Sophia St John Whitty facts for kids

Sophia St John Whitty (born November 4, 1877 – died February 26, 1924) was a talented Irish artist. She was known for her amazing wood carving skills. Sophia was also a teacher and helped start a special kind of business called a cooperative. She was an important part of the Irish Celtic cultural revival and the Irish Arts and Crafts movement. These movements celebrated Irish art, history, and traditional skills.

Early Life and Learning

Sophia St John Whitty was born in Dublin, Ireland, on November 4, 1877. Her parents were Richard Lawrence Whitty and Jane Alicia. Sophia spent her childhood in a place called Hillcot, near the Dublin mountains. She also enjoyed holidays at Fenloe House with her mother's family in County Clare.

Sophia loved art and decided to study wood carving. She attended two famous art schools: the South Kensington School of Art in London and the Dublin Metropolitan School of Art. These schools helped her become a skilled artist. Her first cousin, Catherine Amelia O’Brien, also became a well-known stained-glass artist.

Artistic Journey and Teaching

Around 1902, Sophia Whitty opened her own small art studio in Dublin. There, she and her sister Dorothy taught people how to do wood carving and other crafts. Sophia also taught wood carving classes at a church hall in Bray, a town near Dublin.

To improve her skills, Sophia traveled to Bruges, Belgium, to learn more about carving figures. In the summer of 1903, she visited art sites and carving schools in Austria and Italy. This helped her learn new techniques and ideas.

In 1904, a new technical school opened in Bray. Sophia was chosen to be one of the first wood carving teachers in Ireland. She brought her existing carving class to the new school. With help from her friend Kathleen A. Scott, Sophia and her students created beautiful carved walnut woodwork for Christ Church in Bray. This included figures like angels and St Patrick, all carved by Sophia.

Sophia and her students made furniture for churches and homes. Their work was shown in many art exhibitions. Her 1904 Gothic triptych, which was a three-part artwork with a crucifix, was highly praised. At a big exhibition in America in 1904, Sophia also showed examples of her leather crafting.

The Bray Art Furniture Industry

Because Sophia's carving class was so successful and received many orders, she decided to start a cooperative society in 1905. A cooperative is a business owned and run by its members, who share the profits. This society was called the Bray Art Furniture Industry. It was connected to the technical school.

Sophia was the manager, designer, and teacher for the cooperative. It received money from the government to help it grow. The cooperative employed 12 full-time workers and up to 50 part-time workers. In 1907, they even opened a shop on Bray's Main Street.

The society trained apprentices in all parts of woodworking. They focused on using the best materials and creating high-quality designs. In 1906, Sophia closed her Dublin studio. She later moved to Old Bawn in Bray, where she lived with her mother.

Sophia was also involved with important art groups. In 1909, she joined the council of the Arts and Crafts Society of Ireland. She was also one of 13 professional artists to join the Guild of Irish Art Workers.

However, when World War I started in 1914, orders for furniture dropped sharply. Many commissions were canceled. This led to the closure of the Bray Art Furniture Industry in 1914. Even though it was short-lived, the society helped bring back wood carving in Ireland. It was a big part of the Arts and Crafts movement at that time.

Sophia also worked with the United Irishwomen, an organization for women. She was an organizing secretary for them in 1914, 1915, and 1921. After the Irish Civil War, she left this role in 1921. Later, she wrote many articles about nature for Dublin newspapers. She would travel alone on her bicycle or with her mother in their car to find interesting things to write about in Counties Dublin and Wicklow.

Later Life and Lasting Impact

Sophia Whitty passed away on February 26, 1924, in Drumcondra Hospital, Dublin, after a short illness. To honor her memory, some of her former woodworkers from Bray carved the organ case for Christ Church in Bray in 1924.

Sophia also became very interested in the Irish language and literature. After she died, a collection of her nature essays was published in a book called The Flaming Wheel (1924). Her friend Kathleen Scott wrote a special introduction for the book. The essays shared Sophia's observations of animals, plants, and birds from her trips. They also included Irish folklore and stories about Irish nature. The essays were organized by the 12 months of the year, showing her deep connection to the natural world.