Althea Kathleen Wynne (6 October 1936 – 24 January 2012), also known by her married names of Dresman and Barrington Brown, was an English sculptor and art teacher, and a Fellow of the Royal British Society of Sculptors. She specialized in creating large figurative work for gardens and public open spaces.

Early life Born at Biggleswade,"WYNNE, Althea K, mother's maiden name Stuart", in Register of Births for Biggleswade Registration District, vol. 3b (1936), p. 400 Wynne was the daughter of Group Captain Frederick Robert Wynne by his marriage in 1926 to Kathleen Anne Pole Stuart, and had an older brother and sister.Genealogies of Pennsylvania Families: From The Pennsylvania Genealogical Magazine, vol. 2 (Pennsylvania: Genealogical Publishing Company, 1982), p. 651 Her grandparents were Dr and Mrs F. E. Wynne, of Sheffield, and Lieutenant Colonel and Mrs Reginald Pole Stuart, of Folkestone.Flight International, Volume 17 (1926), p. 528: "An engagement is announced between Flight Lieut. Frederick Robert Wynne, M.B.E., R.A.F., eldest son of Dr. Frederick Edward Wynne, M.B., D.P.H., and Mrs. Wynne, of 327, Fulwood-road, Sheffield, and Kathleen Anne Pole, eldest daughter of Lieutenant-Colonel and Mrs. Reginald Pole Stuart, of 29, Westbourne Gardens, Folkestone." Her Stuart grandfather was the grandson of Sir William Stuart (1798–1874), himself the son of William Stuart, Archbishop of Armagh, and grandson of John Stuart, 3rd Earl of Bute, sometime Prime Minister, and his grandmother was Henrietta Maria Sarah, a daughter of Admiral of the Fleet Sir Charles Morice Pole, Governor of the Bank of England.Debrett's Peerage, Baronetage, Knightage, and Companionage (1969), p. 190

At the time of Wynne's birth, her father was an officer in the Royal Air Force, and Wynne was educated at North Foreland Lodge, Farnham School of Art (1953–1955), Hammersmith College (1955–1957), and the Royal College of Art (1957–1960)."Althea Wynne" (obituary) in The Daily Telegraph, 14 February 2012, online at telegraph.co.uk, accessed 3 June 2012George Thomas Noszlopy, Fiona Waterhouse, Public Sculpture of Staffordshire and the Black Country (2005), p. 294: "Althea Wynne (b. 1936) Althea Wynne trained at Farnham Art School (1953–5), Hammersmith College (1955–7) and the Royal College of Art (1957–60)."

Life and career

In 1959 Wynne gained an early commission from London County Council for a ciment-fondu group of swimmers, and in 1960 she won an open competition to design a new silver horse-racing trophy."Althea Wynne ARCA, FRBS", profile at artparks.co.uk, accessed 4 June 2012: "Winner of open competition to design the TOPHAM TROPHY for a race at Aintree. Cast in silver." However, the same year she married Philip Dresman, and with him had a son and two daughters. For some years she spent most of her time bringing up her children, before returning to work as a teacher of art and the history of art. In 1982 she married secondly Antony Barrington Brown, a photographer,Antony Barrington-Brown Killed in Car Crash at lro.com, accessed 3 June 2012 and at about the same time became active as a sculptor again.

Wynne settled at Upton Lovell in Wiltshire, where several pieces of her work were displayed in her garden. In Who's Who in Art her recreations were stated as "riding, sailing, talking".Charles Baile de Laperrière, ed., "Wynne, Althea" in Who's Who in Art: Biographies of Leading Men and Women in the World of Art Today (Hilmarton Manor Press, 31st edition, 2004)

She died suddenly in January 2012, killed with her husband in a road accident on the A36 near her home while returning from the foundry that was to cast her last commission, two large bronzes of Windsor Grey horses for Windsor Great Park. Both Wynne and Barrington Brown were killed instantly in a collision between their car and a truck carrying aggregates. In February it was reported that there were plans to proceed with the Windsor project, finding another sculptor to complete the work by June 2013.Francis Batt, "Tragedy overshadows horse statue plan", 14 February 2012, Windsor and Eton Express online at windsorexpress.co.uk, accessed 4 June 2012

Work As a sculptor, Wynne's chief inspirations were the natural environment and classical (especially Etruscan) art. Most of her work was figurative, showing various forms of animal and female human figures. In 1988 her fountain Doves Rising was added to the Peace Park in Hounslow.David Buckman, Artists in Britain Since 1945 Vol 2, M to Z (Art Dictionaries Ltd, 2006 A lifelong rider, she made a number of equine statues, and in 1989 Prudential Property gave her a commission for three bronze horses to stand by the steps at Minster Court in the City of London. Since nicknamed Sterling, Dollar and Yen,Herbert Wright, London High (London: Frances Lincoln Ltd, 2006), p. 158: "Three buildings are grouped around a glass-covered courtyard, which is behind three horse statues by Althea Wynne nicknamed Sterling, Dollar and Yen." the group is ten feet high, weighs fourteen tonnes, and has been compared with the horses of St Mark's Basilica in Venice. In 1991 her Family of Goats, for the London Docklands Development Corporation, was erected at Rotherhithe. Other work includes a group called White Horses, at the centre of a restaurant on Queen Elizabeth 2, which shows four horses riding the waves,Kay Showker, Bob Sehlinger, The Unofficial Guide to Cruises (John Wiley & Sons, 1997), p. 339: "The room has two commissioned works of art: the centerpiece, White Horses, a sculpture by artist Althea Wynne, depicts four horses riding waves, emblematic of the British seamen's term for white caps". "Europa and the Bull", a full-size bronze figure, and the three huge obelisks rising through the Bluewater shopping centre at Greenhithe in Kent. She held solo exhibitions in Salisbury in 1988 and 1991, at Broadgate in 1993, and in Winchester in 1997. In 2012 her bronze Penelope Waiting was the signature piece for an exhibition of sculpture at Avebury Manor."Garden exhibition to include work by artist killed in car accident", Gazette and Herald, 24 April 2012, accessed 17 December 2022 Wynne wrote of the inspirations for her work:

Professional associations 1960: Associate of the Royal College of Art 1986: Full member of the Society of Equestrian Artists 1990: Associate of the Royal British Society of Sculptors 1994: Fellow of the Royal British Society of Sculptors

See also List of public art in the City of London

Notes

External links

Althea Wynne, artparks.co.uk Althea Wynne 10/6/1936 – 1/24/2112 at ahomina.com (short obituary)