Phoebe Stabler Explained

Birth Date:1879
Death Date:1955
Birth Place:Handsworth, Birmingham
Death Place:Hammersmith, London
Nationality:British
Known For:Sculpture, pottery, metalworking, wood carving
Birth Name:Phoebe Gertrude McLeish
Style:Arts and Crafts

Phoebe Gertrude Stabler (née McLeish, 1879–1955) was an English artist working across many mediums including metalwork, pottery, enamel and wood in the late nineteenth and early-mid twentieth centuries.[1] "Although Stabler is best known for her pottery figures, during the 1920s and 1930s she was also well known for her stone carvings and was an important contributor to the British Empire Exhibition at Wembley, 1924."[2]

Biography

Stabler was born in Birmingham, but grew up in Liverpool, where both her parents originated. Stabler was one of five or more children, with her two sisters also following creative careers as jewellery designers. Stabler first studied at the Liverpool School of Art in the 1890s, where two of her sisters also attended. During this time she was awarded the City Scholarship and Travelling Scholarship. She went on to study at the Royal College of Art in London.[3]

Artwork

In 1906, she married Harold Stabler. From 1912, Stabler and her husband, had a kiln in Hammersmith, London, where they worked collaboratively as well as Stabler producing garden ornaments.[4] She created richly glazed pottery figures which were produced by both the Royal Worcester and Royal Doulton and Poole Pottery.[3] For Poole Pottery, she collaborated with her husband to design the ceramics for The Cenotaph in Durban. Stabler also designed works for Ashtead Potters, a pottery that employed ex-servicemen after the First World War.

Stabler created the World's Land-Speed Trophy that was awarded to Sir Henry Segrave.[5]

In 2018, The Light of Knowledge (1927) ceramic tile panel was put on display at the Rugby Art Gallery & Museum following a fundraising effort to have it restored.[6]

Selected exhibitions

Stabler's work was exhibited widely, including at the following institutes,

Works held in Collections

TitleYearMediumGallery no.GalleryLocation
Buster Boy1916stonewareC487Aberystwyth University Ceramics CollectionAberystwyth, Wales
Buster Boy1921–1923stonewareC488Aberystwyth University Ceramics CollectionAberystwyth, Wales
Buster Girl1922stonewareC487Aberystwyth University Ceramics CollectionAberystwyth, Wales
Lavender Womanca.1913stonewareC.13-1978Victoria and Albert MuseumLondon, England
Memory-Portland stoneL.F9.1927.0.0Leicester Arts and Museums ServiceLeicester, England
Pickaback (maquette)1908plasterAH02479/83Abbot Hall Art GalleryKendal, England
Sleep1922unknownC484Aberystwyth University Ceramics CollectionAberystwyth, Wales
Sleep1922stonewareC485Aberystwyth University Ceramics CollectionAberystwyth, Wales
The Bath Towel1916stonewareC482Aberystwyth University Ceramics CollectionAberystwyth, Wales
The Bath Towel1914stonewareC483Aberystwyth University Ceramics CollectionAberystwyth, Wales
The Bull1922–1923stonewareC507Aberystwyth University Ceramics CollectionAberystwyth, Wales
The Lavender Woman1915stonewareC480Aberystwyth University Ceramics CollectionAberystwyth, Wales
The Lavender Woman1925stonewareC481Aberystwyth University Ceramics CollectionAberystwyth, Wales
The Lavender Woman1922–1925stonewareC486Aberystwyth University Ceramics CollectionAberystwyth, Wales
The Light of Knowledge1927ceramic-Rugby Art Gallery and MuseumRugby, England
The Young Mother1927 or beforeconcreteL.F10.1927.0.0New Walk Museum & Art GalleryLeicester, England

References

  1. Book: Gray, Sara. British women artists : a biographical dictionary of 1,000 women artists in the British decorative arts. 8 February 2019. 978-1911121633. United Kingdom. 1085975377.
  2. Web site: Phoebe Gertrude Stabler ARBS – Mapping the Practice and Profession of Sculpture in Britain and Ireland 1851–1951. sculpture.gla.ac.uk. 2019-10-08.
  3. Book: David Buckman. Art Dictionaries Ltd. 2006. Artists in Britain Since 1945 Vol 2, M to Z . 0-953260-95-X.
  4. Web site: Artist/Maker: Phoebe Stabler – Aberystwyth University School of Art Museums and Galleries. sofa.tth3.co.uk. 2019-10-08.
  5. Web site: Camera Interviews – Mrs Phoebe Stabler. Pathé. British. www.britishpathe.com. en-GB. 2019-10-08.
  6. Web site: 91-year-old art deco panel restored and on display. Rugby Observer. en. 2019-10-08.

External links