Hilda Annetta Walker

Hilda Annetta Walker FRSA (1877 – 3 June 1960) was an English sculptor, and a painter of landscapes, seascapes and horses, flourishing between 1902 and 1958. She was a war artist painting in England during the First and Second World Wars, and described as "escapist". Some of her early work was the production of oilette postcard paintings for Raphael Tuck & Sons, of firemen and horses. She was born in Mirfield, Yorkshire, England, to a family of blanket manufacturers who had the means to foster her art education. She grew up in the Protestant work ethic of Congregationalism, and attended Leeds College of Art, where she studied under William Gilbert Foster of the Staithes group and William Charles Holland King, sculptor of Dover Marine War Memorial. She signed her works "Hilda Walker" or sometimes "Hilda A. Walker".

Hilda Annetta Walker

FRSA[1]
Hilda Walker
Born1877
Mirfield, West Riding of Yorkshire, England
Died3 June 1960(1960-06-03) (aged 82–83)
Heaton, Bradford
NationalityBritish
Alma materLeeds College of Art
Known forSculpture, paintings of Wharfedale, portraits of horses
StyleFigurative painting

Her siblings included Ronald Walker, Eric Walker and Dora Walker. The artist Marie Walker Last was her niece.

Background

Tradition of manufacturing

Walker was born amidst a background of manufacturing in the industrial 19th-century north of England. Walker's father, grandfather, great grandfather and great-great grandfather were all in the blanket-manufacturing trade.[2][3] Walker's paternal grandparents were Batley mill-owner James Walker and Annetta Bentley (Gildersome c. 1809 – Bramley 1886),[4] who married in the Warwick area in 1846.[5]

Walker's immediate family displayed the Calvinist work ethic of Congregationalism,[6] together with financial support of education as might be available to the sons and daughters of successful 19th-century Yorkshire textile mill owners.[7] Thus Walker came from a "distinguished family". Her father was John Ely Walker JP (Batley 1847 – Spen Valley 24 October 1943),[1][8][9][10] co-owner of James Walker & Sons, at Holme Bank and Butt End Mills, Mirfield, Low Mills, Dewsbury and Croft Mills, Witney, Oxfordshire,[11][12][13] a rug and carpet manufacturer who had been apprenticed at the mill at age 17.[4][11] The firm employed 500 people in 1914.[14] He was chairman of the Dewsbury West Riding magistrates' bench, president of the Mirfield Liberal Party and of the Morley Divisional Liberal Association. He was a founder member of Healey Congregational Church, Batley.[2][15][16] He and his brother Sam Walker (c. 1852–1942)[11] still had a hand in the business in their eighties and nineties, when they were said to be, "probably the two oldest men in England still taking active part in the direction of a large business".[17]

Walker's mother was Mary Elizabeth Firth, (b. Heckmondwike c. 1853).[1][18] who married John Ely Walker in Dewsbury in 1874.[19]

  • Knowl House, formerly the Walker family home, 2011
  • Mirfield, Walker's home town, 1905
  • Chimney of Holme Bank Mill, 2017
  • Remains of mill tail race of the former Butt End Mill (bottom left), 2008
  • Healey Congregational Church, Batley, with which J. E. Walker was associated

Walker and her siblings

Walker was born in 1877 in Mirfield in the West Riding of Yorkshire,[20] one of eleven siblings,[17] most of whom were high-achievers.[17][21][22] Her brother James (b.c. 1879)[17][18][22] was a colonel, a DSO, a Home Guard zone commander and deputy lieutenant for the West Riding of Yorkshire. Her brother Sir Ronald Fitz-John Walker (24 November 1880 – 26 March 1971)[17][18][22][23][24] was chairman of the Yorkshire Liberal Party and of the National Liberal Party.[1] Her brother Reginald Firth (b.1884)[8][17][22][25] was awarded the Military Cross in the First World War. Her brother Eric Walker (1896 – 11 April 1983)[17][18][22][26] was an RAF flying officer, who was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross in the First World War, and was mentioned in dispatches for his contribution to administration for Bomber Command in the Second World War. Previously he had been president of Spenborough Chamber of Commerce. Her brother Cyril Gordon (1885 – 27 March 1918)[8][17][22][27][28] was killed in the First World War. Her sister Mrs Ethel M.E. "Mary" Atkinson (b.1875)[17][18][22][29] was a councillor for West Riding County Council. Her sister Dora Muriel Walker (2 July 1890 – 1980)[17][18][22][30] was the first woman to run a fishing trawler out of Whitby and was a VAD in Belgium and France in the First World War. In the Second World War Dora continued to fish, but also assisted in London air raid shelters. Walker's sister Kathleen Marguerite (9 January 1883 – 1976)[17][22][31][32] was secretary to Ramsay Macdonald, a journalist and an author. Walker had two other siblings: Lieutenant-Colonel Hubert Walker (b.1886)[17][22][33] father of artist Marie Walker Last, and Vera Evaline Walker (24 November 1887 – 1979).[8][17][22][34][35] Four of Walker's nieces and nephews including Marie Walker Last served in the military during the Second World War.[17]

Walker attended Leeds College of Art, studying painting under William Gilbert Foster, and sculpture under William Charles Holland King, sculptor of Dover Marine War Memorial.[1] Gray (2019) suggests that she may also have studied in London.[20]

Between the wars

Walker lived in Knowl House, Knowl Road, Mirfield with her parents,[36] until the 1930s.[20] The mansion was donated to the people of Mirfield by the Walker family in 1943, but in 2013 Kirklees Council sold it.[37] Other early addresses were The Outpost, Mirfield, and an address in Leeds.[20] Walker used some addresses concurrently, because she also lived in Hebden, in the West Riding of Yorkshire where she had her studio between 1921 and 1955.[1] Between the wars, Walker performed public duties; for example in March 1925 she opened a sale of work at Cleckheaton, for the Liberal Club there.[38]

Second World War

During the Second World War, Walker produced war paintings,[nb 1] and undertook some public engagements. In Mirfield War Weapons Week, May 1941, she opened the Yorkshre Observer's War Photographs Exhibition at Trinity School, Easthorpe, North Yorkshire.[nb 2] While there, she took time to praise the artwork of the school pupils.[39][40] In January 1942 she presented the Mirfield Hospital Supply Services Depot with pieces of blanket from her father's factory.[41] They were sewn together to make blankets. One of these was presented to the Princess Royal (later to become Elizabeth II) who "was pleased to accept one for use as a pattern for her own depot".[42][43] In May 1943, Walker presented art prizes of savings stamps at the RAF Equipment and Photographic Exhibition at Mirfield, where children had entered a Wings for Victory competition.[44] This was part of a wartime campaign by Mirfield to raise £70,000 for the war effort, and the children's competition was the opening feature of that week.[45]

Post-war

Walker and her brother Hubert donated several artworks to public art galleries. When John Ely Walker died in 1943, they donated the paintings Fruit Girl by James Northcote and The Golden Bough after J. M. W. Turner to Doncaster Museum and Art Gallery.[46][47] At an unknown date, Walker donated Runswick Fish Wife by her teacher William Gilbert Foster to Kirklees Museums and Galleries.[48]

Death

Walker died aged 82 on 3 June 1960 at Greystones nursing home in Heaton, Bradford.[49] She left over £29,000 (equivalent to £670,000 in 2019)[50] to her sister Dora.[51] Walker's niece Marie Walker Last had the use of her house at Hebden after her death.[1]

Career

Walker's London working address was Wychcombe Studios near Haverstock Hill, then a studio at Cranley Gardens, Kensington.[20] She was a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts.[1] She was also a member of the Forum Club and an Associate of the Society of Women Artists between 1951 and 1958.[20] In her native Yorkshire, Walker was "known for her sculptures and painted panels,"[52] also for her oil paintings and watercolours, especially views of Wharfedale, and portraits of horses,[1] and for her miniatures and print-making.[53] Her many bronze and marble sculptures were portraits and figures, however some existing versions are reproductions of her work.[20] She was a figurative artist. She said, "In spite of the sneers of the highbrow against any pictures being photographic ... some of us wish that the modernistic daubs we sometimes see were considerably more so. We should then know without consulting our catalogues what they really represent".[39]

A print of Walker's painting A Prairie Fire was published in The Boy's Own Paper in the 19th century.[54]

Works

Walker's sculptural works include Pixie, The Water Baby, Dian, Katharine Marie Walker, Across the Sands O' Dee (1923), Sleep (1924) and Sleep-mask (1925).[53]

Examples of works
  • Sheep grazing above Runswick Bay, 1902
  • From To the Rescue, 1902–1904
  • Cavalry horses and distant encampment, 1911
  • The Charge, 1902–1914
  • Scouting, 1914–1918

Exhibitions

Walker exhibited at the Royal Academy of Arts,[55] and in Paris, besides the following venues.[39]

  • 1901 March, Leeds Art Gallery: Shere Khan, which the Yorkshire Post described as "a good study of a well known animal".[56]
  • 1901 October, Leeds Art Gallery: Break, break, break, at the foot of the crags O sea!,[nb 3] described as a "free effect".[57]
  • 1909 July, London Salon of the Allied Artists Association at the Royal Albert Hall: The Sands O' Dee, Trebarwith Strand and Shere Khan. Shere Khan was sold at this show for £10,108 (equivalent to £1,060,000 in 2019).[50][58]
  • 1910 October, former Walker Galleries, London:[59] a trio exhibition with Lester Sutcliffe RCA and his wife. Walker showed monotypes. One of the coloured ones was Moorland, and one of the black and white ones, Chillon, "arrest[ed] special attention". The Queen magazine said: "They are undeniably clever and attractive, and are meeting with much praise from experts".[60]
  • 1920 Leeds Art Gallery, Annual Exhibition of Works by Artists of the Northern Counties: various works.[53]
  • 1920–1921, Society of Women Artists: various works.[20]
  • 1921 Royal Academy Summer Exhibition, London: bronze bust of Lieut.-Col. James Walker D.S.O.[1][61]
  • 1923 Royal Birmingham Society of Artists Spring Exhibition, Sculpture Across the Sands O' Dee.[53]
  • 1923 Laing Art Gallery, Annual Exhibition of Works by Artists of the Northern Counties: various works.[53]
  • 1824 Royal Birmingham Society of Artists Spring Exhibition, Sculpture Sleep.[53]
  • 1925 December, former Graham Gallery, London: twenty "bright, decorative little" watercolours of gardens at Kew, Somerset, Sanremo and Yorkshire, "aflame with flowers". The Yorkshire Post said, "She conveys with skill the charm of reflecting waters as in The Wharfe, Hebden".[62]
  • 1926 January, Suffolk Street Galleries, London: two sculptures, of bronze and of plaster, each titled Peter Pan".[63]
  • 1927 October, Forum Club, London.[64]
  • 1928 April, Mirfield Society Exhibition, Ings Grove House, Mirfield: "A collection of paintings and sculpture ... A figure in bronze of her father, Mr John Ely Walker, was specially admired".[65]
  • 1928 Leeds Art Gallery various works.[53]
  • 1936 Nay, Doncaster Beechfield Art Gallery:[nb 4] "Three fine bronzes" and a watercolour painting.[66]
  • 1941 June, United Artists' Society exhibition, London: The Bradford Observer said, "Young England guarding the cliffs in khaki strikes an imaginative note, since he wears his respirator at the "alert," but no tin hat. She also gives us Skipper Dora, a young woman in oil-skins at the rudder, unperturbed by bombers over a convoy at uncomfortably close range. Here is a pleasant escapist show".[67]
  • 1949 March, Forum Club, London: "sculpture, water colours, and a number of paintings on wooden panels where the artist uses the grain of the wood as part of the composition". One work, Lovely Cottage, shows her own Hebden-in-Craven cottage with roses around the door, named after the 1946 Grand National winner.[68]
  • 1950–1958, Society of Women Artists: various works, including the bronzes The Late Viscount Simon, KCVO, KCSI, MC, Sleep, The Seer and Peter Pan, as well as Ophelia in marble.[20]
  • Various years, Société des Artistes Français exhibition, Paris: "various bronze and marble sculptures".[1]
  • Undated, Royal Institute of Painters in Water Colours, Liverpool: various works.[20]

Collections

Notes
  1. For a review of some of Walker's war paintings, see her 1941 exhibition listed below
  2. The Yorkshire Observer is now defunct
  3. Quotation from the poem Break, Break, Break by Alfred Lord Tennyson
  4. Doncaster Beechfield Art Gallery was formerly at Beechfield House. The art gallery was re-named and relocated in 1964, and in 2020 was due to be relocated again.

Further reading
  • James Mackay (1977). The Dictionary of Western Sculptors in Bronze. Antique Collectors' Club. ISBN 0902028553.
  • Grant M. Waters (1975). Dictionary of British Artists Working 1900–1950. Eastbourne Fine Art. ISBN 9780902010055.

References
  1. "Hilda Annetta Walker – Artist". braemoor.co.uk. Hebden township historical data. Retrieved 9 December 2020.
  2. "96-yr-old Mirfield JP's death". Bradford Observer (26 October 1943). British Newspaper Archive. p. 3 col.8. Retrieved 12 December 2020.
  3. "Mirfield director of 96". Yorkshire Evening Post. British Newspaper Archive. 22 October 1943. p. 5 col.2. Retrieved 12 December 2020.
  4. "1871 England Census RG10/4585 schedule 34". ancestry.co.uk. H.M. Government. p. 21. Retrieved 12 December 2020.
  5. Marriages Mar 1846 Walker James and Bentley Annetta Warwick 16 583
  6. Lis, Catharina; Ehmer, Josef (21 July 2009). The Idea of Work in Europe from Antiquity to Modern Times. London: Routledge. ISBN 9780754664109.
  7. Hopley, Claire (22 October 2020). "Traveling through the history of Britain's textiles". britishheritage.com. British Heritage. Retrieved 15 December 2020.
  8. "1891 England Census RG12/3728". ancestry.co.uk. p. 28. Retrieved 12 December 2020.
  9. Births Dec 1847 Walker John Ely Dewsbury XXII 4
  10. Deaths Dec 1943 Walker John E. 96 Spen Valley 9b 752
  11. "Mirfield's loss". Yorkshire Evening Post. British Newspaper Archive. 4 March 1942. p. 5 col.3. Retrieved 12 December 2020.
  12. "Mr Samuel Walker". Yorkshire Post and Leeds Intelligencer. British Newspaper Archive. 7 March 1942. p. 5 col.2. Retrieved 12 December 2020.
  13. Platt, Philip. "James Walker & Sons Ltd". witneyblanketstory.org.uk. Witney Blanket Story. Retrieved 15 December 2020.
  14. "1914 Who's Who in Business". gracesguide.co.uk. Graces Guide. 1914. Retrieved 15 December 2020.
  15. "Mr J.E. Walker, Yorkshire manufacturer dies aged 96". Yorkshire Evening Post. British Newspaper Archive. 25 October 1943. p. 6 col.3. Retrieved 12 December 2020.
  16. "Mr J.E. Walker". Yorkshire Post and Leeds Intelligencer. British Newspaper Archive. 26 October 1943. p. 6 col.4. Retrieved 12 December 2020.
  17. "The Walkers of Mirfield". Yorkshire Evening Post. British Newspaper Archive. 22 October 1941. p. 6 col.4. Retrieved 9 December 2020.
  18. "1901 England Census 13/4265 schedule 12". ancestry.co.uk. Ancestry. 1901. p. 15. Retrieved 12 December 2020.
  19. Marriages Dec 1874 Walker John Ely and Firth Mary Elizabeth Dewsbury 9b 1099
  20. Sara Gray (2019). British Women Artists. A Biographical Dictionary of 1000 Women Artists in the British Decorative Arts. Dark River. ISBN 9781911121633.
  21. Births Sep 1877 Walker Hilda Annetta Dewsbury 9b 706
  22. "11 children named in will". Nottingham Evening Post. British Newspaper Archive. 10 December 1943. p. 6 col.1. Retrieved 12 December 2020.
  23. Births Mar 1881 Walker Ronald Fitz John Dewsbury 9b 682
  24. Deaths Mar 1971 Walker Ronald Fitz-John 24 No 1880 Dewsbury 2b 1014
  25. Births Jun 1884 Walker Reginald Firth Dewsbury 9b 662
  26. Births Sep 1896 Walker Eric Dewsbury 9b 658
  27. Births Jun 1885 Walker Cyril Gordon Dewsbury 9b 637
  28. "Lieutenant Cyril Gordon Walker". astreetnearyou.org. A street near you. Retrieved 16 December 2020.
  29. Births Dec 1875 Walker Ethel Mary E. Dewsbury 9b 684
  30. "Dora M. Walker (1890–1980)". whitbymuseum.org.uk. Whitby Museum. Retrieved 16 December 2020.
  31. Births Jun 1883 Walker Kathleen Marguerite Dewsbury 9b 643
  32. Deaths Mar 1976 Walker Kathleen Marguerite 09 Ja 1883 York 2 3774
  33. Births Sep 1886 Walker Hubert Dewsbury 9b 647
  34. Births Mar 1888 Walker Vera Evaline Dewsbury 9b 632
  35. Deaths Mar 1979 Walker Vera Eveline 24 No 1887 York 2 3501
  36. "1911 England Census schedule 320 Knowl House Mirfield". ancestry.co.uk. H.M. Government. p. 642. Retrieved 12 December 2020.
  37. Shaw, Martin (24 May 2013). "Campaigners fight for Mirfield mansion sell-off cash to be re-invested in town". Yorkshire Live. Retrieved 12 December 2020.
  38. "Cleckheaton Liberal bazaar". Leeds Mercury. British Newspaper Archive. 27 March 1925. p. 3 col.4. Retrieved 9 December 2020.
  39. "Pictures and war effort". Bradford Observer. British Newspaper Archive. 29 May 1941. p. 4 col 7. Retrieved 9 December 2020.
  40. "Mirfield well on the way: £58,000". Bradford Observer. British Newspaper Archive. 19 May 1941. p. 3 col.5. Retrieved 9 December 2020.
  41. "For Princess Royal". Bradford Observer. British Newspaper Archive. 24 January 1942. p. 4 col 4. Retrieved 9 December 2020.
  42. "The Princess Royal at Red Cross depots". Yorkshire Post and Leeds Intelligencer. British Newspaper Archive. 24 January 1942. p. 7 col.5. Retrieved 9 December 2020.
  43. "Princess Royal at hospital depots, visits to West Riding centres". Yorkshire Evening Post. British Newspaper Archive. 23 January 1942. p. 4 col.5. Retrieved 9 December 2020.
  44. "Mirfield artist presents Y.O. prizes to children". Bradford Observer. British Newspaper Archive. 11 May 1943. p. 3 col.7. Retrieved 9 December 2020.
  45. "West Riding Wings Week targets". Bradford Observer. British Newspaper Archive. 7 May 1943. p. 3 col.2. Retrieved 9 December 2020.
  46. "Fruit Girl". artuk.org. Art UK. Retrieved 15 December 2020.
  47. "The Golden Bough". artuk.org. Art UK. Retrieved 15 December 2020.
  48. "Runswick Fish Wife". artuk.org. Art UK. Retrieved 15 December 2020.
  49. Deaths Jun 1960 Walker Hilda A. 82 Bradford 2b 101
  50. UK Retail Price Index inflation figures are based on data from Clark, Gregory (2017). "The Annual RPI and Average Earnings for Britain, 1209 to Present (New Series)". MeasuringWorth. Retrieved 2 February 2020.
  51. England and Wales National Probate Calendar (Index of Wills and Administrations), 1858–1995. London: HM Government. 1960. p. 27. Retrieved 9 December 2020.
  52. "Girl runs art gallery, picture shows in Leeds". Leeds Mercury. British Newspaper Archive. 2 April 1938. p. 8 col.1. Retrieved 9 December 2020.
  53. "Miss Hilda A. Walker". Mapping the practice and profession of sculpture in Britain and Ireland 1851–1951. Retrieved 11 December 2020.
  54. "A Prairie Fire (colour litho)". bridgemanimages.co.uk. Bridgeman Images. Retrieved 10 December 2020. Image no. LLM960890
  55. Jarman, Angela (1982). Royal Academy Exhibitors 1905–70: A Dictionary of Artists and their Work in the Summer Exhibitions of the Royal Academy of Arts, Vol. VI SHERR-ZUL. Wakefield, England: E.P. Publishing.
  56. "Leeds Art Gallery, local artists". Yorkshire Post and Leeds Intelligencer. British Newspaper Archive. 2 March 1901. p. 8 col.2. Retrieved 9 December 2020.
  57. "Yorkshire artists exhibition at Leeds". Bradford Weekly Telegraph. British Newspaper Archive. 12 October 1901. p. 10 col.5. Retrieved 9 December 2020.
  58. The London Salon of the Allied Artists' Association, Ltd., 1909 : second year. London: The London Salon. July 1909. Retrieved 19 December 2020.
  59. "Walker Galleries". britishmuseum.org. British Museum. Retrieved 9 December 2020.
  60. "The world of art: round the galleries". The Queen. British Newspaper Archive. 8 October 1910. p. 47 col.3. Retrieved 9 December 2020.
  61. "Central Hall: Sculpture". 1921 Exhibition catalogue. London: Royal Academy. 1921. p. 82. Retrieved 11 December 2020. 1084 Lieut.-Col.James Walker D.S.O. bust, bronze (by) Hilda A. Walker
  62. "Yorkshire scenery in watercolour, exhibition in London". Yorkshire Post and Leeds Intelligencer. British Newspaper Archive. 2 December 1925. p. 3 col.2. Retrieved 9 December 2020.
  63. "Sheffield artists' paintings". Sheffield Daily Telegraph. British Newspaper Archive. 20 January 1926. p. 7 col.1. Retrieved 9 December 2020.
  64. "Art notes". West Sussex Gazette. British Newspaper Archive. 20 October 1927. p. 8 col 3. Retrieved 9 December 2020.
  65. "Photographic art, Mirfield Society's annual exhibition". Yorkshire Post and Leeds Intelligencer. British Newspaper Archive. 2 April 1928. p. 3 col.2. Retrieved 9 December 2020.
  66. "Living artists' work on show at Doncaster". Sheffield Independent. British Newspaper Archive. 27 May 1936. p. 4 col..3. Retrieved 9 December 2020.
  67. "Time to paint it". Bradford Observer. British Newspaper Archive. 14 June 1941. p. 2 col.7. Retrieved 9 December 2020.
  68. "Lovely cottage". Bradford Observer. British Newspaper Archive. 12 March 1949. p. 2 col.4. Retrieved 9 December 2020.
  69. "Hilda Annetta Walker: Miss Estelle Stead 1939, at the Hepworth, Wakefield". artuk.org. Art UK. Retrieved 9 December 2020.
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