Lilian Davidson
| Lilian Davidson | |
|---|---|
| Born | 26 January 1879 Castle Terrace, Bray, County Wicklow, Ireland |
| Died | March 29, 1954 (aged 75) 4 Wilton Terrace, Dublin |
| Nationality | Irish |
| Alma mater | Dublin Metropolitan School of Art |
Lilian Davidson ARHA (26 January 1879 – 29 March 1954) was an Irish landscape and portrait artist, teacher and writer.
Lilian Lucy Davidson was born at Castle Terrace, Bray, County Wicklow, on 26 January 1879. She was the sixth of ten children of clerk of petty session, Edward Ellice Davidson, and Lucy Rising Davidson (née Doe). Her mother died in 1888, and it is presumed that Davidson received a private education but as the family were not affluent, the details are unclear. She went on to attend the Dublin Metropolitan School of Art (DMSA) from 1895 to 1905. Whilst at the DMSA, Davidson won prizes in 1895 and 1896, and was awarded a scholarship and free studentship at the Royal Dublin Society in 1897, the year her father died. She completed her studies in 1905. In the early 1910s, Davidson was living in Rathmines, and spent some time in England and Wales.
Davidson was commissioned by Switzer's department store on Grafton Street to draw costumes in 1899. In 1909, her painting After rain was exhibited by the Dublin Sketching Club, with Davison continuing to show work there until 1920. She exhibited The bonfire with the Water Colour Society of Ireland in 1912, continuing to exhibit with them until 1954, and became a committee member in 1934. In 1914, she was one of the artists included in a sale of paintings to aid Belgian refugees. She was first exhibited at the Royal Hibernian Academy (RHA) in 1914, with The student. Her painting exhibited by the RHA in 1916, The harbour, St Ives, demonstrates an influence from Stanhope Forbes and the Newlyn school, with a bright palette and contrasting illumination, which became characteristic of her work. Davidson illustrated C. H. Bretherton's collection of humorous poems and recollections about London Zoo, A zoovenir (1919).
Davidson held a joint exhibition with Mainie Jellett in 1920, at Mill's Hall, Merrion Row, Dublin. Jellett produced a pencil portrait of Davison, which shows her in a straw hat she frequently wore. The RHA exhibited Davidson's oil painting, The flax pullers, in 1921. This work shows an influence from Paul Henry and French Impressionism in Davidson's use of colour-blocking. In the early 1920s, Davidson travelled to Switzerland, Belgium, and France, producing works such as Fish market, Bruges. She lived in Paris in the late 1920s, exhibiting at the Salon de la Societé Nationale in 1924 and 1930. Davidson placed a self-portrait in her depiction of a peasant gathering, The country races. Reproductions of her drawing of Leinster House and Christ Church Cathedral by Bulmer Hobson were included in A book of Dublin (1929). Her landscape, Low tide, Wicklow, which was exhibited at the RHA in 1934, and Boats at Wicklow, dusk show her ability to depict reflections in water. She continued to paint scenes of rural life, including Cottages – Keel, Achill, which shows an influence from Jack Butler Yeats in her use of space and colour. The fact that Davidson's family was not wealthy may have influenced her choice of poorer people as her subjects, depicting them in a sympathetic manner.
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