- Louise Rayner
Louise Ingram Rayner (
June 21 ,1832 ,Matlock Bath -October 8 ,1924 ,St Leonards-on-Sea ) was a British watercolorartist .Her parents,
Samuel Rayner andAnne Rayner (nee Manser) were both noted artists, the former Samuel having been accepted for exhibition at theRoyal Academy when he was 15. Four of Louise's sisters - Ann ("Nancy"), Margaret, Rose and Frances - and her brother Richard were also artists. The family lived in Matlock Bath andDerby before moving toLondon in 1842.Louise studied painting from 15, with the guidance of her father and later with artist friends such as
George Cattermole ,Edmund Niemann , David Roberts andFrank Stone . Her first exhibited work was entitled "The Interior of Haddon Chapel", shown at the Royal Academy in 1852, the first of a series of oils. From 1860, however, her medium was watercolour, which she exhibited for over 50 years via organisations including theSociety of Lady Artists , Royal Academy,Royal Watercolour Society and theRoyal Society of British Artists .She lived in Chester but travelled extensively, painting British scenes, during the summers in 1870s and 1880s. Her paintings are very detailed and highly
picturesque populated street scenes capturing the "olde worlde" character of British towns and cities. Her paintings are very popular today as prints and onjigsaw puzzle s.Around 1910 she moved with her sister to
Tunbridge Wells , and later to St Leonards, where she died in 1924.Collections of her work are held at the
Russell-Cotes Art Gallery & Museum ,Bournemouth and theGrosvenor Museum ,Chester , which possesses 23 of her watercolours, the largest in any public collection.References
*Simon Fenwick, "Rayner, Samuel (1806–1879)", "Oxford Dictionary of National Biography", Oxford University Press, 2004 [http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/23211 accessed 26 June 2007]
* [http://www.chester.gov.uk/main.asp?page=916 Louise Rayner] , Chester City CouncilExternal links
* [http://www.dudleymall.co.uk/loclhist/rayner/louise.htm Louise Rayner] DudleyMall page featuring many works
* [http://louiserayner.co.uk Louise Rayner Artist] Information site by relative
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