- Helen Allingham
Helen Allingham (née Helen Mary Elizabeth Paterson) (
26 September 1848 -28 September 1926 ), was a well-known watercolour painter and illustrator of theVictorian era .Biography
Helen Mary Elizabeth Paterson was born in
Swadlincote inDerbyshire , [ [http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/articleHL/38585?docPos=1&anchor=match&_fromAuth=1 Oxford Dictionary of National Biography] accessed1 July 2008 ]England . Her sister and her father, a doctor, died of diptheria in 1862, and the rest of the family went to live in Birmingham. In 1867 she went to study art at the "Female School of Art", a section of what became theRoyal College of Art in London, and became an illustrator of children's books. She was a great friend ofKate Greenaway . On22 August 1874 , she marriedWilliam Allingham , who was almost twice her age. At the time, she was employed in illustrating some of the novels ofThomas Hardy , and they were attracted to one another when they met.Helen Allingham illustrated several books, including "Six to sixteen: a story for girls" (1876), "Happy England" (1903) and "The homes of Tennyson" (1905), written with her brother Arthur Paterson.
After her marriage to Allingham, she became a watercolour painter, and she was the first woman to become a full member of the
Royal Watercolour Society . As well as landscapes, she completed several portraits, including one ofThomas Carlyle . She is best known for her rural scenes, particularly her charming views of cottages in Surrey and Sussex.There is a Helen Allingham Society, founded in 2000. [ [http://www.helenallingham.com Welcome to The Helen Allingham Society - helenallingham.com - Helen Allingham, British watercolor Artist in Victorian Times. ] at www.helenallingham.com]
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