Helen Kapp

Helen Babette Kapp (17 December 1901 – 13 October 1978) was a British artist.[1] Originally a painter and illustrator, Kapp became a curator and gallery director of some influence.

Helen Babette Kapp
Born17 December 1901
Hampstead, London, England
Died13 October 1978(1978-10-13) (aged 76)
Leiston, Suffolk, England
Alma mater
Known forPainter, illustrator, curator.

Biography

Kapp was born in Hampstead in London into an artistic, émigré family, with a German father and an American mother, while her elder brother was the artist Edmond Xavier Kapp.[1][2] She studied at the Slade School of Fine Art and then the Central School of Art and Design in London before completing her studies in Paris.[3][4][5]

Working as a painter in both oils and watercolours and as an illustrator and wood engraver, Kapp exhibited at the Royal Academy in London, with the London Group, the Artists' International Association and both the Society of Wood Engravers and the Society of Women Artists.[3][6] Her first solo exhibition was at Nicholson's Gallery in London in 1946 and she also took part in a British Council exhibition in Haifa in Israel.[6] Kapp provided illustrations for several books for a variety of publishers and also wrote the 1975 volume Enjoying Pictures.[7][2][4]

In 1951 Kapp was appointed the director of the Wakefield Art Gallery, now the Hepworth Wakefield, and held that post until 1961 when she became the first director of the Abbot Hall Art Gallery in Kendal.[6] In running the Wakefield and building the Abbot Hall collection, Kapp became among the first curators to recognise and acquire works by contemporary artists such as Joan Eardley, Anne Redpath, Sheila Fell and Alan Davie among others.[6][8] She retired in 1967 to live in Leiston in Suffolk.[7] Kapp curated the exhibition Yorkshire Art 1900–1973 in Harrogate in 1973.[5]

Books illustrated
  • Seed of Israel: Tales from the English Bible, 1927, edited by Gerald Bullett, published by Howe,
  • The Scandel and Credulities of John Aubrey, 1931, by John Collier, published by Peter Davies,
  • Take Forty Eggs, 1938, by Basil Collier & Helen Kapp, published by Gollancz,
  • Fables and Satires, 1945, by Harold Morland, published by Routledge,
  • Toying with a Fancy, 1948, by James Laver, published by Hale.[2][4]

References
  1. "Kapp, Helen Babette". Suffolk Artists. Retrieved 26 February 2020.
  2. 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.
  3. Grant M. Waters (1975). Dictionary of British Artists Working 1900–1950. Eastbourne Fine Art.
  4. Alan Horne (1994). The Dictionary of 20th Century British Book Illustrators. Antique Collectors' Club. ISBN 1-85149-1082.
  5. Harry Turnbull (1976). Artists of Yorkshire A Short Dictionary. Thornton Gallery.
  6. David Buckman (2006). Artists in Britain Since 1945 Vol 1, A to L. Art Dictionaries Ltd. ISBN 0-953260-95-X.
  7. "Helen Kapp (Biographical details)". The British Museum. Retrieved 26 February 2020.
  8. Vanessa Thorpe (12 October 2019). "How an ambitious young David Hockney tried to kick-start his career". The Observer. Retrieved 26 February 2020.
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