Victoria Monkhouse

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Victoria Monkhouse
Born1883
Died1970 (aged 86–87)
NationalityBritish
Alma materCambridge University
Known forPainting, caricatures

Victoria Monkhouse (1883–-1970) was a British artist and illustrator, notable for her depictions of women working on the British Home Front during the First World War.

Biography[]

Monkhouse attended Cambridge University and, alongside her studies, she created a series of caricatures of university academics which the Cambridge University Magazine published during 1907.[1]

Following the establishment of the Imperial War Museum, IWM, during the First World War, a decision was made to record the contribution women were making to the war effort. Agnes Conway, the daughter of the honorary director-general of the IWM, was appointed to chair the Museum's new Women's Work Sub-Committee.[1] Conway appears to have known of Monkhouse's academic caricatures from her own time at Cambridge University.[2] Through a mutual acquaintance, Conway contacted Monkhouse and commissioned her, in May 1918, to produce a series of sketches and watercolours showing women working in jobs left vacant by men who were serving in the forces.[1] Monkhouse produced a series showing women working as bus conductors, drivers, window cleaners and in other previously exclusively male roles.[3][4]

After the War, Monkhouse exhibited in some group shows in the early 1920s but does not appear to have pursued a professional artistic career beyond that. The IWM regularly features Monkhouse's work in their exhibitions to favourable reviews.[5]

References[]

  1. ^ Jump up to: a b c Catherine Speck (2014). Beyond the Battlefield, Women Artists of Two World Wars. Reaktion Books. ISBN 978 178023 374 1.
  2. ^ Kathleen Palmer (2011). Women War Artists. Tate Publishing/ Imperial War Museum. ISBN 978-1-85437-989-4.
  3. ^ Amanda Mason (10 January 2018). "6 Stunning First World War Artworks by Women War Artists". Imperial War Museums. Retrieved 10 April 2018.
  4. ^ Lucy Meretto Peterson (2018). The Women Who Inspired London Art, The Avico Sisters and Other Models of the Early 20th Century. Pen & Sword Books. ISBN 9781526725257.
  5. ^ Florence Waters (8 April 2011). "Women War Artists, Imperial War Museum, review". The Telegraph. Retrieved 12 April 2017.

External links[]

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