Louise Wright biography

Louise Wright (5 September 1863 -; Leeds, Yorkshire, England)

Louise Wright was a leading British fashion artist in the early 20th Century. Four of her six siblings were also professional artists. They were all born in Leeds, and almost all of them later moved to London.

Wright, like the rest of her family, had no formal training in art, and their abilities developed entirely on their professional needs. As a child, Wright spent most of her playtime designing dresses for her dolls. In 1891 the family was living at 6 Chestnut Ave, Headingley, in Leeds. However, there was little future there for the fashion illustrators in the family and the family moved to London. In 1901 the Family were living at 33 St. German's Road, Forest Hill, London. By 1911, Wright was living at Kirklees, 99 Honor Oak Park, with her parents, and her siblings Constance and Gilbert Scott.

Wright's first fashion work offered for sale was a series of watercolour designs for display in the windows of women's dress shops. This gained her an appointment as a designer for a costumier and soon after was offered commissions by Alfred Vivian Mansell & Co. for whom she produced her first fashion catalogue. Soon she was so busy that her brother Gilbert Scott Wright had to come to her assistance, and soon the whole family was engaged in fashion drawing.

Wright spent a year as the chief staff artist for Queen for a year.[

Louise Wright was chosen by art instructor Percy V. Bradshaw as one of the artists to illustrate "The Art of the Illustrator", the seminal collection of twenty portfolios demonstrating six stages of a single painting or drawing by twenty different artists and published in 1918.

Bradshaw said that Louise and her siblings Wrights started the vogue for the beautifully illustrated Fashion Catalogues which have been issued by drapers, costumiers, tailors, etc., in recent years. and that this work kept the family perpetually busy. He further said that Wright had been responsible for a great deal of the best Fashion work which has been produced in this country and that her work was known and appreciated by users of Fashion drawing everywhere.
Source: Illustration Art Gallery; Wikipedia

See our original copies of The Art of the Illustrator published by Percy V Bradshaw in 1918.

See LOUISE WRIGHT ART ('page not found' if no art currently listed).