Katherine Mary Fryer RBSA (1910-2017) - Framed Oil Still Life with Jugs

Description

This energetically painted still life shows a colourful collection of ceramic jugs, group together alongside a potted house plant and orchard fruits. The artist has signed the artwork to the lower right-hand corner, and the oil has been well presented in a contemporary gilt frame. Painted on the reverse of the canvas is a second artwork by the same artist, depicting sunbathers on a sandy beach. Also fixed to the reverse of the frame is a label of biographical information about the artist. On canvas on stretchers.

Condition

The canvas shows signs of warping on its stretchers with a rippling effect caused by slack in the canvas. The painting is slightly creased and bunched along the top line where the painting meets the frame. The frame itself is in very good condition. Inspection under UV light reveals no restoration.

Size

68 x 83cm (26.8" x 32.7")
Framed Size: 78 x 93.5cm (30.7" x 36.8")

Artist Biography

Fryer was born in Leeds and attended Leeds College of Art from 1926 to 1931, where she was first drawn to wood engraving. She became a teacher at Bath Academy of Art and a member of the Bath Society of Artists during the late 1930s. She pursued a career in art, teaching and exhibiting her work; working in Leicester Museum and Art Gallery for a while before settling in Birmingham during the 1940s. In 1958 her composition "The Road to Kilmurvey" which was based on her sketches from a trip to the Aran Isles, was hung in the Royal Academy Summer Show and later bought by the RA.

She became a member of Royal Birmingham Society of Artists (RBSA) in 1966 and won the Hoffman Wood (Leeds) Gold Medal 1969 for the painting "Pigeon Show" depicting pigeon competitors at the Livestock and Caged Bird Show, Bingley Hall, Birmingham.

Fryer retired in 1970 and was then able to paint and draw full-time. She published a book of her memories and her wood blocked engravings in 2000. She was still working in her 100th year when the Royal Birmingham Society of Artists featured a selection of her work in their exhibition. Her work can now be found in many public and private collections across the UK. She died in January 2017 at the age of 106.