Commissions - Pioneering Women, 1907-1940
Large oil ‘Madame D’Esterre’, 1927
Kathleen frequently painted commissioned works, with a particular passion for capturing the pioneering women of her era.
Outside of the progressive ideals of the Slade School, women artists continued to face barriers, with women less likely to establish a successful commercial career than their male counterparts [1]. Despite this, Kathleen regularly painted commissions, exhibited and sold her artworks both in London and regionally throughout her adult life. Her work was frequently covered in daily newspapers, with images of her London exhibitions, leading to consistent sales to a diverse clientele.
Commissions of Famous Sitters
Kathleen produced portraits of well-known figures of the time - pioneering women, or people advancing the progress for women (see section: Commissions - supporters of women’s progress). The records and images of such pioneering women that remain are:
a) Madame Elsa D'Esterre [2], 1857-1935, was a novelist, translator, and educator. Born in Ireland as Elizabeth Henrietta D’Esterre-Keeling, she was known as Elsa. As a child, her family moved to live in Germany where she completed her education and started a career in writing and translation. In the early 1880s she moved to live in London and became a school mistress whilst also writing novels. In 1990 she became known professionally as "Mme. D’Esterre" and founded her own school “Danvers College” on the Chelsea Embankment. As a preeminent teacher of elocution and literature, her clientele ranged from Members of Parliament and royalty to women of all ages. Among other educational ventures, she headed her own “School for Dames and Damsels,” “Simple Life School,” and special courses for curing shyness and blushing.
By c 1912, Kathleen had likely met Elsa in Chelsea when she frequented the Chelsea Art School (run by ex-Slade alumni) and painted in the neighbourhood. Over the years, Kathleen assisted Elsa deliver her courses, plays, and musical events. They became good friends and wrote to each other regularly and letters exist for the period 1914-1929, which refer to the process of Elsa sitting for her oil portrait in 1927 (shown above). The portrait was a gift to Elsa from “Her dames and damsels” as shown by a plaque on its frame. Numerous newspaper articles from that period discussed Elsa's work in elocution, her philosophy, and her contributions to literature. These articles frequently featured reproductions of the oil portrait by Kathleen as illustrations. In 1929, the Royal Society of Portrait Painters accepted the portrait for exhibition, and Lady Thompson of Northwest London purchased it for £35, equivalent to £2,688 in today's prices [3]. From 1930 to 1932 Kathleen and Elsa lived as neighbours in Edith Grove Chelsea (ref. provenance of 1927 painting, letters, electoral registers, sales records).
b) Grace Ellison [4], 1880-1935, was a suffragette, traveller and continental journalist who was the author of notable books on women's lives especially in Türkiye which she frequented often. She advocated for Turkish women to have access to college education and was awarded the Order of Charity (Şefkat Nişanı) for her efforts on behalf of women in Türkiye. During the First World War, she was the co-founder of the French Flag Nursing Corps (that later became the French Red Cross), and the French government decorated Ellison for her wartime contributions. After the war she continued to work for the French, lecturing in the USA and matching French nurses to training opportunities in America.
Grace might have known Kathleen for some time, but from 1930-1932 Kathleen and Grace lived at the same address in Edith Grove in Chelsea, when the oil portrait was likely painted (ref. photo of original painting, electoral registers). It was exhibited and sold in 1933-1934 for £8, which is equivalent to £702 today [3] (ref. sales records).
Photograph of oil ‘Miss Grace Ellison’, 1930
c) Margaret Kennedy [5,6] 1896-1967, graduated in history from Somerville College, Oxford. She completed the equivalent of a second-class degree in 1919, a year before Oxford began awarding degrees to women. She became a successful English novelist and playwright, most famous for the novel ‘The Constant Nymph.’ As with other novels of hers, she adapted ‘The Constant Nymph,’ into a successful West End play that opened at the New Theatre, with Noël Coward, John Gielgud, and Edna Best in September 1926.
Margaret married barrister David Davies in 1925, who later became a county court judge, a national insurance commissioner, and was knighted in 1952. This made her full married name Margaret Davies, Lady Davies. They had three children. However, the demands of both domestic and work life, along with the fear of the approaching Second World War, led to significant stress that impacted her health. She developed lumbago and, in 1939, was diagnosed with Bell’s Palsy, which caused her face to appear as though she had suffered a stroke.
From 1927, Kathleen and Margaret lived near each other by Kensington Gardens in London, and they both decamped to St Ives at the same time during the Second World War. At some point they met, and the watercolour sketch of the older Margaret might have been a draft for a final portrait.
Watercolour ‘Mrs Margaret Kennedy’, c 1939-40
d) Lady Dhanvanthi Rama Rau [7], 1893–1987, graduated with honours from the Presidency College in Madras, was awarded a Griggs Gold Medal for English, and became an Assistant Professor at Queen Mary’s College Madras. She campaigned internationally for Indian independence and received the Kaisir-i-Hind gold medal from the British Government for her work with women's associations. She lived in London in 1929-1930 and 1930-1934 and was engaged in both the women’s suffrage movement and the Round Table Conferences for Indian Independence in London. Upon her return to Bombay in 1941, Lady Rama Rau dedicated herself to social welfare initiatives. She joined the All-India Women’s Conference and was subsequently elected President in 1946. The squalid conditions of the Mumbai (Bombay) slums led her to establish the Family Planning Association of India of which she became President. She also served as President of the International Planned Parenthood Federation.
Kathleen was also engaged in the women’s suffrage movement in London (see section: Politics) and Mahatma Gandhi’s visit for the second Round Table Conference (see section: Commissions - supporters of women’s progress) and so they might have met during this period. The portrait Kathleen produced was likely a small oil as it was sold for £5 in 1932, which is equivalent to £438 if converted into today’s prices [3] (ref. 1933/34 sales record).
e) Frau Professor Jenny Apolant [8], 1874-1925, was an important campaigner for women's rights within German society. She was a feminist activist and suffragist and started her career in 1907 with the establishment of the Information Center for Women’s Community Services in Frankfurt. From 1910-1925, she served as a board member of the General Association of German Women and was one of the first women municipal councillors in Frankfurt successful in implementing initiatives to help women and their wider communities. In 1922 she established the Political Workers Association, the aim of which was to educate women politically. Like others of her generation, she was a woman of conviction who did not hesitate to defy convention and tradition, and who realized that only profound social change could permanently improve the condition of women.
Kathleen might have known of Jenny through her suffrage and municipal work (see section: Politics), her friend Elsa D’Esterre’s links with Germany, or due to her own painting trip to Germany in 1907 (see section: Art Training). Regardless of how they met, Kathleen painted and sold Jenny’s portrait around 1907; the sale price was not recorded (ref. 1907 sales records).
References
“Now you see us,” Women Artists in Britain 1520-1920, exhibition at Tate Britain London, 16 May-13 Oct 2024: https://www.tate.org.uk/whats-on/tate-britain/women-artists-in-britain-1520-1920
Madame Elsa D’Esterre’s biography webpage by researcher Martha Burgin: https://sites.google.com/site/desterrekeeling
To calculate the equivalent values in today’s prices, the Measuring Worth website was used that allows the entry of LSD values. Purchasing Power UK£ calculations were chosen, followed by Commodity calculations, and the Real Price recorded (rather than labour, income, or economic share values): https://www.measuringworth.com/calculators/ppoweruk/
Grace Ellison’s Wikipedia entry: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grace_Ellison
Margaret Kennedy’s Wikipedia entry: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Margaret_Kennedy
Margaret Kennedy’s Handheld Press Biography: https://www.handheldpress.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/Margaret-Kennedy-biography.pdf
Dhanvanthi Rama Rau’s OU webpage: https://www5.open.ac.uk/research-projects/making-britain/content/dhanvanthi-rama-rau
Bettina Kratz-Ritter, ‘Jenny Apolant: 1874-1925,’ The Shalvi/Hyman Encyclopedia of Jewish Women’s website: https://jwa.org/encyclopedia/article/apolant-jenny
