Dorothea Sharp British, 1874-1955

Dorothea Sharp was a British landscape painter associated with the development of British Impressionism in the early twentieth century. She trained at Richmond Art School under Charles Edward Johnson and at the Regent Street Polytechnic with Sir David Murray and George Clausen, before further study in Paris. A visit to Paris in 1900 brought her into direct contact with Impressionist painting, an influence reinforced by exposure to American artists working there, including Frank Benson and Frederick Carl Frieseke. Sharp travelled extensively across Europe in the 1920s and 30s, particularly in France, Italy and the Iberian peninsula, refining her approach to light and colour. Her regular stays in St Ives during this period led to her most recognised subjects: children at play along the shoreline, set within coastal landscapes defined by clear light and high colour.

She exhibited at the Royal Academy from 1901 to 1948 and was elected to the Royal Society of British Artists in 1907. A member and later Vice President of the Society of Women Artists, she was also associated with the St Ives Society of Artists, exhibiting alongside figures such as Dame Laura Knight and Stanhope Forbes. Her work is held in public collections including Manchester City Art Gallery and the Laing Art Gallery. She returned to London in the 1940s, where she remained until her death in 1955.