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CHURCHYARD, Harriett

1836 - 1927

Harriett Churchyard

Harriet Churchyard was born at Melton, near Woodbridge, Suffolk and baptised at St Mary’s Church, Woodbridge on 12 April 1836, one of the several artist children of Thomas Churchyard and his wife Harriet née Hailes (1797-1865), daughter of Lieut George Hailes R.N., of Henley, near Ipswich. Harriett attended Art School and later taught art from her home and from the Quaker School in Woodbridge. Mainly working in water-colours, she produced genre pictures, children and animals in rural settings and was very talented at humorous caricatures and cartoons, able to capture a likeness in her portraits. As Miss Churchyard she exhibited at the Ipswich Fine Art and Industrial Exhibition in 1868 her work receiving a Certificate of Merit. A member of the Ipswich Fine Art Club 1884-1886 but in 1881 had exhibited from Seckford Street, Woodbridge ‘Village Children’, in 1883 three watercolours 'Knuckledown', 'Lost' and 'Castles in the Air', in 1885 ‘A Rustic Figure', in 1886 ‘Fishing’ and in 1890 ‘First Lessons’. Harriett was also a regular exhibitor at the Woodbridge Art Exhibition showing a watercolour in 1880, 'Little Gleaner', two in 1883 'Homeward Bound' and 'Children at Play' and three in 1887, 'Joe', 'Portrait' and 'Fishing' and a crayon drawing of a girl's head. In 1889 the Misses Churchyard exhibited at the Woodbridge Art Exhibition at the Assembly Room at the Bull Hotel, Woodbridge both in oil and in watercolours. In 1891 the four Churchyard sisters were living at Seckford Library, Woodbridge where Laura was the librarian. Harried Churchyard died at 3 Seckford Street, Woodbridge on 16 January 1927, aged 90, she was unmarried, and her executor was her younger brother Charles Churchyard who then arranged for the auction at Woodbridge of the remaining pictures by their father Thomas, which had remained in the family. Her watercolour 'Bedtime' was shown at the Ipswich Art Club Centenary in 1974. Harried painted watercolours of her sisters Kate Churchyard, Ellen Churchyard and Laura Churchyard.



Works by This Artist