An Irish Life of Art and Spirit
Born in 1867 on the west coast of Ireland at Westcliff House, County Galway, Edyth Starkie was a painter and sculptor. Her early years were spent at Creggane Manor, Rosscarbery, near Cork. At the age of sixteen, she moved to London, where she enrolled at the Slade School. Her artistic training continued in Paris at the Académie Julian under Jules Joseph Lefebvre and Tony Robert-Fleury, and she also pursued studies in Germany.
Starkie was a member of the International Society, and her works were exhibited at the Royal Academy of Arts in London. Her achievements include winning a gold medal at the 1911 Barcelona International Exposition for her painting The Black Veil. This work was subsequently purchased for the National Museum, Barcelona. Another of her paintings, The Spotted Dress, was purchased by the Musée du Luxembourg in Paris, a collection that has since moved to the Musée d'Orsay.
Personal Life and Legacy
In the 1890s, Edyth met Arthur Rackham in Hampstead. She was a significant influence on his career, encouraging him to exhibit his fantasy drawings at the Winter RWS Exhibition in 1902. The couple married on 26 July 1903 at St. Mark's, Hampstead, and had a daughter named Barbara in 1908. While Arthur was described as prim and precise, Edyth was known to be quizzical, ironic, and imaginative.
Her notable works include:
