Doris Brabham Hatt

Doris Brabham Hatt (24 September 1890 – 27 August 1969), a painter and printmaker, was a pioneer of Modernism in Britain.

Biography Early life Doris Brabham Hatt was born in 1890 into an affluent Bath family that ran a successful wig-making, hairdressing and perfumery business. She was the daughter of William Edward Hatt (1861-1916) and Mary Emily Hatt (née Brabham) (1862–1929), who was a music teacher and Professor of Pianoforte. Doris's parents and sister are buried at St Mary the Virgin, Bathwick, Smallcombe Cemetery.

After attending Bath High School, Hatt went to a finishing school at Kassel in Germany from 1906 to 1907. She was impressed by the paintings she saw in the Neue Gallerie and she decided to pursue a career in art. She studied at the Bath School of Art from 1911 to 1914 then at Goldsmiths College in London until 1916 and at the Royal College of Art, London during 1919. She was also aware of the women's suffrage and New Woman movements and the combination of these influences, with her developing opposition to the war and conscription in 1916, caused her to commit to socialism and she joined the Independent Labour Party in 1917. In response to the rise of Fascism in the 1930s, Hatt joined the Communist Party of Great Britain in the 1930s. Two years later, in 1937, she and her partner, Margery Mack Smith, visited Russia for the Pushkin Centenary Jubilee celebrations in Leningrad and Moscow.

In 1946 and 1947 Hatt stood as a Communist Party candidate for Clevedon Urban District Council, at a time when there were no women council members, and was unsuccessful on both occasions. She was often seen in Clevedon trying to sell Daily Worker newspapers to local people. Particular exhibition venues included the Royal Academy, the Leicester and Redfern Galleries, Jack Bilbo's Modern Art Gallery and Foyles Gallery. In his review of the exhibition John Berger also acknowledged the influence of Léger on Hatt and added, "She has a good sense of colour and has something to say..." Hatt was elected an associate of the Royal West of England Academy (RWA) in 1949.

Personal life Her lifelong partner was Margery Mack Smith (1890-1975), a weaver, and primary school teacher. a significant quantity of her correspondence and personal records were burned by a relative to conceal her life as a feminist and a lesbian.

Death and legacy When Hatt died, in keeping with her wish, her body was donated to medical research. She has no memorial beyond her art.

From March–June 2019 a major retrospective exhibition featuring over 70 of her paintings was held at the Museum of Somerset in Taunton.

A small exhibition of watercolours, prints and drawings was staged in June 2021 as part of the Clevedon Literary Festival.