Joan Howson
Joan Howson | |
|---|---|
 Stained glass window,Pettaugh,Suffolk by Caroline Townshend and Joan Howson | |
| Born | 9 May 1885 Flintshire,Wales |
| Died | 1964 (aged 78–79) |
| Alma mater | Liverpool School of Art |
| Known for | Stained glass |
Joan Howson(1885–1964) was a British stained glass artist of theArts and Crafts movement.She trained at theLiverpool School of Artbefore becoming a student and apprentice toCaroline Townshend.They later developed a lifelong partnership creating stained glass works under the name of their company, Townshend and Howson.
Personal life
[edit]Howson was born on 9 May 1885 inFlintshireto Ethel andGeorge John Howson.George had attendedTrinity College, Cambridgeand was in later life anarchdeacon.Ethel Dealtry's father was vicar ofMaidstone,where George was curate.[1]Joan had four older brothers, one of whom died in infancy.[2][3][4]Her brotherGeorgeserved in theFirst World Warand later became chairman of theRoyal British Legion'sPoppy Factory.
She was involved in the woman'ssuffragettemovement and socialism.[4]
Biography
[edit]Howson trained at theLiverpool School of Artfrom 1909 to 1912. She also studied music in Paris.[4]After completing her training at Liverpool, she metCaroline Townshendat The Glass House studios in London. Howson became a student and apprentice to Townshend in 1912.[3][5]
DuringWorld War I,Howson worked in a hospital laundry and later joined aQuakergroup working in northern France.[6]
In 1920, she and Caroline Townshend began their partnership, Townshend & Howson, under which they obtained commissions; they signed their works joining both of their initials. They moved to 61 Deodar Road inPutneywhich they had converted to house a studio and workshop, which was shared by fellow stained glass artistM. E. Aldrich Rope.[7]They were neighbours toEdward Wooreand other stained glass artists.[3][4][5]
During the Second World War, with Townsend and Rope, she cared for evacuee children at three hospitals in North Wales. Townshend died in 1944. Howson returned to Putney and resumed her work there, often restoringmedieval glass.She maintained both her late partner's initials and name in the company business. Two of her notable commissions were forOxford Universitywith the Department of Medieval Art, and a commission for theChurch of St Mary MagdaleneinNewark-on-Trentto restore stained glass from the 14th century.[3][4][5]
TheArchdeacon of Suffolkhad donated a box of medieval glass fragments fromCombschurch, Suffolk, the result of an 1871 explosion, to theVictoria and Albert Museum.Howson was given the fragments to reassemble in 1939 and carried out the work without charge. DuringWorld War II,the box of glass was taken to safety in a mine atPortmadoc,North Wales. After the war, she received the retrieved fragments but it would be several years before she resumed work on the project, which she completed in 1952; the results were installed in the southeast windows of the church.[8]Meanwhile, an important restoration commission was forWestminster Abbey,to restore Chapter House windows damaged during the war; she worked on this withMary Eily de Putron,Leonard Banks, George Braggs, Nancy Collins, Bernardine Kellam Harris, Thomas Merritt, Eric Szabo and Percy Whale.[6]
Gallery
[edit]
References
[edit]- ^"Obituary: The Ven. G. J. Howson".Times.22 May 1943. p. 6.
- ^Farrer, Archdeacon William. (1894).The descendants of John Backhouse, yeoman, of Moss Side. Volume 1London: Chiswick Press. (private printing). p. 64.
- ^abcdJoan Howson.University of Wales: Gwydr Lliw yng Nghymru – Stained Glass in Wales. Retrieved 8 August 2012.
- ^abcdeJoan Howson.Archived2 April 2012 at theWayback MachineSussex Parish Churches: Architects and Artists H. Retrieved 19 August 2012
- ^abcCaroline Townshend.Archived26 September 2010 at theWayback MachineSussex Parish Churches: Architects and Artists T-U-V. Retrieved 19 August 2012
- ^ab"Joan Howson".Westminster Abbey.Retrieved8 January2022.
- ^"Life of M.E.Aldrich Rope (Tor) - Two Margaret Ropes - Stained Glass Artists of the Arts and Crafts Movement".arthur.rope.clara.net.Retrieved8 January2022.
- ^History – Stained GlassSt Mary's Church Combs. Retrieved 20 August 2012.
Further reading
[edit]- Putron, M. E. de. (1976–77).Journal of the British Society of Master Glass-Painters.16:1. pp. 46–54. Article about stained glass and Joan Howson.
- Eavis, Anna.Panel of the Month – Including Howson's work.Vidimus: Online Medieval Glass Magazine, Issue 16.
- St Mary's Church Combs – History – Stained Glass– short article about Howson's work restoring medieval glass
- Westminster Abbey– reparations of stained glass by Howson following World War II
