Margaret Justina Wrightson FRBS (1877–1976) was a British artist, renowned for her work in sculpture.
Early life and education Margaret Wrightson was born at Norton Hall and her father was the politician Sir Thomas Wrightson. She never married, and had a studio and home in Bedford Gardens in London. Wrightson's younger sister, Jocelyn Wrightson, was a painter, mainly working in watercolours.
Wrightson first studied under William Blake Richmond at the Royal College of Art before travelling to Paris to learn from Édouard Lantéri. From 1901, Wrightson exhibited frequently at the Royal Academy of Arts Summer Exhibition. She also exhibited with the Society of Women Artists and at the Walker Art Gallery in Liverpool.
Career Wrightson received many commissions throughout her long career. Theresa, Marchioness of Londonderry, commissioned Wrightson to create a female nude which was completed in 1912 and sold at Christies in 2014 for £68,500. Wrightson created a sculpture of a woman titled ‘Mechanic, Women’s Army Auxiliary Corps’ in 1917 that was later exhibited at the Royal Academy; the work had been suggested as a war memorial. In 1925 she created a 'Viking Warrior' for Walter Runciman. Wrightston's memorial of Admiral Earl Jellicoe stands in St Paul's Cathedral, London. Other public works include the figure of Saint George on the Cramlington war memorial in Northumberland, created in 1922, and a figure memorialising Charles Lamb, situated in the Inner Temple gardens, London.
Several of Wrightson's works are in the collection of National Trust's Mount Stewart, including the popular bronze of Lady Mairi as a child. The work was restored in 2012 after originally being commissioned in 1925, and erected in 1928.
Wrightson became an Associate member of the Royal Society of British Sculptors in 1929 and a Fellow in 1943.member file, Margaret Wrightson: archive of the Royal Society of Sculptors She was also a member of the Royal Academy.
Works TitleYearMediumGallery no.GalleryLocationAlbert Sammons1951–1952 -PPHC000370Royal College of MusicLondon, EnglandAlbert Sammons1951–1952 -PPHC000371Royal College of MusicLondon, EnglandLady Edith Helen Chaplin, Marchioness of Londonderry, DBE (1878-1959) as President of the Women's Legion, Motor Drivers1920cast bronze & silver plated1655801Mount StewartCounty Down, Northern IrelandLady Helen Maglona Vane-Tempest-Stewart (1911-1986)1930bronze1220135Mount StewartCounty Down, Northern IrelandLady Mairi Elizabeth Vane-Tempest-Stewart, later Viscountess Bury (1921-2009) as a Child1921–1926Carrara marble1221036Mount StewartCounty Down, Northern IrelandLady Mairi Elizabeth Vane-Tempest-Stewart, later Viscountess Bury (1921-2009) as a Child, aged 41925–1926Carrara marble1221050Mount StewartCounty Down, Northern IrelandLady Rose Keppel (b.1943), Attired in Highland Dress1954bronze1220134Mount StewartCounty Down, Northern IrelandLord John Rushworth Jellicoe of Scapa (1859–1935)1910bronze1983/1075/10National Museum of the Royal Navy, PortsmouthEnglandMechanic: Women's Auxiliary Army Corps1917bronze5352EnglandSir John Rushworth Jellicoe (1859–1935)1910bronze1992/337/1National Museum of the Royal Navy, PortsmouthEnglandThe Mairi Fountain: Lady Mairi Elizabeth Vane-Tempest-Stewart, Viscountess Bury (1921-2009)1928bronze1221060Mount StewartCounty Down, Northern IrelandViking Warrior1925bronze & sandstone -Northumberland County CouncilEnglandYouth and ProgressRoyal Society of Sculptors, Royal Society of British Sculptors Annual Report of the Council for the year ending 31st December 1958 to be presented at the fifty-fifth Annual General Meeting 1959, annual reports file, archive of the Royal Society of Sculptors, p.191958bronze and aluminiumFountain House, Fenchurch Street, EC3
References
External links
Artworks by Margaret Wrightson in the National Trust collection Information about Cramlington War Memorial, designed by Margaret Wrightson