Alice Margaret Coats

Alice Margaret Coats (15 June 1905 – 19 May 1978, in Bath)[1] was a British watercolor painter, engraver, woodcut artist, and author. She was a member of the Central Club of Wood-Engravers in Colour.[2] She is best known for botanical and horticultural works.[3]

Alice Margaret Coats
Born15 June 1905
Handsworth, Birmingham, England
Died19 May 1978(1978-05-19) (aged 72)
Bath, Somerset, England
Education
Known forPainting, book illustration

Life

Alice Margaret Coats was born on 15 June 1905 in Handsworth, Birmingham to a Scottish clergyman, the Rev. Robert Hay Coats, and his wife Margaret, who was from Glasgow.[4][5] Coats was educated at Edgbaston High School before studying at the Birmingham Central School of Art between 1922 and 1928, at the Slade School of Fine Art in London and in Paris during the 1930s at Andre Lhote's school.[6][1][5] Coats produced book illustrations, flower paintings on silk, colour woodcuts, and landscape paintings in both oil and watercolours.[5]

Between 1933 and 1939 Coats was an organizing secretary of the ‘Birmingham Group’ of artists and during World War II from 1940 to 1945 served in the Land Army helping to cultivate land on which Birmingham University housing was later built.[4]

In the 1950s, her artistic career was cut short by arthritis and since then she concentrated on her writings and the study of horticultural history.[3] Coats wrote a series of scholarly articles and books on horticultural history and biography that were recognized by the Royal Horticultural Society and the University of Birmingham.[4]

In 1965, Coats joined the newly founded Garden History Society and contributed articles to Garden History.[4]

Her first book Flowers and their History was published in 1956.[7] Among her other works were Garden Shrubs and their Histories (1963), The Quest for Plants: a History of the Horticultural Explorers (1969), The Treasury of Flowers (1975), and Lord Bute (1975).[4] Her book The Book of Flowers (1973) included woodcuts, engravings and watercolors.[3]

Exhibitions
  • 1961 Kenya, Nairobi, Sorsbie Gallery
  • 1961 India, Mumbai, Jehangir Nicholson Gallery
  • 1960 Cyprus, Nicosia, British Council Office - Nicosia
  • 1960 Pakistan, Lahore, Alhamra Art Gallery
  • 1957 Spain, Gijon, Salon De Exposiciones Del Real Instituto Jovellanos
  • 1957 Spain, Oviedo, Galeria De Exposiciones De La Obra Social Y Sultural
  • 1957 Spain, Madrid, Ateneo De Madrid
  • 1957 Spain, Salon De Exposiciones De La Sociedad De Amigos Del Arte
  • 1957 Portugal, Lisbon, Palacio Foz
  • 1957 Portugal, Porto, Escola Superior De Belas Artes Do Porto
  • 1954 Ceylon, Colombo, Ceylon Art Gallery
  • 1954 Switzerland, Fribourg, Musee d'art et d'histoire
  • 1952 Germany, Berlin, Kunst Templehof
  • 1950 Canada, Québec, Montreal Museum Of Fine Arts
  • 1949 Austria, Alpbach, Summer School
  • 1943 London, Ognisko Polskie (Polish Hearth) Belgrave Square
  • 1943 London, Belgian Institute, Belgrave Square
  • 1943 London, Czechoslovak Institute, Grosvenor Place
  • 1943 London, Greek House, Grovesnor Square[7]

Collections

Publications
  • Flowers and their Histories (1956; 2nd ed., 1968)[11][6]
  • Garden Shrubs and their Histories (1963)[12]
  • The Quest for Plants: a History of the Horticultural Explorers (1969)[13][6]
  • The Plant Hunters (1970)[14]
  • The Books of Flowers (1973)[15][6]
  • The Treasury of Flowers (1975)[16]
  • Lord Bute (1975)[17]

References
  1. Desmond, Ray (25 February 1994). Dictionary Of British And Irish Botanists And Horticulturists Including plant collectors, flower painters and garden designers. CRC Press. p. 155. ISBN 978-0-85066-843-8.
  2. Dolman, Bernard (1929). Who's who in Art. Art Trade Press. p. 89.
  3. "ALICE M. COATS. Large 1950s Watercolour of a Tuscan Landscape. Signed with initials and dated 1950". Iconic Vintage & Design, Edinburgh. Retrieved 13 March 2020.
  4. Stearn, William T.; Hadfield, Miles (1978). "Obituary: Miss Alice Margaret Coats (1905-78)". Garden History. 6 (3): 4–6. ISSN 0307-1243. JSTOR 1586637.
  5. Sara Gray (2019). British Women Artists. A Biographical Dictionary of 1000 Women Artists in the British Decorative Arts. Dark River. ISBN 978-1-911121-63-3.
  6. David Buckman (2006). Artists in Britain Since 1945 Vol 1, A to L. Art Dictionaries Ltd. ISBN 0-953260-95-X.
  7. "Alice Margaret Coats | Artists | Collection | British Council − Visual Arts". visualarts.britishcouncil.org. Retrieved 13 March 2020.
  8. "Loading... | Collections Online - Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa". collections.tepapa.govt.nz. Retrieved 13 March 2020.
  9. "AUTH10154 Archives". Government Art Collection. Retrieved 13 March 2020.
  10. "Coats, Alice Margaret (1905-1978)". apr.org.uk. Retrieved 13 March 2020.
  11. Coats, Alice Margaret (1971). Flowers and their histories. New York: McGraw-Hill. OCLC 935037413.
  12. Coats, Alice Margaret (1963). Garden shrubs and their histories. [With facsimiles. London. OCLC 877495704.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  13. Coats, Alice Margaret (1969). The quest for plants. OCLC 640028878.
  14. Coats, Alice Margaret (1970). The plant hunters. New York: McGraw-Hill. OCLC 251968400.
  15. Coats, Alice Margaret (1974). The Book of flowers. Phaidon. ISBN 978-0-7148-1629-6. OCLC 705484415.
  16. COATS, ALICE MARGARET (1905-1978) (1975). THE TREASURY OF FLOWERS. London: Phaidon Press in association with The Royal Horticultural Society. OCLC 1121285526.
  17. Coats, Alice Margaret (1975). Lord Bute: an illustrated life of John Stuart, third Earl of Bute, 1713-1792. Aylesbury: Shire Publications. ISBN 978-0-85263-272-7. OCLC 876859435.
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