COMMENTS TO MY PAGE "ART POSTCARDS WITH A RAILWAY MOTIVE"

Mabel Gear

Mabel Gear (1898-1987) was born in Suffolk, England, and studied at Colchester School of Art and in Bushey. Best known as a painter of birds and animals, particularly dogs  A number of her pictures were reproduced as postcards and prints. She was an animal painter and is primarily known for her animal designs for postcards, greetings cards, book illustration and advertisements. She studied at Colchester School of Art before moving to Bushey in 1921 to continue her studies as animal painter. She occupied No.15 Meadow Studios from 1923 -1926 and her future husband, Ivor Symes occupied No.10. They married in 1929 and moved to Hampshire but Ivor Symes became chronically ill shortly afterwards and died in 1944. Mabel Gear had exhibited animal pictures widely from 1920 to 1929 but she then became the bread winner and had to turn to commercial designs in order to support them and later to raise their son on her own. On of her commercial contracts was the production of illustrations for Black and White Scotch Whiskey advertisements which were paintings or models of black and white Scotch terriers with tartan collars.

Source: Bushey Museum

January 8th 2025

 

 
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