Lilian Davidson

Lilian Davidson ARHA (26 January 1879 – 29 March 1954) was an Irish landscape and portrait artist, teacher and writer.

Early life and education Lilian Lucy Davidson was born at Castle Terrace, Bray, County Wicklow, on 26 January 1879. She was the sixth of ten children of clerk of petty session, Edward Ellice Davidson, and Lucy Rising Davidson (née Doe). In the early 1910s, Davidson was living in Rathmines, and spent some time in England and Wales. Her work was part of the painting event in the art competition at the 1928 Summer Olympics.

Davidson's paintings were exhibited at the Contemporary Picture Galleries, Dublin in 1930, alongside Yeats, Evie Hone, and Harry Kernoff. She was a member of the Picture Hire Club, 24 Molesworth Street, Dublin from 1941 to 1942, and was a frequent contributor to the Munster Fine Arts Club. Her work was exhibited at the Salon des Beaux Arts, Paris, the Royal Academy of Arts, London, and in Amsterdam. A large number of her works from the 1930s show the Irish-speaking area of Galway, Claddagh, such as Night in Claddagh, exhibited with the RHA in 1933. Her Irish landscapes, such as Claddagh cottages, were included in the Oireachtas Art Exhibitions from 1932 to 1946. From around 1934, she was a member of the Society of Dublin Painters, exhibiting with them from 1939 to 1954. She influenced the Society's move towards the avant-garde in the 1940s. She was elected associate to the RHA in 1940, and continued to exhibit there until her death.

Davidson taught drawing at her studio at 1 Earlsfort Terrace, Dublin. Her pupils included Bea Orpen, Anne Yeats, and Mo Irwin. She also was a teacher at a number of Dublin schools, such as Belgrave school, Rathmines, Wesley College, St Stephen's Green, and Castle Park School, Dalkey. She travelled to Abbeyleix, County Laois, once a week to teach at Glenbawn boarding school.

Writing As well as painting, Davidson wrote a number of plays, short stories, and monologues under a pseudonym, "Ulick Burke". In 1927, a collection of her poems and Donegal rhymes was published. In 1931, Hilton Edwards directed her stage play Bride, at the Gate Theatre. Her short story, Her only son, was published in The Bell under a pseudonym in 1942. In 1935, Davidson was a founder-member of the Torch Theatre, Dublin. She designed scenery, and was the co-director with Hugh Hyland in 1936, under the stage name "Jennifer Maude".

Later life and legacy Davidson died at her home at 4 Wilton Terrace, Dublin on 29 March 1954. She is buried in an unmarked grave in Mount Jerome Cemetery. The National Gallery of Ireland (NGI) holds her 1938 portrait of Yeats, as well as her crayon drawing of Sarah Purser. She was a regular attendee at Purser's "Second Tuesdays" gatherings. The Abbey Theatre holds her portrait of Joseph Holloway. Davidson bequeathed The golden shawl to the Hugh Lane Gallery, which is a large self-portrait. Two of her works were included in the NGI's 1987 exhibition, Irish Women Artists From the Eighteenth Century to the Present Day.