Green Templeton unveils display of Myra Louisa Bunce artwork on International Women’s Day
Green Templeton College has chosen International Women’s Day to unveil a new display of nineteenth century artwork by Myra Louisa Bunce (1854-1919).
The college is very fortunate to have in its possession three watercolour paintings by Bunce, which are now hanging in the first floor corridor of the Admin Building next to the main staircase.
This full-length portrait has the title ‘Good-bye’, seeking to evoke, in a typically Victorian manner, a sentiment in the viewer as to who is leaving or being left, and why.
Bunce’s work exemplifies the spirit of two art movements – The Arts & Crafts and the Pre-Raphaelites – that developed in parallel in Great Britain from the middle of the nineteenth century. They espoused a return to individual craftsmanship in the decorative and useful arts (as well as a rejection of mass-production), and an honesty and naturalness in the depiction of the human form, which was supposed to have existed in the period before the great Italian Renaissance artist Raphael.
She studied at the College of Art in Birmingham, the place of her birth, but at least two of these watercolours were submitted as examination pieces at the South Kensington School of Art in London (now the Royal College of Art). We know this from the fact that each is stamped ‘E.S.K’ in embossed lettering in one corner, standing for ‘Examined South Kensington’. The fact that they are unsigned would follow from the standard practice of blind examination.
Bunce brings her great skill as a framer here, where the natural foliate embellishments enhance the decorative qualities of the piece.
The central full-length portrait of a woman wearing a grey dress in a garden setting is the only one to be signed and dated (1888). It has the title ‘Good-bye’, seeking to evoke, in a typically Victorian manner, a sentiment in the viewer as to who is leaving or being left, and why. You are invited to construct your own interpretation.
Bunce brings her great skill as a framer in addition to that as an artist in the facial portrait to the left, where the surrounding foliate embellishments enhance the decorative qualities of the piece. She often designed and made the frames for her artist sister Kate Bunce, who is well represented in Birmingham Art Gallery. An example of their joint work can be seen in the altar reredos of St Mary’s church Longworth, South Oxfordshire.
This was painted, as part of an examination, to test Bunce’s ability to execute the folds of drapery.
The third watercolour was painted to test, as part of the examination, Bunce’s ability to execute the folds of drapery. It was conventional to incorporate a number of appropriate props in the composition to give the interior a classical ambience.
Green Templeton College is indebted to a former Fellow, Peter Garnham, for having generously given us the paintings. They are being hung for temporary display starting with International Women’s Day on 8 March 2019, prior to a careful programme of conservation. They will be back!
International Women’s Day is celebrated annually to mark the social, economic, cultural and political achievements of women. It has been taking place for more than a century, with the first International Women’s Day gathering in 1911.
The theme of 2019’s International Women’s Day is ‘balance for better’, aiming to build a gender-balanced world. The 2019 #BalanceForBetter campaign will run all year long.
