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Weston Town Council and Weston Civic Society join with Weston Museum to honour artist Ivy Millicent James who lived in Weston-super-Mare. 

A Blue Plaque will be unveiled at 9 Grove Park Road Saturday March 5th at 14.00pm. Followed by an exhibition of her work at Weston Museum 5 March – 12 June 2022.

 Ivy Millicent James was born at 1 Atlantic Villas Weston-super-Mare to an artistic family and attended the new School of Science and Art in Lower Church Road in 1895. Alongside her older sister Maud, who had studied at the Slade School of Art, she set about publishing Christmas cards, postcards and calendars. Their works became highly prized and are nowadays very collectable.

Ivy was a keen suffragette and designed the banner for the Weston-super-Mare branch of the Women’s Social and Political Union. The two sisters were inseparable and after living in London during the 1920s Ivy moved back to Weston when Maud died in 1930. She lived at 9 Grove Park Road for the ensuing 35 years and whilst there was a frequent visitor at St Margaret’s, the then-children’s home at the junction with Upper Church Road.

This is the final Blue Plaque in the series and an audio tour can be found on the Town Council website https://wsm-tc.gov.uk/our-services/blue-plaques/ 

Cllr John Crockford-Hawley the Chairman of Heritage Arts & Culture Committee said –

“I’d like to thank the Town Council and Weston Civic Society for sponsoring the dozen blue plaques which are helping residents and visitors identify some of Weston’s historical characters.”

Sentimental Journeys: The Art and Life of Ivy Millicent James opens at Weston Museum 

5 March – 12 June 2022

This exhibition will showcase the work of Weston artist Ivy Millicent James (1879-1965), a celebrated postcard artist. Ivy came of age at the beginning of the 20th century. It was a time of great change in the role of women and Ivy was among those who fought for slow but steady advances in gender equality. 

She was part of the first generation of women to benefit from equal access to arts education. She made her name at the turn of the 20th century in the postcard boom that spread across Europe due to the development of mass travel and the growing popularity of summer holiday resorts. Today Ivy’s story and her distinctive work remain largely unknown. 

This exhibition celebrates her remarkable achievement, as well as that of her sister Maud. It features a selection of Ivy’s original watercolours, postcard and Christmas card designs, sketch books and personal effects from the North Somerset Council museum collections.

Details

Date:
5th March 2022
Time:
2:00 pm - 2:30 pm
Event Categories:
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