Artists

Beatrice Ethel Lithiby

1889–1966

Richard Bethel, Lord Westbury (1800–1873), Scholar (1814), Fellow (1822)
© the copyright holder. Image credit: Studio Edmark

Richard Bethel, Lord Westbury (1800–1873), Scholar (1814), Fellow (1822) c.1925

Beatrice Ethel Lithiby (1889–1966)

Wadham College, University of Oxford

Painter and designer, especially of church furnishings and stained glass. She studied at the Royal Academy Schools and eventually settled in Wantage, Berkshire, her studio where she lived being in the grounds of St Mary’s Convent, an Anglican order; she was a devout Christian. Miss Lithiby began sketching as a young girl and went on to exhibit at RA, RBA until her final illness, Walker’s Galleries, SWA, RI and in the provinces. In her later years she concentrated on landscapes in oil and watercolour, in her youth painting portraits, too. Her ecclesiastical work found its way abroad, to South Africa and Japan. Miss Lithiby, known as Bel to her friends (an acronym of her initials), of commanding appearance, served in the Army in both World Wars, reaching senior rank in World War II.

Text source: 'Artists in Britain Since 1945' by David Buckman (Art Dictionaries Ltd, part of Sansom & Company)

Artworks by Beatrice Ethel Lithiby

  • Richard Bethel, Lord Westbury (1800–1873), Scholar (1814), Fellow (1822)
    Richard Bethel, Lord Westbury (1800–1873), Scholar (1814), Fellow (1822) Beatrice Ethel Lithiby (1889–1966)
    Wadham College, University of Oxford
  • Henry Laming (1849–1924), Benefactor
    Henry Laming (1849–1924), Benefactor Beatrice Ethel Lithiby (1889–1966)
    The Queen's College, University of Oxford
  • An Auxiliary Territorial Service Camp at Tuxford, Nottinghamshire
    An Auxiliary Territorial Service Camp at Tuxford, Nottinghamshire Beatrice Ethel Lithiby (1889–1966)
    IWM (Imperial War Museums)
  • Helen D. Kiddall
    Helen D. Kiddall Beatrice Ethel Lithiby (1889–1966)
    Colchester and Ipswich Museums Service: Ipswich Borough Council Collection
  • The Oldest Industry
    The Oldest Industry Beatrice Ethel Lithiby (1889–1966)
    Leicester Museum & Art Gallery

Find out more

Beatrice Ethel Lithiby was born at Northcote, Queen's Road, Richmond, Surrey, England on 4 December 1889. By 1901 she had moved with her family to Paddington, London. She was registered as a student at the Royal Academy Schools in London from 27 February 1913 to July 1921.

During World War One she served as a volunteer worker in the British Red Cross and as an assistant administrator in the Queen Mary’s Army Auxiliary Corps in France.   In February 1919, she was officially commissioned to paint the Women's Army Auxiliary Corps (WAAC) in France.

Her career as an artist didn't take off until after the war. She worked primarily as a landscape and decorative painter in both watercolour and oils. She also designed church furnishings and stained glass.

She exhibited at the Society of Women Artists in London from 1920 to 1955 and at the Royal Academy in London from 1924 to 1930. Her work was also shown at the Royal Society of British Artists, Royal Institute of Painters in Water Colour, and Walker's Gallery in London; Walker's Art Gallery in Liverpool; Manchester City Art Gallery; and at the Ipswich Art Society in Ipswich, Suffolk. She participated in the Exhibition of Decorative Art at the Royal Academy in London in 1923.   She was elected a member of the Royal Society of British Artists (RBA) in 1930, the Society of Women Artists (SWA) in 1934, and the Ipswich Art Club in 1946.

She designed a wall painting for Holy Trinity Church in Paddington, London. She worked on commissions for stained glass not only in Britain but South Africa and Japan.

During World War Two she served in a senior position in the Auxiliary Territorial Service (ATS) and was awarded the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in 1944.

Her address was given as 11 Porchester Square, London in 1920 and 1935; 56 Arthur Court, Queen's Road, London in 1936 and 1939; Milverton, Garfield Road, Felixstowe, Suffolk in 1948;  St. Mary's School, Wantage, Berkshire in 1950; and in 1955 Guildry St. Mary, Belmont, Wantage, Berkshire, where she died on 25 July 1966.

Text source: Art History Research net (AHR net)

Venues

View all 3

Do you know someone who would love this resource?
Tell them about it...