Margaret Mellis (1914-2009)
Margaret Mellis 1914-2009
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Artist Information
Margaret Mellis was born in China to Scottish parents and moved to Britain when she was one year old. She studied at Edinburgh College of Art under S. J. Peploe, winning a scholarship to study in Paris in 1933.
From 1935-7 she held a fellowship at Edinburgh College of Art and then studied at Euston Road School.
In 1938 she met the critic and painter Adrian Stokes, whom she married. In 1939 they moved to Cornwall, both becoming central figures in the St Ives group of artists. She was influenced by Ben Nicholson and Naum Gabo and adopted a Constructivist Style, making reliefs, returning to painting after the war.
Margaret Mellis later married the artist Francis Davison and they spent time in France in the later 1940s. In 1950 she moved to Suffolk where found objects and driftwood were employed in her work.
She was exhibited widely in group shows and had many solo exhibitions, including AIA Gallery, Bear Lane Gallery in Oxford, Redfern Gallery and a retrospective at City Art Centre, 1997. Later exhibitions included Austin/Desmond Fine Art, 2001 and 2005.
The Victoria and Albert Museum, Tate Gallery and other public galleries hold examples of her work.