Pegaret Anthony

Pegaret Anthony (née Keeling; 1 November 1915 – 25 May 2000) was an English artist and lecturer in Historical Costume and Theatre History, best known for her watercolour paintings of war workers during the Second World War.

Early years Pegaret Keeling was born on 1 November 1915 in Totnes, Devon, the daughter of Jessie (née Howes) and Guy William Keeling. Her maternal grandfather was the Victorian artist Thomas Howes. She was educated at The King Alfred School in Hampstead, and King's College of Household and Social Science at the University of London. As an 18-year-old student she travelled alone to Montreal in Canada, arriving back in London on 26 August 1934. From 1934 to 1938 she was a student at the Central School of Art and Design, where she studied under Jeanetta Cochrane, a theatre practitioner specialising in costume and scenic design. In her final year there she was a holder of the William Atkinson Scholarship for theatrical design. In the 1960s she worked for the American film producer Samuel Bronston to research historical costumes for several feature films, including 55 Days at Peking (1963), and The Fall of the Roman Empire (1964). Pegaret Anthony died on 25 May 2000 aged 84, and was cremated at Golders Green Crematorium on 30 May 2000.

Legacy During her career Anthony collected a large archive of material on historical costume. This became the basis of her 1974 work Costume: A General Bibliography, a book she wrote with Janet Arnold which was published by the Costume Society.

Publications Costume: A General Bibliography, with Janet Arnold, Victoria and Albert Museum and the Costume Society (1974)