Freda Skinner

Freda Nellie Skinner (31 January 1911 – 19 July 1993) was a British sculptor and woodcarver who was head of sculpture at Wimbledon School of Art from 1945 to 1971.

Skinner was born in Warlingham, Surrey, where her father, Norman, had a farm; she showed an early interest in art at age 11 with a pair of paintings of a prized Champion Devon Red bull and a cow.[1] She studied under Henry Moore and Alan Durst at The Royal College of Art, her course fees being met, in part, by neighbours including Ethel and Sybil Pye.[2] She then went on to teach toy making and sculpture at Kingston School of Art,[3] and was head of sculpture at Wimbledon School of Art 1945 to 1971.

She was a Fellow of the Royal Society of British Sculptors and a member of the Society of Portrait Sculptors.[2]

Her 1972 sculpture Virgin and Child is in the Lady Chapel of St Elphege's Church, Wallington, south London.[2] She also carved the foundation stone for the Barbican Art Centre in central London, in 1972.[2] She exhibited at the Royal Academy Summer Exhibition six times,[4] and also at the Architects Association, Holland Park Orangery, Mall Galleries, The London Group, Suffolk Galleries, Bruton Street Gallery and Wykeham Galleries.

In 1993 there was a retrospective exhibition of her work at the Bruton Street Gallery in central London. Two of her jigsaw works for Abbatt Toys are held in the V&A.[5][6][7]

In 1944 she was recorded living at The Ivy House, French Street, Sunbury-on-Thames, then at 35 and later 79 Deodar Road, Putney, from the late 1940s to about 1981. She moved to Amesbury in Wiltshire in 1981 and died in West Amesbury, Wiltshire on 19 July 1993.[2]

  • Madonna and Child
    Madonna and Child
  • Stations of the Cross XII, St John the Divine
    Stations of the Cross XII, St John the Divine
  • The Spirit of Youth
    The Spirit of Youth
  • War memorial, Battersea
    War memorial, Battersea

Works exhibited at the Royal Academy
YearTitleType [8]
1938HorseBronze statue
1944A Berthel, Esq.Head, terra-cotta
1951JanaBust, terra-cotta
1952MariannaHead, Bronze
1960Mrs HoffmanHead, ciment fondu
1963Child with an appleHalf-figure, concrete
1967HorseBronze
1989HarlequinBronze (edition of 10)

Selected works
ImageTypeLocationDateNote
Madonna and ChildSt Thomas More Church, Dulwich1933[9][10]
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Battersea, War Memorial.
 War MemorialSt Mary's Church, Battersea1949[11][12]
Rood CrossSt Francis of Assisi Church, Isleworth1957[13]
Wikimedia Commons has media related to St John the Divine, Stations of the Cross.
Stations of the CrossSt John the Divine, Richmond1955–1970
The Risen Christ in GlorySt Paul's Church, Lorrimore Square1960[14][15]
The Spirit of YouthRoundwood Park, Willesden

Originally installed in 1966 outside the new indoor pool at Willesden Lido.

 1966[16][17]
Virgin and ChildSt Elphege's Church, Wallington, London1972
Foundation StoneBarbican Arts Centre1972
Plaque and Coat of ArmsBarbican Arts Centre foyer1982
Cromwell DebatesSt Mary's Church, Putney1982

Bibliography
  • Woodcarving (1961) New York: Sterling Pub. Co ISBN 1163825581

References
  1. Bromell, Hugo (1 December 2020). "Prized Pair Come to Charterhouse". Charterhouse Auctioneers.
  2. Mitchell, Sheila (30 July 1993). "Obituary: Freda Skinner". The Independent. Retrieved 16 December 2018.
  3. Mulholland, Richard (2 August 2012). "Conserving the British Toy Making Archive". British Toy Making.
  4. "Miss Freda N. Skinner – Mapping the Practice and Profession of Sculpture in Britain and Ireland 1851–1951". sculpture.gla.ac.uk. Retrieved 16 December 2018.
  5. "Dalmation". V and A Collections. 16 December 2018. Retrieved 16 December 2018.
  6. "Mariners". V and A Collections. 16 December 2018. Retrieved 16 December 2018.
  7. "Paul and Marjorie Abbatt Ltd". V&A Museum of Childhood.
  8. "Exhibition catalogues (8)". Royal Academy.
  9. Evinson, Denis (1998). Catholic Churches of London. A&C Black. p. 209.
  10. "Dulwich – St Thomas More". Taking Stock: Catholic Churches of England & Wales.
  11. "The Memorial". Times [London, England]. 12 December 1949. p. 10 – via The Times Digital Archive.
  12. "St Marys Church WW1 And WW2". Imperial War Museum. 20 February 2015.
  13. "St Francis Of Assisi: History". St Francis of Assisi Church, Isleworth.
  14. Cherry, Bridget; Pevsner, Nikolaus (1983). London 2: South. Yale University Press. p. 577.
  15. "Twentieth Century Society: Building of the Month October 2010". c20society.org.uk. Retrieved 12 July 2020.
  16. "The Spirit of Youth by Freda Skinner". The Willesden Herald. 13 May 2012.
  17. Green Jessel, Anne (19 April 2000). "Willesden – King Edwards Pool VII – 1911+ Indoor pool 1966". Finding Lidos – Dive into Lost Lidos.
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