NESBITT, Frances Emily

1863 - 1934

Frances Emily Nesbitt was baptised at Wolverhampton, Staffordshire on 3 December 1863, daughter of Francis Albert Nesbitt (1832-27 May 1866), a surgeon, and his wife Emily née Fyson (c1845-1918), who married at St Mary's Church, Marylebone on 8 January 1863. Her father was of 1 Montfort Place, Wolverhampton when he died at Norwood, Surrey in 1866, aged 34. After art training at the Slade School of Art and at University College London, Frances chose to concentrate on watercolours. In 1881, a 17-year-old, living at 33 Henley Road, Ipswich with her 36-year-old widowed mother Emily. Frances studied at the Ipswich School of Art, passing her examinations in 1878 and she exhibited from 33 Henley Road at Ipswich Fine Art Club in 1883, three table lots 'Purple Clematis', 'Chrysanthemums' and 'Wild Hops' and in 1884 three watercolours 'Chrysanthemums', 'Sketch in Grange, in Borrowdale' and 'Derwentwater, from High Lodore', others exhibits included in 1893 'The Fish Corner, Whitby' and 'The Green, Walberswick'. In 1894 elected a member of the Ipswich Art Club when she exhibited from 51 Tite Street, Chelsea, London, watercolours 'An Old-fashioned Garden' and 'Venetian Boats', in 1895 'Sunset and Smoke' and 'Evening on the River, Aldeburgh', her last exhibits at Ipswich were in 1898. She also exhibited several pictures at the Bury St Edmunds Fine Art Society in 1889, including a watercolour 'River Scene with a Man of War at Anchor'. From 1888 she regularly exhibited at the Royal Society of British Artists including from 8 St Alban's Road, Kensington, London 'Study in St Mark's, Venice' and the following year from The Studio, 7 Elm Tree Road, St John's Road, London 'Sogaarde, Bergen' and 'The Duke of Wellington' and from 6 New Crompton Street, Soho in 1891 'Calm, Lowestoft' and she also exhibited at the British Institute and other leading galleries. After Frances and her mother took up residence in Tite Street, Chelsea, Frances's work was accepted by the Royal Academy in 1896. Every year the two ladies travelled abroad, visiting France, Germany, Italy, Norway and the Netherlands, sight-seeing and studying the history and architecture of these countries. For Frances, an excellent linguist, it was an excellent opportunity to capture the local colour and atmosphere in her numerous watercolours. Venturing further afield, the pair visited North Africa which resulted in Frances's excellent travel book 'Algiers and Tunis' (1906), illustrated by many of her watercolours, her second book, 'Palestine' was never published. After her busy life in London, Frances retired to Hilltop, Bovingdon, Hertfordshire, where she died on 12 January 1934, she was unmarried.

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Works by This Artist