User:Storye book/editing/Sandbox 121

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Frances Darlington
Darlington, in 1897
Born
Fanny Taplin Darlington

(1880-02-03)February 3, 1880
Headingley, Leeds, West Yorkshire, England
DiedSeptember 5, 1940(1940-09-05) (aged 60)
Oxted, Surrey, England

Background[edit]

Darlington's father was the Harrogate solicitor Latimer John De Vere Darlington, who was the Belgian Consul in Bradford.[1] Her mother was Ellen Emma née Taplin.[2][3]

Darlington was born in Headingley, Leeds, West Yorkshire, England, on 3 February 1880.[nb 1] She spent her younger years in Ilkley, and then – when not training in London – for most of the time between 1900 and 1910 she was living in Harrogate,[1][3] although between 1906 and 1908 she was living in Ilkley.[3][4]

Darlington never married.[5] She had "strong religious beliefs", and was a member of the congregation of St Wilfrid's Church, Harrogate]".[2]

Darlington left her London studio and moved to Dutton Cottage, Limpsfield, Oxted, Surrey, at the beginning of the First World War.[3][6] She died at Oxted on 5 September 1940.[nb 2][3][5] Her will was proved at Llandudno on 18 November 1940, and she left £58 2s 11d (equivalent to £1,927.03 in 2023).[3][5][7] "Despite selling work internationally and winning significant public commissions, Frances died in relative obscurity".[8]

Career[edit]

Darlington trained as a sculptor and medallist.[3] In 1897 she was entered a sculpture student at the Slade School of Art, London,[9] where she studied under George Frampton.[10] Studying at the Slade at the same time were Edna Clarke Hall, William Orpen, and Augustus and Gwen John.[8] In 1901 she passed the Royal College of Art's entrance examination, having won the South Kensington Modelling Sketch Club Prize, and the second prize in the Gilbert Competition for modelling.[10] After that, she studied at the Central School of Art and Design, South Kensington.[1][2][3]

Darlington had a studio in Knaresborough, which was the subject of a painting, The Sculptor's Loft, by Elise M. Bayley.[nb 3][1][11] In 1911 she had a home studio.[3] Between 1934 and 1939 she rented a studio at Wentworth Studios in Manresa Road, Chelsea. She experimented with polychrome, that is, colouring her sculptures.[8].

According to the University of Rochester, Darlington's "best work ... is in plaster relief". During her early career, Darlington worked on "official commissions" in the Yorkshire area, including relief panels and busts, "with religious and mythological subjects". Her models included friends and relatives. One of her models was her sister Dorothy Marriott Darlington.[3] Due to her close connection as a worshipper at St Wilfrid's, it has been suggested that some of the figures in her Stations of the Cross reliefs in that church are portraits of members of its congregation.[2]

Joseph Priestley, 1912

However, it was the Installation of Darlington's statue of Joseph Priestley at Birstall on 12 October 1912 which attracted most newspaper attention in her lifetime. The idea of the bronze 7-foot-8-inch (2.34 m) "heroic size" statue was mooted by William Farvis of Birstall District Council on 3 October 1910,[12][13] because Priestley was born in in the town, was known there for his invention of soda water, and the town had not yet recognised him in a formal manner.[12] Councillor Charles Douglas promised £100 (equivalent to £12,894.11 in 2023) towards the cost, "on the condition that the memorial was of fitting dignity".[13]. By 1912 the cost was variously reported to be between £700 (equivalent to £87,540.54 in 2023),[12] and £1,000 (equivalent to £125,057.92 in 2023),[13] and the money obtained by public subscription.[7] The Leeds Mercury reported that, "The statue represents Priestley in the act of plunging a lighted candle into an inverted jar, the supreme moment of his life, when he made the discovery of oxygen", and that Darlington had been "widely congratulated on her work".[12] The Dundee Evening Telegraph, which had examined the full-szed plaster maquette in April 1912, said that, "The statue shows Priestley wearing the knee breeches, buckled shoes, cravat, and wig of his day".[13] The unveiling ceremony was a major local event, attracting a "large and distinguished company", which later adjourned to the Temperance Hall for speech-making.[12]

Works[edit]

  • The Little Sea Maiden (1905), in Leeds Art Gallery.[4][14]
  • Sculptural reliefs of the Stations of the Cross (before 1921) at St Wilfrid's Church, Harrogate.[2][3][6]
  • Decorative scheme (c. 1910), in the lobby of the Harrogate Theatre, Harrogate: a "seventy-foot frieze ... featuring eleven plaster panels of scenes relating to drama and poetry".[2] It displays "the development of arts through the ages (The rehearsal of a mystery play, The Invocation of Terpsichore, etc)".[3][15]
  • Joseph Priestley (1912) plaster maquette, in the Bagshaw Museum, Batley.[16]
  • Statue of Joseph Priestley (1912) , in the Market Place, Birstall, West Yorkshire.[2][3]
  • War Shrine (before 1925), in St Mary's Church, Oxted, Surrey.[6]
  • The Christ Child, in Oxted.[6]
  • Madonna and Child in a niche above the porch of St Mary's, Oxted.[6]
  • Works at the Church of St Mary the Virgin at Holmbury St Mary,.[6]
  • Works at St Alban's Church, Wrotham.[6][nb 4]
  • Sir Perceval's Vision of the Holy Grail (1907). In 1907 it was at Harrogate Ladies' College, in the Hewlett Reading Room, and was exhibited in the same year at the Royal Academy of Arts. It was later in St James' Church, Wetherby; the work was reported to be there in 1949.[4][17] As of 2024, the location of this work is unknown.
  • Two busts (1907) for the library at Ilkley.[4]
  • Large memorial plaque for St George's House Police Orphanage, Harrogate (December 1918), now at the Prison and Police Museum, Ripon.[3] It was originally framed in dark oak, with the motto of the Crusaders, Deus vult, and a brass plate carrying the names of the fallen. The original frame has been replaced.[1] "A bas-relief sculpture with paint and gold leaf, it features St. George allied with St. Joan of Arc in an idealistic patriotism against the infidel. To contemporary eyes the piece provides some challenging material ... [due to] shifts in social, gender and aesthetic norms".[8]
  • War Memorial at Westerham Parish Church (1921).[18]

Exhibitions[edit]

  • Royal Academy of Arts (RA).[2] Darlington was exhibiting at the RA "when still a girl", in 1901,[6] and continued on five occasions in total until 1909, showing two panels and a bust.[3]
  • Walker Art Gallery, Liverpool. "Confidences" (1901) copper medallion.[2][3]
  • Paris Salon.[2][3]
  • In 2003, the Mercer Gallery in Harrogate held an exhibition dedicated to Darlington's work.[2]
  • Darlington also exhibited in the United States and New Zealand.[2][3]
  • Heavenly Creatures: sculpture (2003–2004), an exhibition dedicated to Darlington, at the Mercer Gallery, Harrogate, incorporating works loaned from Kirklees Museums, Leeds Art Gallery.and other sources.[3]
  • Leeds Art Gallery: Figure of Woman (1900); Bust of Girl (1900); Confidences (1903) copper medallion; Dorothy (1903) plaster portrait bust; Hugh Darlington, Imperial Yeoman (1904) plaster portrait statuette; Magic Crystal (1904) design for electric light; Wrestlers (1904) design for relief medal; The Unforeseen (1904) plaster statuette; Love's Last Gift (1904) design for relief panel; The Little sea Maiden (1906) plaster bust; Lucrezia Borgia (1906) plaster bust; Sir Percival and the Vision of the Holy Grail (1908) plaster panel; Andrew Carnegie Esq. (1908) plaster bust; Cupid and Coquette (1910) plaster statuette.[3]
  • New Gallery, London.[19]
  • Society of Women Artists, London.[19]
  • Prison and Police Museum, Ripon, Noble Bloods Exhibition (2014). Works by Louise Marchal in relation to her research on the subject of Frances Darlington, and in relation to the Large memorial plaque for St George's House Police Orphanage, Harrogate.[8]

Cultural response[edit]

According to the Surrey Mirror, "Some of [Darlington's] plaques were made into Christmas cards".[6]

  • "Frances Darlington – monument to obscurity". louisiem.wordpress.com. Louise Marchal. 9 September 2011. Retrieved 16 March 2024. (A cultural response to Darliington's work)
  • Marchal, Louise (2013). "Finding Frances - the biography of Frances Darlington (sculptor)". axisweb.org. Axis. Retrieved 16 March 2024. Quotation from Louise Marchal, about researching Darlington

Further reading[edit]

Notes[edit]

  1. ^ Frances Fanny Taplin Darlington (1880–1940): GRO index: Births Mar 1880 Darlington Fanny Taplin Leeds 9b 547
  2. ^ Frances Fanny Taplin Darlington (1880–1940): GRO index: Deaths Sep 1940 Darlington Frances 60 Surrey S.E. 2a 1129
  3. ^ Elise M. Bayley (c.1870–1955), artist.
  4. ^ There is no St Alban's Church in Wrotham, Kent, so this reference may refer to St George's Church in Wrotham, Kent, which has a stained glass window from St Alban's Church in London

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b c d e "Memorials". stgeorgesharrogate.org. St George's House. Retrieved 17 March 2024.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Robbins Library Digital Projects. "Frances Darlington". d.lib.rochester.edu. University of Rochester: Camelot Project. Retrieved 15 March 2024.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t "Mapping the Practice and Profession of Sculpture: Miss Frances (Fanny) Taplin Darlington". sculpture.gla.ac.uk. University of Glasgow. 2024. Retrieved 16 March 2024.
  4. ^ a b c d "Sir Perceval: The Vision of the Holy Grail". d.lib.rochester.edu. University of Rochester: The Camelot Project. Retrieved 17 March 2024.
  5. ^ a b c England Probates list 1940. Llandudno: HM Government. 1940. p. 433. Darlington Fanny Taplin otherwise Frances Taplin, of Dutton Cottage, Sandy Lane, Oxted, Surrey, spinster, died 5 September 1940. Probate Llandudno 18 November (1940) ...
  6. ^ a b c d e f g h i "The late Miss F. Darlington". Surrey Mirror. 27 September 1940. p. 6 cols 2,3. Retrieved 15 March 2024 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  7. ^ a b UK Retail Price Index inflation figures are based on data from Clark, Gregory (2017). "The Annual RPI and Average Earnings for Britain, 1209 to Present (New Series)". MeasuringWorth. Retrieved 7 May 2024.
  8. ^ a b c d e "The story behind the Noble Bloods exhibition". riponmuseums.co.uk. Ripon Museums. 2024. Retrieved 16 March 2024. (Re: cultural response to Darlington's work)
  9. ^ "Finding Frances: an exhibition made through seeking". ouisiem.wordpress.com. The Mutability Cantos. 23 January 2013. Retrieved 15 March 2024. This is authoritatively written by Louise Marchal, who published the biography Finding Frances, about Darlington
  10. ^ a b "Miss Frances Darlington". Bradford Daily Telegraph. British Newspaper Archive. 1 January 1901. p. 2 col.4. Retrieved 21 May 2024.
  11. ^ "The Sculptor's Loft (Miss Frances Darlington's Studio in Knaresborough), 1920". artuk.org. Art UK. Retrieved 26 May 2024. The Mercer Art Gallery, Harrogate. By Elise M. Bayley (c.1870–1955)
  12. ^ a b c d e "Fine memorial of Dr Priestley. Monument unveiled in Birstall market". Leeds Mercury. British Newspaper Archive. 14 October 1912. p. 3 col.3. Retrieved 21 May 2024.
  13. ^ a b c d "Act of honour to the memory of the "father of chemistry"". Dundee Evening Telegraph. British Newspaper Archive. 24 April 1912. p. 2 col.5. Retrieved 21 May 2024.
  14. ^ "The Little Sea Maiden". artuk.org. Art UK. Retrieved 26 May 2024.
  15. ^ "Harrogate Theatre (Grand Opera House) | Theatres Trust". database.theatrestrust.org.uk. Retrieved 16 March 2024.
  16. ^ "Joseph Priestley (1733–1804)". artuk.org. Art UK. Retrieved 26 May 2024.
  17. ^ "A rambler's scrapbook". Huddersfield Daily Examiner. 3 September 1949. p. 5 col.1. Retrieved 15 March 2024 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  18. ^ "Church war memorial". Westerham Herald. British Newspaper Archive. 15 January 1921. p. 5 col.5. Retrieved 21 May 2024.
  19. ^ a b "Frances Darlington (1880-1940)". artuk.org. Art UK. Retrieved 26 May 2024.

External links[edit]

Media related to Frances Darlington at Wikimedia Commons

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