Bertha Newcombe 1857 – 1947
Artist, illustrator and suffragist.
17 February 1857 – 11 June 1947
Education
1876 Began studying at the Slade School of Art aged 19.
13 March 1895 returned to the Slade with writer Alice Stronach to sketch a life class to illustrate an article ‘The Slade School Revisited’ for Sketch magazine.
Some Achievements & Interests
Exhibited at the Royal Academy (RA), Fine Art Society, Royal Institute of Oil Painters (ROI), Royal Institute of Painters in Watercolours (RI) and the Society of Women Artists (SWA), the Society of Lady Artists, the New English Art Club (NEAC).
1888 became a member of the New English Art Club.
Illustrated magazines and novels.
1890s Became active in the Fabian Society and made portraits of some prominent socialists.
Was active in the London Society for Women’s Suffrage – a branch of the National Union of Women’s Suffrage Societies (NUWSS), The Society of Women Artists, The Society of Lady Artists and the Artists Suffrage League.
1909 Joined the NUWSS’s executive committee.
Was committed to fund-raising, providing financial support and propagating the NUWSS’s message through the sale of its newspaper, Common Cause. Played a role on organising committees.
Dedicated herself to her letter-writing campaign to influential men within London’s cultural elite. In 1909, published a letter in The Times publicizing the petition that the NUWSS was organising for men to support the Votes for Women campaign.
Donated money to the Women’s Pioneer Housing Association, a not-for-profit organisation that aimed to help single women find secure, affordable housing in the 1920s.
1934 Supported the Shoreditch Housing Association to provide good housing for the needy.
Connection to Bloomsbury
The Slade.
1883 Used a studio at 55a Bedford Gardens in 1883 (Graves, Algernon (1989). The Royal Academy of the Arts: A Complete Dictionary of Contributors and Their Work from its Foundation in 1769 to 1904, Vol. 3. Calne: Hilmarton Manor Press)
Female networks
Included women at the Slade, campaigners for women’s rights, Fabians including friend Christiana Herringham, Alice Stronach, Beatrice Webb.
Further reading