EXTRACTS: Illustrators issue 21 © 2017 The Book Palace (96 PAGES in Full edition)

92 All photographs by kind permission of David Messum Fine Art Ltd as steady as ever, although the days of the monumental oil canvases were now over, being now physically too demanding for her. She was exhibiting almost every year to the Royal Institution of Painters in Watercolours and also at the Pastel Society and remained an active President of the Society of Animal Painters. Her sister, Edith, however, was stricken with cancer and needed constant nursing. In 1941, Edith, who had always been Lucy’s faithful companion and confidante, died. In 1949 at the age of eighty, Lucy exhibited her last painting at the Royal Academy. She was now something of a recluse, living on her own in her house, ‘Kingsley’, in Bushey. This truly adventurous and resourceful woman died on November 28th 1958. Lucy wrote that she was often asked: “Why do you not paint the horse in its utmost perfection−the thoroughbred horse?” In her answer, she pointed out that the “Natural Type” is more interesting as it is “fashioned by nature and not by man–full of faults, variable, beautiful, and lovable beyond words”. l ● We are deeply indebted to David Messum Fine Art for their assistance in the preparation of this feature. More of Lucy Kemp-Welch’s art can be seen on their web site at: www.messums.com ABOVE TOP: The Approaching Storm. ABOVE: Turning at the Cliff Top. Lucy Kemp-Welch’s art provides a window into a by-gone era, where horses were a part of everyday life. Her love of her subject matter informs all her paintings.