Artists in
the family: Mary and Ambrose McEvoy
Mary Edwards [full name Mary Augusta Spencer Edwards], born
1870 married artist Ambrose McEvoy in 1902. Mary was the 3rd daughter of Spencer Henry
Hutchins Edwards and Flora Campbell Bowie. Spencer Henry Hutchins Edwards was
the eldest son of Benjamin Hutchins Edwards and Elizabeth Rigmaiden (daughter
of Thomas and Margery Rigmaiden), thus Mary was the great grand-daughter of
Thomas and Margery Rigmaiden of Liverpool.
She was born at the Edwards family home at Abbotsleigh,
Freshford in Somerset on the 2nd October, 1870. She studied at the
Slade School of Fine Art in London and exhibited at the New English Art Club
between 1900 and 1906 then painted no more, presumably busy with family life,
until her husband died in 1927. She then exhibited at the Royal Academy from
1928 until 1937 and died at Abbotsleigh Cottage in 1941 whilst staying with her
sister, Helen.
Ambrose and Mary had two children: Michael Ambrose William
McEvoy, born in 1904 in Faringdon, Berkshire and Mary Annabel McEvoy, born on
the 8th August 1911 in London. In the 1911 census the family are
recorded as living at 107 Grosvenor Place, Pimlico. Daughter Mary Annabel
married Geoffrey Vyvian Arundell Seccombe-Hett in 1934 in Westminster who later
represented Britain in the 1936 Olympic fencing team and the Seccombe-Hetts
lived in Canada for a while. Son Michael does not seem to have married and died
in London in 1966.
However, this is a digression from the painting theme as
Ambrose McEvoy was also an artist, though somewhat better known than his wife. At the age of 15 he entered the Slade
School of Fine Art in London (he was born in 1878 so was 7 years younger than
Mary). Ambrose’s father had been a friend of James McNeil Whistler who
encouraged Ambrose in his artistic ambitions. At the Slade he became friendly
with Augustus John with whom he shared a studio for a short time at 76
Charlotte Street. In 1898, when he was 20, he became involved in a stormy
affair with Augustus John’s sister, Gwen John, also a well known artist. She
was devastated when, in 1900, Ambrose broke off the relationship to become
engaged to Mary Augusta Spencer Edwards.
Ambrose became particularly well known for his portraits,
many of well known individuals of the day. In 1909 he went to Dieppe with
Walter Sickert and his style became looser and broader. On his return he was
much in demand as a portrait artist of fashionable society women, such as
Consuelo, Duchess of Marlborough, Lady Diana Cooper and the actress Lilah
McCarthy.
Although best known for his portraits he also painted
landscapes. During the First World War he was attached to the Royal Naval
Division and produced, after three months on the Western Front and some time
with the Fleet in the North Sea, a series of portraits of naval officers now in
the collection of the Imperial War Museum. He died in 1927 from pneumonia
brought on by overwork and high living.
After his death Mary resumed her painting and one of her
pictures ‘Interior: girl reading’ is owned by the Tate Gallery, others are in
the City Gallery, Southampton and the Hugh Lane Municipal Gallery of Modern
Art, Dublin. Portraits of both of them exist – many by Augustus John of Ambrose
McEvoy, and of Mary there is a pencil sketch by Augustus John in a private
collection and a bronze bust by Jacob Epstein in the Leeds Museum Art Gallery.
There is also a
self-portrait of Ambrose which shows him to be an individual with a long face
and large eyes.
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| Sketch of Ambrose by Augustus John |
 |
| Self portrait by Ambrose |
 |
| Photograph of Augustus John, Ambrose and Philip Wilson Steer |
 |
| Self portrait by Ambrose |
 |
| Portrait of Mary by Ambrose |
 |
| Portrait of Mary by Augustus John |
 |
| Bust of Mary by Jacob Epstein |
 |
| Picture by Mary 'Girl reading' |
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| Portrait of Winston Churchill by Ambrose |
 |
| Portrait of Ramsay Macdonald by Ambrose |
 |
| Portrait of Gwen John by Ambrose |
[Ref: Oxford National Biographies and Pinterest]
Archaeological
find
Just to fill the last page, a snippet from an old newspaper that
I found told of the archaeological discovery of a gold ring in the
Nottinghamshire area inscribed G[e]orge Rigmaiden- probably dating from the 15th
or 16th centuries. I have contacted the local museum service for
more information but it may be that the Rigmaiden in question may have been a
descendant of the William Rigmaiden who was a JP and sherif in the area during
the early 1400s and who lived at Blyth.
Best wishes of the season and good luck with your family trees!
