Mary Millar Watt

(Dedham 1924-2023)

The Fisherman, 1952

oil on canvas laid on panel

inscribed by the artist, verso ‘Jamiaca 1952/ FISHING/ Catching Goggle Eye/ Mary Millar Watt/ TITLE, ‘THE FISHERMAN’

42 x 32 cm.

Provenance

From the Estate of Mary Millar Watt (1924-2023)

Mary Millar Watt was the daughter of artists, John Millar Watt and Amy Watt. She attended the St. Ives School of Art led by Leonard Fuller, alongside Wilhelmina Barns-Graham, but relocated to Bath during WWII where she worked for the Charts Department of the Admiralty.

After the War she moved to Chelsea to live with her parents, studying at the Royal Academy Schools between 1947-1952. One of her first commissions on graduating was from the Kingston Theatre (today the Ward Theatre) in Jamaica, to paint scenery and record life in painting and drawing. This small panel dates from that time and comes from the artist's estate, so it was something she chose to keep for herself.

Mary would go on to earn a living mainly as a portraitist, and flower paintings were for her own pleasure. She was a member and exhibitor with the Society of Women Artists, and exhibited regularly at the Royal Academy.