St Ives Cornwall, 1940-1948
Oil ‘St Ives Harbour from the Wharf’, 1940
Kathleen moved to St Ives for the duration of the Second World War, aged 61-69 years
St Ives’ artist community has a rich history and has been a significant hub for artistic expression. Just before and after the Second World War, a collective of artists were drawn to St Ives due to its soft light and bright blue seas. This group included painters, sculptors, and printmakers who shared an interest in abstraction and working with nature [1].
Kathleen had made earlier visits to St Ives to paint, when she captured some of the old buildings in watercolour (see below) which were exhibited several times, including by the Royal Institute of Painters in Water Colours (1938), the Society of Women Artists (1957), and displayed in the Royal Watercolour Society Gallery “Britain in Watercolour” exhibition (1958).
Watercolour ‘The Old Sloop Inn’, 1910
Watercolour ’Old Houses (Back Lane), St.Ives’, c 1910s
At the outset of the Second World War, Kathleen chose to move to St Ives (aged 61 years) with her elderly mother and aunt. Kathleen lived in the centre of the town - first on The Warren, and then on Wills Lane. She maintained a dedicated studio where she prolifically created artwork and used a U.S. Army garage for secure storage. As a member of the St Ives Society of Artists [2], she exhibited regularly at various venues, including the Lanham Gallery, Porthmeor Gallery, and the St Ives Art Club.
Family records show that Kathleen painted around 30 landscapes during this period, including the lovely oil ‘St Ives Harbour from the Wharf’ (at the top of the page). It is difficult to pin down exactly how many paintings Kathleen created since many titles are similar - she created and sold watercolours before working them up into oils with the same name, she repainted pictures that she had sold, and in the early days she rarely labelled her paintings.
Oil ‘Morning St Ives’, c 1944
Watercolour ’St.Ives from the Malakoff’, c 1945, study before developing a large oil
Kathleen and her paintings were mentioned regularly each year in the exhibition catalogues of St Ives, and newspaper articles. She earned money from regular sales of her small St Ives paintings, selling for £4-£7 guineas each, which is equivalent to £234-£409 in today’s prices [3]. Her large oils sold for much more, for example, ‘Winter Sunshine St Ives,’ sold at the 1944 Royal Academy exhibition for £30 - equivalent to £1,669 today.
Kathleen also earned money from the passing visitor trade in St Ives, using her quick sketching skills (see section: Politics). She created and sold about 20 portraits and created calendars and cards for sale in local shops (see section: Sales).
Pencil of unknown woman, 1944
Watercolour of unknown woman, c 1940s
During the war, Kathleen frequently travelled from St Ives to her London home, bringing new works and pieces from storage for exhibition at prestigious national institutions (see section: Exhibitions).
References
‘The Magical History of Painting in St Ives: The Artists Who Were Drawn to Its Soft Light and Turquoise Sea’, The John Dyer Gallery blog, Sept 2022: https://johndyergallery.com/blogs/gallery-artist-news-blog-cornwallmonaco/the-magical-history-of-painting-in-st-ives-the-artists-who-were-drawn-to-its-soft-light-andturquoise-sea
The St Ives Society of Artists was formed in 1927, and currently comprises a group of around 80 artists with links to Cornwall, who regularly exhibit together in their gallery spaces: https://stisa.co.uk/number-7-ready-to-go/
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, follows by Commodity calculations, and the Real Price recorded (rather than labour, income, or economic share values): https://www.measuringworth.com/calculators/ppoweruk/
