Margaret Boden (artist) explained

Margaret Tulloch
Birth Name:Margaret Tulloch
Nationality:Scottish
Spouse:Leonard Boden
Birth Date:17 February 1912
Death Date:25 December 2001
Birth Place:West Lothian
Death Place:London

Margaret Boden (1912–2001) was a Scottish artist known for her portraiture.[1] She worked with her husband Leonard Boden on many of his prestigious commissions.[2]

Personal life

Margaret Tulloch was born in Ecclesmachan, a village in West Lothian, Scotland to Catherine Tulloch and her husband Rev A.P.S. Tulloch, who had been a missionary in India.[3] She had two brothers who were educated at boarding school, while Maragaret Tulloch was taught at home as the family could not afford her tuition fees.

Boden met her future husband, Leonard Boden when they both studied at the Glasgow School of Art and they married in 1937. The couple had one daughter, the renowned concert harpist, Daphne Boden.[4] [5]

In her later years she suffered from Alzheimer's disease.

Education

Boden attended the Glasgow School of Art from the age of 15. She later moved to London to study at Heatherley’s School of Fine Art.

Artwork and career

Boden often worked on her husband's canvases, but was not recognised for her contributions. In 1957, Boden supported her husband's painting of Pope Pius XII, which is now in the Vatican.

During the 1930s, both Boden and her husband worked as illustrators.[6]

For around fifty years, Boden exhibited at the Royal Society of Portrait Painters. She also exhibited at the Royal Scottish Academy and the Royal Glasgow Institute. Boden was also an honorary member of the Society of Women Artists.

Boden was commissioned by Elizabeth II to paint the Royal corgis. Other portrait commissions included Beryl Grey, Irene Joyce, Laurence Verney, Baroness Young and the Forte family, and Boden completed her final commissioned work at the age of 87.

Boden often painted artworks of animals, particularly dogs, including works she exhibited with the Society of Women Artists in the 1980s.[7]

Works in public collections

Margaret Boden has paintings held in several public collections including the following,

TitleYearMediumGallery no.GalleryLocation
'Cruachan II', Regimental Mascot, with Pony Major Lance Corporal A. Sloss-oil on canvas160/85The Regimental Museum of the Argyll and Sutherland HighlandersStirling, Scotland
Cyril Scurr, Dean of the Faculty of Anaesthetists (1970–1973)c.1973oil on canvasRCOA46Royal College of AnaesthetistsLondon, England
Geoffrey Tyndale Young, Fellow (1947–1982)-oil on canvasPCF37Jesus College, University of OxfordEngland
His Honor Judge Sir Lawrence Verney, Recorder of London1998oil on canvas4409Guildhall Art GalleryLondon, England

References

  1. Web site: Boden, Margaret, 1912–2001 Art UK. artuk.org. en. 2019-11-12.
  2. News: Pope, Queen sat for Scottish portraitist: Also painted Thatcher: He tried to show the Queen as he saw her, 'dignified and regal'. Mills. Don. 1999-11-20. National Post. .
  3. News: Obituary: Margaret Boden. Buckman. David. 2002-01-26. The Independent; London (UK). .
  4. News: Obituary: Margaret Boden. Steven. Alasdair. 2002-02-01. The Scotsman. .
  5. Book: HOWE, ROBERT.. I'LL GIVE IT SIX MONTHS.. 2018. LULU COM. 978-0244365578. [Place of publication not identified]. 1028529058.
  6. Web site: Shropshire Parks & Gardens Trust NEWSLETTER, No. 19. Spring 2009. Shropshire Parks & Gardens Trust. 2019-11-12.
  7. Web site: Category Individual - Hamshere Gallery - Specialists in Canine & Sporting Antiques. www.hamsheregallery.co.uk. 2019-11-12.