Ursula Vivian McCannell

Ursula Vivian McCannell (11 June 1923 – 16 January 2015) was a British painter known for depicting the Spanish Civil War in her early years. Her works are held in numerous private and public collections.

Biography Ursula Vivian McCannell was born in Hampstead Garden Suburb in 1923. Her father, William Otway McCannell, was a painter and teacher and her mother, Winifred Cooper, painted miniatures. When she was four years old the family moved to Farnham in Surrey where her father was appointed principal of the local School of Art. At the age of 13, in 1936, McCannell traveled to Spain with her father, shortly before the outbreak of the Spanish Civil War, events which influenced McCannell for the rest of her life. She painted her impressions of the war, depicting refuges, peasants and others.

In 1939 McCannell was enrolled in the Farnham School of Art where she studied under her father till 1942. From 1942 to 1944 she studied at the Royal College of Art, RCA, under Professor Tristram.

Family In 1945 McCannell married Peter Rees Roberts who she met while studying in the RCA. They had three sons: Tristan, an architect and painter; Marcus, a painter, lecturer and printmaker; and Lucien, a designer and painter. Their family home remained in Farnham, although McCannell made yearly visits to Spain and, from 1973, to County Cork for painting.

In 1940 McCannell was the youngest artist to exhibit at the Royal Academy.

Starting from 1960 both McCannell and her husband regularly exhibited in Cadaqués in Spain, and it became their second home. In 1989 the entire McCannel/Rees Roberts family presented their exhibition “Three Generations” at the England & Co Gallery in London.

McCannell's paintings are held in many public and private collections such as Contemporary Art Society and Manchester City Art Gallery. Arts in Exile in Britain 1933–1945: Politics and Cultural Identity Three generations: Otway McCannell, Peter Rees Roberts, Ursula McCannell, Tristan Rees Roberts, Marcus Rees Roberts, Lucien Rees Roberts