This beautiful early 20th-century watercolour by British artist Florence Katherine Mayer (1882-c.1937) depicts a young society lady carrying a straw hat.
With head partially turned, she looks across the decades with eyes that simmer with a rich narrative. Her story is a mystery but her expression suggests either betrayal or melancholy. Produced in 1915, it’s a year after the start of World War I. Has she lost a partner to the battlefield? Mourning in a black dress, symbolically wrapped in a patriotic sash of red, white and blue?
In 1915, the high society frivolities of the Edwardian period seemed a far cry from the realities of war. When so many families were separated and lives began to unravel following news from the front. Florence Katherine Mayer knew it well, born into an affluent family, her patrons often had military connections.
A few years earlier, the census of 1911 records her as staying at Carlton Curlieu Manor in Leicestershire with Annie Liddell Best, a lady of means, and her son Thomas William Best. Thomas was a junior officer in the British Army.
Mayer’s portraits are particularly rare with only a few in circulation. Details of her career are also quite scant. We do know that she won numerous awards at the Gloucester Municipal School of Art and exhibited several works at the Royal Academy.
Signed/dated lower left and held within a later frame. The portrait was previously in the collection of notable art collector and surgeon, Dr Magdi Obeid.
Medium: Watercolour
Overall size: 19” x 25½” / 49cm x 65cm
Year of creation: 1915
Provenance: Art dealer in Warwickshire / Dr Magdi Obeid (purchased in 1989).
Condition: Artwork presents well. Frame with some light wear.
Florence Katherine Mayer was an accomplished British painter of portraits, still lifes and figures. She trained at the Gloucester Municipal School of Art where she was awarded the King’s Prize twice. Her works were shown at the Royal Academy and frequently at the Goupil Gallery. For twelve years, she worked at the purpose-built Trafalgar Studios in Chelsea, London, which were just off the King’s Road.
Learn more about Florence Katherine Mayer in our directory.
We care profoundly about our role as custodians and every piece in the collection has been assessed by our conservator. When required, we undertake professional restoration carefully using reversible techniques and adopt a light touch to retain the aged charm of each work. We also restore frames rather than replace them as many are original and selected by the artists themselves.
