Louise Rayner

Louise Rayner
Born June 21, 1832
Matlock Bath
Died October 8, 1924
St Leonards-on-Sea
Nationality English

Louise Ingram Rayner (June 21, 1832, Matlock Bath - October 8, 1924, St Leonards-on-Sea) was a British watercolor artist.

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Artistic family background

Louise was born in Matlock Bath in Derbyshire.[1] Her parents, Samuel Rayner and Ann Rayner (née Manser) were both noted artists, Samuel having been accepted for exhibition at the Royal 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 and Derby before moving to London in 1842.

Artistic study and tutelage

Louise studied painting from 15, with the guidance of her father and later with established artist friends of the family such as George Cattermole, Edmund Niemann, David Roberts and Frank 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.

Watercolour medium

From 1860, however, her medium was watercolour, which she exhibited for over 50 years via organisations including the Society of Lady Artists, The Royal Academy, Royal Watercolour Society and the Royal Society of British Artists.

Chester based

She lived in Chester in the Welsh Marches 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 in the booming Victorian period. Her paintings are very popular today as prints and on jigsaw puzzles. Around 1910 she moved with her sister to Tunbridge Wells, and later to St Leonards, where she died in 1924.

Seeing her original work

Collections of her work are held at the Russell-Cotes Art Gallery & Museum, Bournemouth, Derby Museum and Art Gallery[2] and the Grosvenor Museum, Chester, which possesses 23 of her watercolours, the largest in any public collection.

References

External links