Phoebe Anna Traquair

Phoebe Anna Traquair (1852-1936) was a unique figure in British culture. The first significant professional woman artist in Scotland, she was also a key figure in the Arts and Crafts movement. A free spirit, Traquair celebrated life through image, color and texture, taking her inspiration from Renaissance painting, the art and poetry of Blake and the music of Wagner. She produced a huge body of work, from vast, breath-taking mural decorations and sensual embroideries to exquisite illuminated manuscripts and enamels. Her work is on prominent display at the National Museums of Scotland, and featured in the collection of the National Galleries of Scotland, a position accorded to no other woman artist in the country. Her spectacularly intricate and beautiful murals can be found in various locations including, in Edinburgh, the Mansfield Traquair Centre, the Royal Hospital for Sick Children, the Song School of St Mary's Episcopal Cathedral, St Giles, and the National Library of Scotland. Here, Elizabeth Cumming expands on her previous National Galleries of Scotland publication on Traquair and adds new research to bring further light to the fascinating life of this innovative, single-minded artist and her works, which have captured the imagination of a nation.