Anna Airy

Anna Airy (1882–1964) was an oil painter, pastel artist and etcher, working in Britain.

She was born in Greenwich, London, daughter of engineer Wilfrid Airy and Anna née Listing, and granddaughter of Astronomer Royal George Biddell Airy.

She attended the Slade School of Fine Art in London, where she was taught by Henry Tonks and Philip Wilson Steer.

She drew her subject matter from London criminals and 'lowlife'.

She published The Art of Pastel.[1]

Anna Airy was one of the first women officially commissioned as a war artist.[2] In June 1918 the Munitions Committee of the Imperial War Museum commissioned four paintings by Airy representing typical scenes in four munitions factories. These include A Shell Forge at a National Projectile Factory, Hackney Marshes, London (1918), [3] featured in the Museum's 2011-2012 exhibition Women War Artists.[4]

Bibliography

References

  1. ^ "Airy, Anna." Chambers Biographical Dictionary. London: Chambers Harrap, 2007. Credo Reference. Web. 25 March 2010
  2. ^ "Women at war: The female British artists who were written out of history". Independent. 8 April 2011. http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/art/features/women-at-war-the-female-british-artists-who-were-written-out-of-history-2264670.html. 
  3. ^ "Women War Artists". Imperial War Museum. http://london.iwm.org.uk/server/show/ConGallery.130. 
  4. ^ "Press Desk: Women War Artists". Imperial War Museum. 7 April 2011. http://www.iwm.org.uk/server/show/ConWebDoc.7165.