Kaff Gerrard facts for kids

Kaff Gerrard (born Katherine Leigh-Pemberton, 1894-1970) was a talented British artist. She created many paintings and pottery pieces. Even though she made a lot of art, she didn't show it often during her lifetime. People only truly recognized her work after she passed away.

A special art show in 1991 helped many museums in Britain buy her paintings and pottery. This made her work famous and allowed more people to see it.

Her Life as an Artist

Kaff Gerrard went to the famous Slade School of Art from 1922 to 1924. She was a very good student and won many awards there. In 1922, she won first prize for painting from a cast. She also won a prize for painting real-life subjects. In 1923, she earned another first prize for painting portraits.

While at the Slade School, she met Alfred Gerrard. He later became the head of the sculpture department at the same college. Kaff and Alfred married in 1933. They lived in an old farmhouse in Kent, a county in England.

Art and Life in the Countryside

While her husband taught and created public sculptures, Kaff Gerrard continued her own art. She painted, made pottery, and even worked on sculptures. She also spent time creating a beautiful garden at their home.

Kaff loved painting the countryside. She often painted scenes from the South Downs almost every day. These are rolling hills in southern England.

Art During Wartime

During World War II, Kaff Gerrard painted many rural scenes. Some of these showed crashed planes and damage from bombs. The War Artists' Advisory Committee even bought one of her paintings. This committee collected art that showed life during the war.

Gerrard also created more abstract artworks. These paintings often had deep symbolic meanings. Sometimes, they included Christian ideas.

Exhibitions and Recognition

During her life, Kaff Gerrard had only one public art show. It was a joint exhibition with her future husband, Alfred, in 1931. This show at the Colnaghi gallery featured her pottery and sculptures.

After her death, a big exhibition of her work happened in 1991. This show was at the Royal Museum & Art Gallery in Canterbury. This event helped people look at her art with fresh eyes. Many important British museums and galleries then bought her artworks. These included the Tate, the Imperial War Museum, and the Fitzwilliam Museum in Cambridge.