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 School Is Out 1889 
Elizabeth Adela Forbes, Nee Armstrong, ARWS, 1859 - 1912 | |
 A Zandvoort Fishergirl 1884 |
Born in Ontario, Canada, Elizabeth Armstrong came to England to study art at the South Kensington schools, later studying in New York and Munich. In 1882 she went to paint in Brittany and in 1884 she was to be found in Zandvoort, Holland. Having heard of the growing art colony in Newlyn, she first visited Cornwall in 1885. She met the painter Stanhope Forbes when she visited again the following year, and they married in 1889. |
| While on the continent she started to produce drypoint etchings, working with Whistler and Sickert. When she moved to Cornwall her production of these etchings ceased and only six Cornish subjects are known. | |
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Elizabeth Forbes is best known for her portrayal of Children, including
the book she wrote and illustrated, produced in 1904, entitled 'King
Arthur's Wood', illustrated in a Pre-Raphaelite style with fairy tale
scenes. This was dedicated to her only child, Alec who was tragically
killed during the First World War. A major retrospective exhibition of her work, called "Singing
from the Walls", was held at Penlee House Gallery &
Museum Penzance in the summer of 2000, touring to Djanogly Art Gallery,
Nottingham. The exhibition was accompanied by a 200 page monograph on
the artist, which is still available from Penlee House. | |
