Mary Lowndes (1856 – 1929)[1] was an important British stained-glass and poster artist, and an active member of the Suffragette movement. She was a leading light in the Arts and Crafts Movement and Chair of the Artists Suffrage League (ASL).
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She first worked under Henry Holiday and then at Britten & Gilson's, a firm which developed Norman Glass, a Slab glass that was used by Christopher Whall and his followers. In 1897, with the then foreman of the firm, A. J. Drury, she founded Lowndes & Drury. In 1906 they founded the Glass House in Lettice Street, Fulham, which provided a purpose-built stained-glass studio and workshop for independent artists. Christopher Whall, Robert Anning Bell and Wilhelmina Geddes all produced work there. Like Geddes, Lowndes was a lesbian.[2]
In January 1907 Lowndes established The Artists' Suffrage League (ASL) to create dramatic posters, postcards, Christmas Cards, and banners for suffrage events. She became its chair. Work by Lowndes and The Artists' Suffrage League may be seen at The Women's Library, London. Even underwear in suffragette colours appeared in stores. Between 1903 and 1914 the methods used by the women’s suffrage movement began to change and they began to engage in public demonstrations and other propaganda activities. Lowndes’ training as a stained-glass designer encouraged the use of bold shapes and a love of full, rich colours, using striking combinations of green and blue, magenta and orange.[3]