Mary fedden
Mary Fedden (1915–2012) was a British painter whose lyrical still lifes and landscapes are instantly recognisable for their bold colour, simplified form and quiet expressiveness. Born in Bristol, she studied at the Slade School of Art under the Ballets Russes designer Vladimir Polunin. After an early period working in theatre and set design, she returned to painting, developing a visual language that was both modern and deeply personal — influenced by Matisse, Winifred Nicholson and Henri Hayden, yet entirely her own.During the Second World War, Fedden served with the Land Army and later as a NAAFI driver overseas. After 1945, she held her first solo exhibition in 1947, beginning a long career of showing work throughout Britain. In 1949, she moved into Durham Wharf — the Thames-side studios she would share with her husband, the painter Julian Trevelyan, whom she married in 1951.
Together, they created murals for the Festival of Britain, public commissions for ocean liners and hospitals, and painted prolifically while travelling. Fedden’s work balances structure and spontaneity, domestic intimacy and poetic imagination, often returning to familiar motifs of tables, flowers and windows opening onto landscape.
In 1958, she became the first female tutor in the Painting School at the Royal College of Art, where her quiet authority and generosity influenced artists including David Hockney and Patrick Caulfield. Elected to the Royal Academy in 1992 and awarded an OBE, she remained deeply connected to Bristol and the Thames — the two places that shaped her vision — until her death in 2012.
WORKS
Mary Fedden was a British artist known for her vibrant still lifes and landscape paintings. Her distinctive modernist style combined bold colours, simplified forms, and strong compositions to create evocative yet accessible works. Her paintings often depict domestic objects, flowers, and coastal scenes, rendered with a balance of abstraction and detail.
Fedden studied at the Slade School of Fine Art and later became the first female tutor in the Painting School at the Royal College of Art, where she influenced a new generation of British artists. She was married to the artist Julian Trevelyan, and their home and studio on the Thames at Chiswick played a central role in her artistic life. Her work remains widely collected and celebrated for its charm, clarity, and enduring appeal.
This painting, created in 1981, features a characteristic still-life arrangement of flowers, a vase, and lemons, accompanied by a cat. Fedden’s ability to balance everyday objects with playful yet refined composition is evident, as is her distinctive use of colour and form. The subject matter reflects her ongoing interest in domestic scenes, imbuing them with warmth and a sense of quiet contemplation.
Origin: British
Period/Style: 20th Century / Modern British Art
Date: 1981
Dimensions: 54cm height x 44cm width
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An oil on board still life depicting a vessel of pansies arranged against a simplified tonal ground. The composition is constructed through flattened forms and areas of colour, characteristic of Fedden’s approach to still life painting.
Mary Fedden (1915–2012) was a British painter known for her still lifes and landscapes, distinguished by simplified composition, clear line and a confident use of colour. Her work often balanced observation with decorative form, producing compositions of clarity and formal restraint.
Origin: British
Period/Style: Modern British
Date: 1959
Material: Oil on board
Dimensions: 23.9cm height × 26cm width (unframed)
Provenance:
The present owner
A local private collection
Sold at Christie’s, Twentieth Century British Art, 3 December 2003, Lot 719
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