Kathleen Bridle
| Kathleen Bridle | |
|---|---|
| Born | 19 November 1897 Swalecliffe, Kent, England |
| Died | May 25, 1989 (aged 91) Lakeside nursing home, Bellanaleck |
| Resting place | Breandrum cemetery |
| Nationality | British |
| Alma mater | Dublin Metropolitan School of Art, Royal College of Art |
| Known for | watercolour landscapes, and oil portraits |
Kathleen Mabel Bridle ARUA (19 November 1897 – 25 May 1989) was a British artist and teacher. She influenced Northern Irish artists such as William Scott and T.P. Flanagan.
Kathleen Bridle was born at Swalecliffe in Kent on 19 November 1897. She was the middle child of the three daughters of an Irish lieutenant and coastguard, James Bridle, and a school teacher Janet Bridle (née Flower). Owing to her father's occupation, the family moved many times, living at Gravesend and Winterton-on-Sea before finally settling in Holyhead in 1913. Due to this the Bridle children were educated at home by their mother, but also at nearby schools. In 1910, Bridle attended a private school in Ramsgate, where her artistic talent was recognised. Bridle enrolled at the Dublin Metropolitan School of Art (DMSA) in 1915, moving in with her aunt in uncle at 60 Upper Rathmines Road. She won a teacher-training scholarship in 1917, which funded her remaining four years at the School. Bridle won a prize for pictorial design in 1917, and completed the certificate course in art by 1918. Bridle was awarded the Taylor scholarship in 1920, for her work based on the Greek myth Leda and the Swan. The scholarship allowed her to attend the Royal College of Art (RCA), London in 1921. Whilst there she became good friends with John Hunter, who gave her the nickname "Pindi", a name she kept for life. During this time she also became friends with the sculptor Henry Moore.
Bridle's first exhibited piece with the Royal Hibernian Academy (RHA) was the painting The Checkered Cloth in 1921, with her continuing to show with the RHA until 1939. The Mermaid, her enamel plaque which was completed under the guidance of Percy Oswald Reeves, was first shown at the Arts and Crafts Society of Ireland exhibition in 1921, then at the Galeries Barbazanges, Paris in 1922, and finally won first prize in its section at the Tailteann Games of 1924. At an exhibition of paintings by Dublin students in 1922, Bridle sold five landscapes. In 1923 Bridle received her teacher's diploma and a continuation scholarship. While still in London and attending the RCA, Bridle taught classes at night at the Elephant and Castle School of Art from 1924 to 1925. She won the George Clausen prize at the RCA for her 1924 portrait of Norah McGuinness.
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