Times were when she was rated one of the most accomplished and best-loved painters of her generation but, since her death at the age of 82 in 1972, she has declined into relative obscurity.

Full marks then for white-faced Penlee House at Penzance in launching this major national touring exhibition. On the evidence of her art in this elegant gallery she will surely be acclaimed (again) as a painter in the British premier league.

Women painters have long been in the vanguard of Cornish creativity. One thinks of Laura Knight, Elizabeth Forbes, coming through to Willy Barns- Graham - and Margo Maeckelberghe today. There have been others, all enriching the scene.

Dod - her maiden name was Doris Shaw - belonged to a golden age. When she was only 15 her mother wisely brought her down to the art school at Newlyn run by Stanhope and Elizabeth Forbes. There she sparkled; so much so that she was considered the best student in her year. There too she met another rising star, called Ernest Procter; they married in 1912.

She also studied in Paris where she came under the influence of the Impressionist and Post- Impressionist painters, notably Cezanne and Renoir.

Then in the 1920s she largely concentrated on painting the figure, a series of naked adolescent girls. Perhaps surprisingly in those less liberal days, her work provoked little shock or anger.

It was in 1927 that the painter found herself catapulted into celebrity status on the strength of one painting. Morning, a sleeping girl softly draped in night clothes, caught the imagination of gallery-goers and was voted Painting of the Year at the Royal Academy. The Daily Mail bought the painting "for the nation," gifting it to the Tate Gallery.

Dod Procter, like Lord Byron, woke up one morning "and found myself famous". The model was 16-year-old Cissie Barnes, the daughter of a Newlyn fisherman, and appropriately this painting is the centrepiece of the Penlee show. So, in a way, Cissie has almost come home.

Ernest Procter died suddenly in 1935 and his passing affected his wife deeply, personally and creatively.

Though she continued to live in West Cornwall, she travelled extensively, visiting Tenerife, the West Indies and Africa, painting landscapes, portraits of children and still-lifes, her art embracing Cornish scenes and exotic locations on her journeys.

She also produced some charming flower studies, frequently using blooms picked from her Newlyn garden. Versatile is the word.

The exhibition will be opened this evening - A Private View - by her grandson Toby Procter.

There are about 60 examples from the artist's rich, varied harvest, including an impressive self-portrait: bob-style dark brown hair and the face, in profile, a picture of concentration.

A Singular Vision, Dod Procter 1890-1972, runs until November 24 at Penlee House, Penzance. Call 01736 363625 for opening times

article copyright WESTERN MORNING NEWS 

Comments (1)