Margaret Dovaston
1894 - 1955
Margaret Dovaston was born in Wandsworth in 1884. She studied at Ealing Art School and at South Kensington, under C W Cope and J Watson Nicholl. She attended The Royal Academy School for 5 years and won several medals whilst she was there. She was awarded The British Institute Scholarship and was elected a member of The Royal Society of British Artists, Suffolk Street, in 1905. She Exhibited there from 1908 to 1913. She was a frequent exhibitor at The Royal Academy.Margaret Dovaston developed a special interest in old English Interior and Historical Scenes. She had a remarkable collection of period style costumes and furniture. Her paintings were created purely from imagination, but this was no doubt assisted through reference to her own studio and museum of 17th, 18th and 19th Century Costumes and Antiques.
She said of her paintings, 'They tell a story in which the spectator is invited to fill in the details at will'.