Elizabeth Lamorna Kerr (1904-1990)

               Painter and sculptor, Elizabeth “Mornie” Kerr was the daughter of Samuel John Lamorna Birch (1869-1955) and Houghton Birch, and the sister of Joan Birch (1909-1993). Her father was a significant artist associated with the Newlyn School of Art who moved to Cornwall in 1892, setting up his own artist colony around his home at “Lamorna”. Elizabeth Kerr was therefore raised in the fertile artistic landscape of Cornwall in the early decades of the twentieth century, amongst the second generation of the Newlyn School, and the artists who later based themselves around St. Ives in the mid-century. She modelled for many of her father’s contemporaries, including Augustus John, Thomas Cooper Gotch, and Laura and Harold Knight. She attended Badminton School in Bristol as a boarder and took some art classes at the Bristol School of Art. She returned to Cornwall after her education, and started showing handicrafts alongside her mother and sister at the Newlyn Art Gallery in the 1920s and 1930s. She married the writer, James Lennox Kerr and initially settled in Scotland (Paisley) with him where she continued to develop her skills in oils and watercolours, becoming a proficient painter of still lifes, flowers and landscapes.

She returned to her beloved Cornwall in 1939 and would stay in and around Lamorna until her death. She was ingratiated in the artistic and social circles of Cornwall during her time there. She enjoyed a life-long friendship with Laura Knight and exhibited regularly with Newlyn artists. She also had works regularly displayed at the Royal Academy from 1939 until her father’s death in 1955. She was also a strong organising force within artistic circles throughout her career. She was a key figure within the St. Ives Society of Artists (1945-51) and served as Chairman of the Newlyn Society of Artists Council (1953-55), becoming its Honorary President following her father's death.