Norman Garstin
Norman Garstin
Norman Garstin was an Irish artist associated with the Newlyn School of painters.He was born in Caherconlish, Co. Limerick, Ireland, and was involved in various professions such as journalism and gold mining in South Africa...
's studio in particular alongside contemporaries such as Walter Osborne
Walter Osborne
Walter Frederick Osborne was an Irish impressionist landscape and portrait painter. Most of his paintings featured women, children, and the elderly as well as rural scenes.-Career:...
and Sir John Lavery. Garstin like Osborne
Walter Osborne
Walter Frederick Osborne was an Irish impressionist landscape and portrait painter. Most of his paintings featured women, children, and the elderly as well as rural scenes.-Career:...
had been a pupil of the Antwerp master Charles Verlat. Butler established a friendship with Luke Fildes
Luke Fildes
Sir Samuel Luke Fildes RA was an English painter and illustrator born at Liverpool and trained in the South Kensington and Royal Academy schools....
, Stanhope Forbes
Stanhope Forbes
Stanhope Alexander Forbes R.A., , was an artist and member of the influential Newlyn school of painters...
and whom she met at Newlyn. The influence of the Limerick
Limerick
Limerick is the third largest city in the Republic of Ireland, and the principal city of County Limerick and Ireland's Mid-West Region. It is the fifth most populous city in all of Ireland. When taking the extra-municipal suburbs into account, Limerick is the third largest conurbation in the...
born Garstin, and Forbes, and the contact with the Newlyn School
Newlyn School
The Newlyn School is a term used to describe an art colony of artists based in or near to Newlyn, a fishing village adjacent to Penzance, Cornwall, from the 1880s until the early 20th century. The establishment of the Newlyn School was reminiscent of the Barbizon School in France, where artists...
informed Butler's development and remained an important influence on her work throughout her life.
Butler continuously exhibited there throughout her career and proved herself to be a keen business woman capable of marketing her watercolours successfully with patrons such as Queen Mary of Teck
Mary of Teck
Mary of Teck was the queen consort of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Empress of India, as the wife of King-Emperor George V....
and Louis IV, Grand Duke of Hesse
Louis IV, Grand Duke of Hesse
Louis IV , was the fourth Grand Duke of Hesse and by Rhine, reigning from 13 June 1877 until his death...
. At Frank Calderon's School she studied the subject of cows, and it was that work for which she was elected to the Old Society, the Royal Academy
Royal Academy
The Royal Academy of Arts is an art institution based in Burlington House on Piccadilly, London. The Royal Academy of Arts has a unique position in being an independent, privately funded institution led by eminent artists and architects whose purpose is to promote the creation, enjoyment and...
, which she became a member of the Royal Academy
Royal Academy
The Royal Academy of Arts is an art institution based in Burlington House on Piccadilly, London. The Royal Academy of Arts has a unique position in being an independent, privately funded institution led by eminent artists and architects whose purpose is to promote the creation, enjoyment and...
in 1893. She was one of the first nine academicians elected by the Ulster Academy of Arts
Royal Ulster Academy
The Royal Ulster Academy has existed in one form or another since 1879. It started life then, as The Belfast Ramblers' Sketching Club...
in 1930. She was granted full membership into the Royal Watercolour Society
Royal Watercolour Society
The Royal Watercolour Society is an English institution of painters working in watercolours...
in 1937, having been an associate member since 1896.
Style
She was a painter in oil and watercolour of landscape, genre and animal subjects. Her range of work was dominated by the theme of nature and her subject matter reflected the scenes of domesticity surrounding her Kilmurry home. Butler's house was a huge source of inspiration throughout her life, its garden and surroundings, provided passion for many of her paintings which often included; the gardens landscapes of pasture land with cows, and the birds and animals native to the gardens and country. These themes interested her particularly remained a constant subject. She also did genre views of villages and towns on the continent.She painted en plein air
En plein air
En plein air is a French expression which means "in the open air", and is particularly used to describe the act of painting outdoors.Artists have long painted outdoors, but in the mid-19th century working in natural light became particularly important to the Barbizon school and Impressionism...
with instils her work with animated freshness, which she depicts with a degree of realism and expression. Paintings such as Meditation (1889) were considered revolutionary by the art establishment and by critics of the day. The critic of the magazine Hearth and Home described her habit of painting in the open air
En plein air
En plein air is a French expression which means "in the open air", and is particularly used to describe the act of painting outdoors.Artists have long painted outdoors, but in the mid-19th century working in natural light became particularly important to the Barbizon school and Impressionism...
, rare at the time, and said it give an actuality and a freshness to the painting.
Works and exhibitions
Her principle works have been A Sheltered Corner (1891) R.A.Royal Academy
The Royal Academy of Arts is an art institution based in Burlington House on Piccadilly, London. The Royal Academy of Arts has a unique position in being an independent, privately funded institution led by eminent artists and architects whose purpose is to promote the creation, enjoyment and...
, A High Court of Justice (1892) R.A.
Royal Academy
The Royal Academy of Arts is an art institution based in Burlington House on Piccadilly, London. The Royal Academy of Arts has a unique position in being an independent, privately funded institution led by eminent artists and architects whose purpose is to promote the creation, enjoyment and...
, Green-Eyed Jealousy (1894) R.A.
Royal Academy
The Royal Academy of Arts is an art institution based in Burlington House on Piccadilly, London. The Royal Academy of Arts has a unique position in being an independent, privately funded institution led by eminent artists and architects whose purpose is to promote the creation, enjoyment and...
, The Morning Bath (1896) R.A.
Royal Academy
The Royal Academy of Arts is an art institution based in Burlington House on Piccadilly, London. The Royal Academy of Arts has a unique position in being an independent, privately funded institution led by eminent artists and architects whose purpose is to promote the creation, enjoyment and...
, Raiders from the Rookery (1896) R.A.
Royal Academy
The Royal Academy of Arts is an art institution based in Burlington House on Piccadilly, London. The Royal Academy of Arts has a unique position in being an independent, privately funded institution led by eminent artists and architects whose purpose is to promote the creation, enjoyment and...
, Cead Mile Failte (1898) R.A.
Royal Academy
The Royal Academy of Arts is an art institution based in Burlington House on Piccadilly, London. The Royal Academy of Arts has a unique position in being an independent, privately funded institution led by eminent artists and architects whose purpose is to promote the creation, enjoyment and...
. Works that she was elected to the R.W.S.
Royal Watercolour Society
The Royal Watercolour Society is an English institution of painters working in watercolours...
in 1896 include Dull December, Loiterers and Beside the Pond. Sunshine Holiday (1898) R.W.S.
Royal Watercolour Society
The Royal Watercolour Society is an English institution of painters working in watercolours...
was another notable work. Her works appears in a number of collections including Morning Bath in the Tate
Tate
-Places:*Tate, Georgia, a town in the United States*Tate County, Mississippi, a county in the United States*Táté, the Hungarian name for Totoi village, Sântimbru Commune, Alba County, Romania*Tate, Filipino word for States...
and paintings in the National Gallery of Ireland
National Gallery of Ireland
The National Gallery of Ireland houses the Irish national collection of Irish and European art. It is located in the centre of Dublin with one entrance on Merrion Square, beside Leinster House, and another on Clare Street. It was founded in 1854 and opened its doors ten years later...
, the Ulster Museum
Ulster Museum
The Ulster Museum, located in the Botanic Gardens in Belfast, has around 8,000 square metres of public display space, featuring material from the collections of fine art and applied art, archaeology, ethnography, treasures from the Spanish Armada, local history, numismatics, industrial...
in Belfast
Belfast
Belfast is the capital of and largest city in Northern Ireland. By population, it is the 14th biggest city in the United Kingdom and second biggest on the island of Ireland . It is the seat of the devolved government and legislative Northern Ireland Assembly...
and the Hugh Lane Gallery in Dublin. A small watercolour of crows hangs in Queen Mary's Dolls' House
Queen Mary's Dolls' House
Queen Mary's Dolls' House is a doll's house built in the early 1920s, completed in 1924, for Queen Mary, the wife of King George V.The idea for building it originally came from the Queen's cousin, Princess Marie Louise, who discussed her idea with one of the top architects of the time, Sir Edwin...
at Windsor
Windsor Castle
Windsor Castle is a medieval castle and royal residence in Windsor in the English county of Berkshire, notable for its long association with the British royal family and its architecture. The original castle was built after the Norman invasion by William the Conqueror. Since the time of Henry I it...
. Throughout her career Butler's works were showcased as far abroad as the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
.
She first exhibited at the Dudley Gallery in Piccadilly
Piccadilly
Piccadilly is a major street in central London, running from Hyde Park Corner in the west to Piccadilly Circus in the east. It is completely within the city of Westminster. The street is part of the A4 road, London's second most important western artery. St...
. She exhibited in various galleries and institutions including the Royal Hibernian Academy
Royal Hibernian Academy
The Royal Hibernian Academy is an artist-based and artist-oriented institution in Ireland, founded in Dublin in 1823.-History:The RHA was founded as the result of 30 Irish artists petitioning the government for a charter of incorporation...
, the Watercolour Society of Ireland, the Belfast Ramblers' Sketching Club
Royal Ulster Academy
The Royal Ulster Academy has existed in one form or another since 1879. It started life then, as The Belfast Ramblers' Sketching Club...
, the Royal Academy
Royal Academy
The Royal Academy of Arts is an art institution based in Burlington House on Piccadilly, London. The Royal Academy of Arts has a unique position in being an independent, privately funded institution led by eminent artists and architects whose purpose is to promote the creation, enjoyment and...
(1889–1902) and the Royal Watercolour Society
Royal Watercolour Society
The Royal Watercolour Society is an English institution of painters working in watercolours...
. In 1906 she exhibited at the Watercolour Society of Ireland, in Dublin, with works such as The Garden Cart and later that winter in London, at the Old Water-Colour Society
Royal Watercolour Society
The Royal Watercolour Society is an English institution of painters working in watercolours...
where the exhibition included pieces such as Where the Grass Grows Green. In Spring 1919 an exhibition at the Royal Watercolour Society
Royal Watercolour Society
The Royal Watercolour Society is an English institution of painters working in watercolours...
, London, included Tramore Strand, Low water (1889) The Delegates (1923) was exhibited at the New Irish Salon.
In 1980, watercolours, drawings and sketches, together with notes, letters and diaries were sold as part of the artist's studio sale. Some were sold in Ireland and others at a studio sale at Christie's
Christie's
Christie's is an art business and a fine arts auction house.- History :The official company literature states that founder James Christie conducted the first sale in London, England, on 5 December 1766, and the earliest auction catalogue the company retains is from December 1766...
in London. The National Gallery of Ireland
National Gallery of Ireland
The National Gallery of Ireland houses the Irish national collection of Irish and European art. It is located in the centre of Dublin with one entrance on Merrion Square, beside Leinster House, and another on Clare Street. It was founded in 1854 and opened its doors ten years later...
purchased seven fine watercolours for its permanent collection. Fota House in Cork contains one of her works. An Exhibition of Butler's work was held by the Kilkenny Art Gallery Society at Kilkenny Castle
Kilkenny Castle
Kilkenny Castle is a castle in Kilkenny, Ireland built in 1195 by William Marshal, 1st Earl of Pembroke to control a fording-point of the River Nore and the junction of several routeways...
in June 1981 which included pieces such as Where the Grass Grows Green (1904) It was further exhibited at the Bank of Ireland, Baggot Street, Dublin in August 1981 and at Christies, King Street, London in September 1981. In 1987 Kilkenny Art Gallery, Kilkenny, presented an exhibition Mildred Anne Butler, which included Cats Chasing Birds (1918). Between August–September 1987 the Crawford Municipal Art Gallery, Cork, presented an exhibition Mildred Anne Butler 1858-1941. An Irish Edwardian Watercolour Collection which included Figures beside a horse and chaise (1896) In April to June 1988 Ulster Museum and Art Gallery, Belfast, presented an exhibition Mildred Anne Butler which included Cats Chasing Birds (1918). She is celebrated on an Postage stamp
Postage stamps of Ireland
The postage stamps of Ireland are issued by the postal operator of the independent Irish state. Ireland was part of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland when the world's first postage stamps were issued in 1840. These stamps, and all subsequent British issues, were used in Ireland until...
in an An Post
An Post
An Post is the State-owned provider of postal services in the Republic of Ireland. An Post provides a universal postal service to all parts of the country as a member of the Universal Postal Union...
collection for female Irish
Irish people
The Irish people are an ethnic group who originate in Ireland, an island in northwestern Europe. Ireland has been populated for around 9,000 years , with the Irish people's earliest ancestors recorded having legends of being descended from groups such as the Nemedians, Fomorians, Fir Bolg, Tuatha...
artists.
Selected works
A High Court of Justice (1892) R.A.Royal Academy
The Royal Academy of Arts is an art institution based in Burlington House on Piccadilly, London. The Royal Academy of Arts has a unique position in being an independent, privately funded institution led by eminent artists and architects whose purpose is to promote the creation, enjoyment and...
Green-Eyed Jealousy (1894) R.A.
Royal Academy
The Royal Academy of Arts is an art institution based in Burlington House on Piccadilly, London. The Royal Academy of Arts has a unique position in being an independent, privately funded institution led by eminent artists and architects whose purpose is to promote the creation, enjoyment and...
The Morning Bath (1896) R.A.
Royal Academy
The Royal Academy of Arts is an art institution based in Burlington House on Piccadilly, London. The Royal Academy of Arts has a unique position in being an independent, privately funded institution led by eminent artists and architects whose purpose is to promote the creation, enjoyment and...
, Tate
Tate
-Places:*Tate, Georgia, a town in the United States*Tate County, Mississippi, a county in the United States*Táté, the Hungarian name for Totoi village, Sântimbru Commune, Alba County, Romania*Tate, Filipino word for States...
, 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...
.
Beside the Pond (1896) R.W.S. Election 1896
Royal Watercolour Society
The Royal Watercolour Society is an English institution of painters working in watercolours...
Dull December (1896) R.W.S. Election 1896
Royal Watercolour Society
The Royal Watercolour Society is an English institution of painters working in watercolours...
Loiterers (1896) R.W.S. Election 1896
Royal Watercolour Society
The Royal Watercolour Society is an English institution of painters working in watercolours...
Raiders from the Rookery (1896) R.A.
Royal Academy
The Royal Academy of Arts is an art institution based in Burlington House on Piccadilly, London. The Royal Academy of Arts has a unique position in being an independent, privately funded institution led by eminent artists and architects whose purpose is to promote the creation, enjoyment and...
Sunshine Holiday (1898) R.W.S.
Royal Watercolour Society
The Royal Watercolour Society is an English institution of painters working in watercolours...
Cead Mile Failte (1898) R.A.
Royal Academy
The Royal Academy of Arts is an art institution based in Burlington House on Piccadilly, London. The Royal Academy of Arts has a unique position in being an independent, privately funded institution led by eminent artists and architects whose purpose is to promote the creation, enjoyment and...
Toll from the Turnip Cart (1896)
The Wanderers (1898), Hugh Lane Gallery, Dublin.
The Garden Cart
Doves outside the Conservatory, Kilmurry
Tramore Strand, Low water 1889
Where the Grass Grows Green
The Delegates (1923)
Dandelions and Scillas
The Garden Path (1922)
Procession through the bluebells
Madonna Lilies
Side-cars
Foxgloves
Poppies (1904)
The Lily Pond (1897)
In the Conservatory, Kilmurry
View in Pembroke Street, Dublin
A garden path, probably Kilmurry
A summer's day
Hollyhocks
Winter Survival
Low water, Tramore, Waterford (1919)
Station cabbies (1898)
Poppies at Kilmurry: View across a wild Garden; and In flower
Autumn by the Lake (1890)
Figures beside a horse and chaise
Horses grazing (1998)
Cats Chasing Birds (1918)
Peacocks
The Spring Garden, Kilmurry
Study of a Delphinium
Sheep in a meadow
The Grinding Wheel, Kilmurry
Cattle grazing, Kilmurry
Edge of the Woods
Cattle in the shade, Kilmurray (1917)
Lismore, Waterford
Two cats, Kilmurry
The Kilmurry Estate
Meditation (1889)
Cattle Resting in a Summer Meadow (1899)
A Dead Magpie in a Tree
A Trout Stream
Procession through the Bluebells
Crucifixion and hollyhocks
Lilac Phlox
The Farmyard
- Other
- An PostAn PostAn Post is the State-owned provider of postal services in the Republic of Ireland. An Post provides a universal postal service to all parts of the country as a member of the Universal Postal Union...
Postage stamp
- An Post
- Other Works
"Chucked; Green Eyed Jealousy": Ravens amongst trees
Spring Garden (1916)
The Sentinels: Rooks in the snow (1895)
A Nap, Kilmurry, Co Kilkenny
The Flowers of August (1900)
Peacocks and Peahens on a Sunlit Lawn
At Lismore, Co Waterford (1913)
Fine Feathers
Threashing in a riverside Field (1910)
Peacocks at Kilmurry (1910)
Doves at the Edge of a Garden
A Cat stalking Pigeons
Rose Peany
Crows resting in a snow covered Landscape
A Summer Border (1914)
Young Jackdaws
Aix les Bains
A bluebell wood
Kilmurry
A French Chateau (1901)
Cattle grazing
Trees by a meadow
See also
- Newlyn SchoolNewlyn SchoolThe Newlyn School is a term used to describe an art colony of artists based in or near to Newlyn, a fishing village adjacent to Penzance, Cornwall, from the 1880s until the early 20th century. The establishment of the Newlyn School was reminiscent of the Barbizon School in France, where artists...
- List of Irish artists
- List of Irish botanical illustrators
Footnotes
Further reading
...- National Gallery of IrelandNational Gallery of IrelandThe National Gallery of Ireland houses the Irish national collection of Irish and European art. It is located in the centre of Dublin with one entrance on Merrion Square, beside Leinster House, and another on Clare Street. It was founded in 1854 and opened its doors ten years later...
, Irish Women Artists 1987 - County Life v.182, 25 August 1988, 124
- Desmond, Ray (1994) Dictionary of British and Irish botanists and horticulturists: including plant collectors, flower painters, and garden designers