Mildred Eldridge facts for kids

Mildred Elsie Eldridge, also known as Elsi Eldridge, was a British artist. She was born on August 1, 1909, and passed away on March 10, 1991. Elsi was famous for painting large murals and illustrating books.

About Elsi Eldridge

Elsi was born in Wimbledon, London. Her father started as a pawnbroker and later became a jeweller. She went to the Wimbledon School of Art. Then, she studied at the Royal College of Art. There, famous artists like William Rothenstein and Eric Ravilious taught her.

In her last year at the Royal College of Art, Elsi won a special award called the Prix de Rome. This award gave her a scholarship to study art in Rome, Italy, at the British School in Rome.

Early Art Projects

After returning to England in 1936, Elsi worked on a big art project. She helped paint large murals at Brockley County Secondary School. These murals showed scenes from Aesop's Fables. Other artists like Evelyn Dunbar and Charles Mahoney also worked on this project. Today, this school is part of Prendergast School in Brockley.

In 1937, Elsi had her own art show in London. It was very successful! Later that year, she moved to Oswestry. There, she taught art at Oswestry Grammar School and Moreton Hall School in Shropshire.

Life in Wales

In 1939, Elsi helped create a beautiful stained-glass window for a church in Llanpumsaint. After this, she moved to Wales. She met and married the poet and priest RS Thomas while teaching in Oswestry.

Elsi designed the cover for her husband's first book of poems, Stones of the Field, in 1947. Her artwork also decorated many churches where Thomas served. During the 1940s, she worked on projects called Recording Britain and Recording Wales. These projects aimed to draw buildings that were damaged by war or at risk of being lost.

From 1953, Elsi taught art at the University of Wales. In the mid-1950s, she started painting murals again.

The Dance of Life Mural

Elsi created an amazing mural called The Dance of Life. It was 120 feet long and had many panels. This huge artwork was made for the dining room of the nurses' home at the Robert Jones and Agnes Hunt Orthopaedic Hospital near Oswestry.

The mural shows Welsh and Italian landscapes with lots of wildlife. It also shows how human actions can negatively affect nature. It took Elsi three years to finish this masterpiece. An art expert named Peter Lord called it "one of the most remarkable large-scale works ever painted in Wales." The mural was stored away in 1999. However, since 2011, you can see it on display at Glyndwr University.

Exhibitions and Collections

Elsi had many solo art shows during her career. She had exhibitions at the National Library of Wales in Aberystwyth in 1959. Another show was at the Powys Fine Art Room in Welshpool in 1961.

She also showed her work in group exhibitions with several art societies. These included the Royal Watercolour Society, the Royal Cambrian Academy, the Royal Scottish Academy, and the Royal Academy. After she passed away, a special exhibition was held in her memory at Abbott and Holder in 1993. Another show celebrating her work took place in 2013 at Plas Glyn-y-Weddow in Llanbedrog.

You can find Elsi's artwork in important collections. The National Portrait Gallery, London has a self-portrait of her and her husband. The Victoria and Albert Museum in London and the National Museum of Wales in Cardiff also have examples of her work.

Books Elsi Illustrated

• The Three Royal Monkeys by Walter de la Mare, (Faber and Faber, 1946)
• Compassionate Herbs by Hilda Leyel, (Faber and Faber, 1946)
• South Wales by T Richards Elek
• The Star-born by Henry Williamson (Faber and Faber, 1948)

Books Elsi Wrote and Illustrated

• Gwenno the Goat, (Hart-Davis, 1957)
• In My Garden, (Medici Society)
• The Sea Shore, (Medici Society, 1986)