Marjorie Mostyn (1893-1979)

               Marjorie “Nancy” Mostyn lived a life surrounded by art and artists. She was the daughter of Thomas (Tom) Mostyn (1864-1930), who was a successful artist of the late Victorian and early twentieth century who had started painting realistic images depicting the harsh lives of the working classes, but later became known for his idealistic garden scenes, full of vibrant colour, as well as his Pre-Raphaelite inspired portraits. The change to painting luscious gardens whilst Marjorie was in her teens and early twenties clearly had an impact on her own artistic inclinations, as she became known particularly for her paintings of flowers during her own career.

She studied at the St John’s Wood School of Art under Leonard Walker (1877-1964) followed by the Royal Academy Schools (1912–15), where her teachers included John Singer Sargent (1856-1925), William Orpen (1878-1931) and George Clausen (1852-1944). The former’s delicate water colour paintings of flowers and gardens were another significant impact on Marjorie’s own style and interests. She was a talented student and won silver and bronze medals at the Royal Academy, and gained a British Institution Scholarship for painting in 1915. She met her husband, Leonard Fuller (1891-1973), whilst at the academy and they married in 1917.

They later relocated with him to St. Ives, Cornwall in 1938, to establish the St. Ives School of Painting, that would prove to be very influential on the subsequent generations of British artists such as Barbara Hepworth, Ben Nicholson, Terry Frost, Peter Lanyon, Bryan Winter, Wilhelmina Barns-Graham, Sven Berlin and Bob Law. Together, Marjorie Mostyn and Leonard Fuller were at the centre of the artist colony in St. Ives until their deaths in the 1970s. Marjorie was a founder-member of the Penwith Society of Arts (1949) as well as being a member of the St. Ives Society of Artists and the Newlyn Society. She was also a member of several important groups outside of Cornwall (Royal Cambrian Academy, Society of Women Artists), with whom she would regularly exhibit her works. She also exhibited regularly at the Royal Academy and at the Royal Society of Portrait Painters. Her works are held in many major private and public collections including at New County Hall, Truro and the National Trust.