Eleanor Hughes RI Tree Study

Eleanor Hughes RI (1882–1959)

Eleanor Hughes née Waymouth (1882–1959) was born in Christchurch, New Zealand but her parents, Frederick and Alice, were both of West Country origin. Her father was managing director of the Canterbury Frozen Meat Co., and was responsible for provisioning the Antarctic Expeditions. The family home was a grand Arts and Crafts house in Fendalton that was later renamed Mona Vale, where the officers of the Discovery were regular guests. Artistic talent was encouraged in the family, and Eleanor's sister, Beatrice or 'Biddy', also became an artist. In 1900 Eleanor was awarded a medal by the Canterbury Fine Art Society for her drawings of trees.

In 1901 Eleanor was studying under the English artist C.N. Worsley RBA, who had recently moved to New Zealand. It was around this time that she first visited England, where for a short period she attended the Forbes School of Painting (also known as Newlyn School of Painting). In 1907 she returned to Newlyn and renewed her studies under Stanhope and Elizabeth Forbes.

At Forbes's school she met fellow artist Robert Morson Hughes (1873–1953) and the couple married in 1910. They designed and built their home, Chyangweal, near St Buryan, close to Lamorna, where they were to live for the rest of their lives. The house, which shared a driveway with 'Rosemerrin', the home of the artist Benjamin Eastlake Leader, became a regular social centre for the artists settled in the area, including Eleanor's close friends Dame Laura Knight and Lamorna Birch. Eleanor also owned a studio in the Lamorna Valley a mile from the couple’s home.

Hughes had a particular interest in trees and she frequently painted the woods in Lamorna valley and the surrounding landscape. Her combination of delicate pencil line and watercolour wash has been compared to that of Rennie Mackintosh. She also developed a strong reputation for her etchings.

In 1911 she began to exhibit at the Royal Academy and later at the Royal Institute of Painters in Watercolours, to which she was elected a full member in 1933. She also exhibited at the New English Art Club, Glasgow Institute and Walker Gallery, as well as being an active organiser of the Newlyn and St Ives exhibitions. She died at Lamorna in 1959.

Eleanor Hughes's works can be found in the collection of Penlee House Gallery & Museum, Penzance and Christchurch Art Gallery, New Zealand.