Lady Eveline Marie Alexander

Lady Eveline Marie Alexander (16 April 1821 – 1906) was a British/Canadian self-taught artist.

Painting of a Man In the Snow by Lady Eveline Marie Alexander
Lady Eveline Marie Alexander
Born
Eveline Marie Michell

(1821-04-16)16 April 1821
Nantes, France
Died1906 (aged 84–85)
Isle of Wight, Hampshire, England
NationalityBritish/Canadian
Known forPainting
Spouse
Sir James Edward Alexander
​
​
(m. 1837)​

Biography

Alexander née Michell was born on 16 April 1821[1] in Nantes, France.[2] Her father was Colonel Charles Collier Michell,[3] who was born on 29 March 1793 in Exeter, Devon. Her mother was Anne D'Arragon, who was born in Spain in 1799. She was promptly born after her parents got married on 17 September 1814. Her father, was a member of the Royal Artillery.[4]

While there is little known about Lady Eveline Marie Alexander, she is now well known for being an amateur painter whose primary skills were in oil and watercolor. The exact way she learned how to paint is still unknown. She had no official training, it is believed she learned from her father, who was a military drawing master at Royal Military College.[5]

In 1837, she married Sir James Edward Alexander and the couple had five children.[6]

She accompanied her military husband on a Canadian tour of duty from 1841 to 1849, when she settled in London, Ontario. In 1843 she painted a scene of a military steeple chase, which was turned into a popular lithograph.[7]

Alexander died on the Isle of Wight in 1906.[6]

Artwork
Grand Military Steeple Chase by Lady Eveline Marie Alexander

Lady Eveline was also known for her sleighing scenes in art. She was associated with this name due to the winter sleighing scene which was completed in watercolor and is theorized to have been given to the Bells as a keepsake of the "Sleigh Society." She had a tendency to often paint or draw winter scenes. An example of this is one of her drawings of an indigenous man trudging through a snowstorm.[8]

In 1841 through 1849, Lady Eveline joined Sir James Edward Alexander while he was being stationed in London, Ontario during his Canadian tour. During this time her husband was in the 14th Regiment of Foot and aide-de-camp to Sir Benjamin D'Urban and Sir William Rowan. While stationed during the Canadian tour, she created a sketch depicting her surroundings which was of the military steeplechase and was lithographed. This came to be one of her most known works, the first military steeplechase to occur North America in May 1843. It was titled Grand Military Steeple Chase,[9] and is considered to be a rare print. During her time it was a popular collector's item in England.

Her prints can now be found in museums mainly in Canada, where she drew her most famous artwork.

References
  1. "Lady Eveline Marie Mitchell". Devon Mitchells. Retrieved 22 March 2019.
  2. "Lady Eveline Marie Alexander". AskArt. Retrieved 17 March 2019.
  3. en:Charles_Collier_Michell, oldid 882354993
  4. en:Royal_Artillery, oldid 875006645
  5. "Ontario". TAG Historical Prints. Retrieved 2019-03-21.
  6. "Alexander, Lady Eveline Marie". Artist Database. Canadian Women Artists History Initiative. Retrieved 17 March 2019.
  7. Perreault, Kelsey. "Alexander, Eveline Marie". A Driving Force: Women of the London, Ontario, Visual Arts Community 1867-2017. Retrieved 17 March 2019.
  8. Masters, Vancouver (2015-01-09). "Masters Gallery Vancouver: VICTORIAN CHARM AND COLONIAL RIGOR: SCHREIBER, HOPKINS AND EARLY FEMALE CANADIAN ARTISTS". Masters Gallery Vancouver. Retrieved 2019-03-21.
  9. "Alexander, Eveline Marie". A Driving Force. Retrieved 2019-03-21.
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