Forgotten Woman of Wakefield

New this week, we have a wonderful evocation of Victorian Wakefield by the celebrated watercolourist Louisa Fennell (1847–1930). Fennell is known in particular for her Wakefield views, atmospherically capturing the city's historic buildings, many which have been lost to redevelopment. The eldest of twelve children, she lived at her family's wine merchant business in Wakefield's Westgate. In 1866 she studied under John Batty Tootal at the Wakefield School of Art, then went on to study at the prestigious Penzance School of Art in 1876. Fennell spent time painting in London and Rome, and would exhibit regularly at the Royal Society of British Artists in Suffolk Street and the Society of Women Artists. But after her mother's death in 1897, she returned home to Wakefield and re-focussed her attention on local views for the remainder of her life. Fennell's works are in the collection of The Hepworth Wakefield and she has recently featured in the Blue Plaque Parity project, 'Forgotten Women of Wakefield'.