Daphne Reynolds facts for kids

Daphne Reynolds (born Dent; 12 January 1918 – 12 December 2002) was a talented English artist. She was known for her paintings and later for her special printmaking technique called mezzotint. Daphne started painting full-time in 1950. She first used watercolours and then oil. One of her paintings was even chosen by Harold Wilson, who was the Prime Minister. He hung it in his office at 10 Downing Street.

Daphne Reynolds became famous for her artworks showing the dry landscapes of Arizona and New Mexico. Later in her life, she changed her focus to mezzotint printmaking. She was also a leader in the art world. From 1964 to 1967, she was the head of the Women's International Art Club. She was also a member of the Printmakers Council. After she passed away, her husband, Graham Reynolds, wrote a book about her life for their friends.

Daphne Reynolds' Early Life

Daphne Reynolds was born in Huddersfield, England, on 12 January 1918. Her father, Thomas Dent, was a photographer. Her mother was Florence Nightingale Haskett. Daphne first went to Wentworth School in Huddersfield.

She then studied art at the Huddersfield College of Art from 1934 to 1937. During this time, her father's photography business faced problems because of the Great Depression. So, Daphne joined the Professional Photographers' Association. When World War II started, she joined a local ARP unit. In 1941, she moved to London. There, she worked as a teleprinter operator for the Civil Defence Service.

Daphne Reynolds' Art Career

Becoming a Full-Time Painter

Daphne began her career as a full-time painter around 1950. Her art was shown in exhibitions in London and Paris. Her first artworks were watercolours. They often looked like the romantic landscapes popular in the 1940s. Daphne's early paintings featured landscapes, animals, and plants. These subjects stayed important in her art throughout her life.

From 1957, Daphne started trying out abstract art. This was when American Abstract Expressionism became very popular. She also created large oil paintings. One famous oil painting was called The Watcher. Harold Wilson, the Prime Minister, chose this painting for his study at 10 Downing Street. In 1964, Daphne started visiting Suffolk often. In 1966, she asked the famous artist Georgia O'Keeffe to join an exhibition in London. This exhibition was supported by the Women's International Art Club.

Exploring New Landscapes and Printmaking

In 1968, Daphne was on a trip in Connecticut and decided to explore the United States. She rented a car and traveled across the country. She fell in love with the desert scenery. She made many sketches in Arizona and New Mexico. These sketches became a series of small pictures using Indian ink and gouache. They showed her feelings about the dry landscapes and sunsets of South America.

In 1973, Daphne traveled even more. She visited Australia, Iran, New Zealand, and Thailand, making more sketches. Around this time, in her middle age, she started a new path in art: printmaking. She studied under Anthony Gross at the Slade School of Fine Art. Daphne really admired Gross's engravings and paintings. She also found inspiration from other artists like John Atkinson Grimshaw, Caspar David Friedrich, J. M. W. Turner, and Bill Brandt's black-and-white photos. She also liked Hamaguchi's large mezzotints.

Mastering Mezzotint and Exhibitions

Anthony Gross encouraged Daphne to try mezzotint. This is a special way of making prints. In 1974, her work was shown in The Mezzotint Rediscovered exhibition. She also wrote articles about mezzotint. Daphne often used everyday objects in her printmaking, like kettles, irons, and tin openers.

In 1982, Daphne's work was part of the 80 Prints by Modern Masters exhibition. The next year, she helped with a publication called A Tribute to Birgit Skiöld. Daphne won the Barcham Green Award in 1985–86 from the Royal Society of Painter-Etchers and Engravers. She traveled to Japan in the 1980s. This trip made her even more interested in mezzotint. She started including images of Mount Fuji and Shinto shrines in her small black-and-white prints.

Daphne often showed her art in the Small is Beautiful series of galleries at Flowers East Gallery. Her work was also in the 1991 exhibition A Survey of Influential East Anglian Artists in Essex. She continued to exhibit there. Daphne was the head of the Women's International Art Club from 1964 to 1967. She was also the first head of the Gainsborough's House Print Workshop in Sudbury, Suffolk, from 1978 to 1979. She was also a member of the Printmakers Council.

Daphne Reynolds' Personal Life

Daphne Reynolds married Graham Reynolds, an art historian, on 6 February 1943. They were married until her death. Daphne passed away from heart failure at their home in Bradfield St George, Suffolk, on 12 December 2002. They did not have any children.

Daphne Reynolds' Legacy

Michael Kauffman described Daphne Reynolds as a "Yorkshire woman of great human warmth." He said her cheerful and direct personality was always present. Her artworks are kept in many important galleries around the world. These include the Arts Council England, the British Museum, the Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki, the National Gallery of Victoria, and the Victoria and Albert Museum. In 2007, her husband wrote a book about her called Daphne Reynolds: A Memoir. He shared copies of this book with their close friends.