MARIA EATON (1860-1940): YORK MINSTER. WATERCOLOUR on ALABASTER [As New] [Hardcover]

Ellen Mary Maria Eaton (c 1860-1940), known as 'Nellie', was a prolific English artist who, while officially an 'amateur', was one of the few successful female artists of her generation. She was born in London but spent most of her life in Canterbury and was known as an eccentric loner. She traveled around England painting what she saw and was highly accomplished in pen-and-ink and watercolour. She exhibited at the Royal Academy Summer Exhibitions, the Royal Institute of Painters in Water Colours, the Royal Society of British Artists, the Ipswich Fine Art Club, the East Kent Art Society and the Grosvenor Gallery. She left her substantial estate to the creation of a trust: The Eaton Fund for Artists, Nurses and Gentlewomen, which is still a registered charity. This is her depiction of York Minster, in Yorkshire. It is signed, but undated. It is watercolour, on faux ivory or alabaster. The image measures 4 1/2"" x 5 3/4"". It is exquisitely framed; outlined in gold, then set into what appears to be gilded wood, then set into an intricately carved frame with a walnut border. It is under glass and the wood is gilded on the back. Finished size is 8"" x 9 1/3"".