Doris Ardley

(fl. 1919-1953 Chelsea & East Bergholt)

Woman in black, c.1920s

watercolour on card

33 x 22 cm.

Little is now known of Doris Ardley, but she made a living as an illustrator – her work included advertising posters, cigarette cards, book jackets and show card designs. She was a member of The Chelsea Illustrators, a club founded by Muriel Goulden (1882-1955) in 1914 with around twenty fellow women artists who had graduated from Westminster School of Art, where Goulden was their teacher. Presumably Doris Ardley was among them. They found suitable premises in an old a barn located at 59a Park Walk, Chelsea, from where they taught, worked, and sold their work. When an order was received by 'The Chelsea Illustrators', it would be given to any member who requested it. Fellow members included Mary Margaret (Mollie) Kaye (1908- 2004), Joan G. Robinson (1910-1988), Elizabeth Alice Marjorie Montgomery (1902-1993), Audrey Sophia Harris (1900-1966) and Margaret Frances (Percy) Harris (1904-2000). They disbanded in 1939 at the outbreak of WWII.