Marie Walker Last – exhibition and studio sale

14th Jun 2018 - 17th Jun 2018

With the death at 100 of Marie Walker Last, the wife of a distinguished  Yorkshire solicitor  Tom Last  -the story of her life in Art can now more  fully be told.

Daughter of a Yorkshire Textile Manufacturer, her privileged and protected upbringing  was a far cry from the life Marie lived as a young woman in London and at the Chelsea Art College.

Marie was inspired by the artists which became the centre to her Art and Life in London. She moved in avant  garde circles – many European artists and members of the Zero Group numbered amongst her friends. She lunched with Peggy Guggenheim and shared a studio with the dashing Guyanese painter Aubrey Williams.  Denis Bowen, painter and owner of the New Vision Centre Gallery was her friend and mentor.

All this she left behind in 1961 to marry Tom Last and move to Ilkley to start another life. She brought with her a passion for art  and she set up her studio in sight of the beautiful Ilkley Moors enthused anew  by the landscapes and colours which surrounded her.

This exhibition started with a bequest – the contents of her light filled studio at Menston which then revealed all its treasures. Virtually unused for the last 10 years , filled with dust  and dying tubes of paint  – her studio proved also to be a storehouse of earlier  works on canvas and paper spanning many  years . It was her spoken wish that ‘something’  should  be done with the works  from the studio , generously expressed with no particular conditions, more a challenge than an instruction, asked with an enigmatic smile.

Not for many years has such a large body of her work been available for viewing and purchase – and probably never will be again. On show and for sale will be over 60 works at  a wide spread of prices which we hope will enable this much loved and admired  internationally exhibited artist to be acquired by all who wish to own a painting or drawing  by her.

All this coincides with an exciting new  beginning for the Manor House in Ilkley that is being entrusted to the people of Ilkley as an Art and Cultural Centre for the future.

In years past, Marie had shown her paintings in exhibitions there, in the historic building, and we can think of no more appropriate space in which to hold this exhibition and provide an opportunity for these paintings to find new homes in the local area and beyond.

Entrance Free to Exhibition | All works are For Sale

Prior viewing is available on www.mariewalkerlast.com | Enquiries to 01823 323363 / 07989109707 / prioryfieldhouse@gmail.com