MER_WGM_81
Topic: Artist

On Art UK we have listed Ethel Martin Frimston (active 1911–1924) and Ethel Martin (1871–1954).

There is one painting under each artist record: this discussion's painting and Ethel Martin, 'Caroline Bray (1815–1905)', 1901, at the Herbert Art Gallery & Museum: https://bit.ly/2WI6Vml

Could anyone tell us whether this is one and the same artist, and give us more information about her/them?

Ethel Martin Frimston seems to have been a sculptor as well.
https://bit.ly/2wB71Sf

Andrew Shore, Entry reviewed by Art UK

Completed, Outcome

This discussion is now closed. We distinguished Ellen Ethel Martin, later Fridlander (1873–1969) from Ethel Martin Frimston (1880–1940), painter in oil and watercolour and sculptor in plaster and bronze, who painted this ‘Interior’.

Thank you to everyone who contributed to the discussion. To anyone viewing this discussion for the first time, please see below for all the comments that led to this conclusion.

60 comments

It seems unlikely that the Ethel Martin who may have painted the Herbert Art Gallery's portrait (what is the evidence for the attribution?) is the same person as the American Ethel Martin (1871-1954), described on the askART website as "Ethel Martin. Ethel H. Martin Sparks was born in San Francisco, CA on Oct. 6, 1871. Ethel Martin studied at the Mark Hopkins Art Institute and later taught art locally in the public schools. Her father, John Martin, was executive secretary of the San Francisco Art Ass'n from 1873 until his death in 1919. In 1917 Ethel married artist Will Sparks and lived in San Francisco until her death on Dec. 6, 1954." Exhibits: San Francisco Art Association, 1903. Source: Edan Hughes, "Artists in California, 1786-1940". California Art Research, 20 volumes; Art in California (R. L. Bernier, 1916); Death record."

Jacinto Regalado,

This is by the American Ethel Martin found by Andrew:

https://www.askart.com/assets/artist/11186848/sparks.jpg

It looks like a rather prosaic (probably California) landscape, and not like the work of either Ethel Martin on Art UK. The dates 1871-1954 would appear to belong to the American, and have probably been misapplied to a British Ethel Martin.

Jacinto Regalado,

The Richmond book I mentioned above was published in 2001 by Liverpool University Press.

S. Elin Jones,

Mrs Ethel Martin Frimston Exhibited at the ‘Sandon Studios’ in Liverpool.
There was also a groundbreaking exhibition held in the bluecoat arts centre in 1911 of post-impressionist work which included Picasso, Van Gogh and Gaugin. In 2010 the Walker Art Gallery were trying to trace examples of artwork that were shown, as they had an intention to recreate the exhibition.

https://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/news/liverpool-news/search-starts-find-artwork-shown-3388172


There’s an account of one of the exhibition held in 1914. It refers to her paintings of furniture and flowers. Miss Ethel Martin was also exhibiting at the ‘Sandon Studios’ in 1910

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Osmund Bullock,

It is almost certainly her, Jacinto.

Caroline Ethel Martin was born at Liverpool on 19th June 1880, the fifth and youngest child of William Martin, a Cornish-born flag manufacturer, and his wife Ann née Wilkinson (married L'pool Oct 1864). Caroline Ethel was baptised on 17th Oct 1880 at the Mount Pleasant Wesleyan Methodist Chapel in Liverpool.

She married at Toxteth Park in 1910 (Q4) Edward Noel Frimston (1880/1-1960), a well-to-do Liverpool cotton broker. She died at the Wirral on 1st August 1940. The clincher is that in the 1901 Census, the occupation given for Caroline Ethel Martin, then aged 20, is 'Art Student'.

Kieran Owens,

The 1901 UK Census lists Caroline Ethel Martin as an "art student", aged 20, and as having been born in Liverpool. A birth record exists from her for Liverpool in 1880.

A search of newspapers reveals that, from 1900 onwards, a Miss Ethel Martin was a regular exhibitor of portraits and landscapes, and in 1903 was part of a (badly reviewed) exhibition at the Doré Gallery in London. She was also later known as Mrs. Ernest David Fridlander, he also being an artist and author, with whom she exhibited at the Doré show. He was born on the 3rd November 1870 and the couple were married in Chelsea in early 1905.

This Ethel Martin is the same as the Ethel Martin who painted Andrew Shore's above-mentioned 'Caroline Bray (1815–1905)', as this was one of the works exhibited at that Doré Gallery exhibition.

As an unmarried woman she had exhibited at the Royal Academy in 1900 (when living at Sevenoaks) and in 1904 (from Chelsea), and as a married woman (Mrs. Fridlander) in 1905, 1911, 1912, 1915 and, after a long gap, once again in 1946, from an address at 6, Prince Arthur Road, London, N.W.3.

Ellen Ethel Martin was born in Sevenoaks, Kent, on the 4th September 1873. The 1939 Register shows her living with her husband at Haverfordwest in Pembrokeshire, along with Beatrix Fridlander, who was also an artist.

As Ellen Ethel Fridlander, her probate records that she died at her Prince Arthur Road address in Hampstead, on the 11th January 1969, leaving an estate valued at £72,251.

As confirmed by the details above, the dates for the "Caroline Bray" Ethel Martin should be changed to (1873–1969).

Kieran Owens,

Sorry, Osmund, once again our postings have passed like ships in the night.

Jacinto Regalado,

Then, as suspected, someone probably found the dates for the American Ethel Martin online and affixed them to Ethel Martin Friedlander. The third Ethel Martin (Frimston) is 1880-1940, as per Osmund. Not bad for a discussion posted today.

Jacinto Regalado,

Our Ethel Martin apparently had two children, a daughter and a son, as per the genealogy link above.

Bryan Biggs,

Ethel Frimston was a member of Liverpool's Sandon Studios Society, which was based at Bluecoat from 1907 and effectively developed this former eighteenth-century charity school building into the UK's first arts centre (Bluecoat Society of Arts, 1927). There is information about the Sandon on our My Bluecoat website:  https://mybluecoat.org.uk/

The Sandon's story is told in R.F. Bisson's 1965 book, 'The Sandon Studios Society and the Arts' (Parry Books, Liverpool). He mentions Frimston several times (pp. 92, 95, 109, 177) as well as ' Ethel Martin (Mrs Frimston)' (pp.9, 34, 46, 55, 59, 60, 73) - so Ethel F and Ethel M are the same person. Martin was her maiden name.

I give you these page nos as Bisson's book is not indexed. From him, we learn that:
• Ethel was one of the original group of students who broke away from University College Liverpool's Applied Art Dept ('The Art Sheds') to form the Sandon.
• She carried out several sculpture commissions, including the Sphinx in the Students' Union building, designed by the head of the Architecture School, Charles Reilly
• In 1906 she was a member of the Liverpool Academy.
• She was included in the first Sandon exhibition at the Bluecoat in 1908, showing drawings & paintings. There was one painting by Claude Monet in the show, possibly the first time his work had been seen outside London.  Other artists exhibiting included Augustus John.
• She was on the first provisional committee of the Sandon in 1909. She married in 1909/10, as she is referred to as Frimston when she is elected to the general committee in 1910, and in 1911 is on the House Committee, overseeing managing the building.
• She was involved in a Suffragette group in Liverpool, active at Bluecoat, and was described by Bisson as the 'Suffragette sculptress'.
• She took part in the Sandon's elaborate fancy dress parties, including one on an 'Oriental theme' in 1912. I do not unfortunately know which one she is in a group photo of this, which I tried unsuccessfully to attach here.
• She did a bust of the Rev Charles Garrett, who "embraced the principles of total abstinence at the age of fifteen", the sculpture modelled for Central Hall, Renshaw Street - a copy was also in evidence at the Bluecoat parties where it was known as "the patron saint of our dances".
• She went to Russia and gave a talk at Bluecoat in 1932 about her experiences there along with her friend and Sandon socialite, Maud Budden.

I hope this helps. I am coediting a book about Bluecoat with John Belchem, to be published end of May, the present crisis willing. This has a lot of material on the Sandon artists, whose most significant exhibition was arguably Roger Fry's First Post-Impressionist Exhibition which came to Bluecoat in 1911. I can check if Frimston exhibited in it, alongside Picasso, Matisse etc.

Osmund Bullock,

Thanks for that immensely valuable information, Bryan. Ethel Martin Frimston did indeed exhibit at the 1911 exhibition - three works (including her bronze 'The Sphinx'), as mentioned in the links given above by E. Jones in her post and Andrew Shore in his introduction to the discussion. See https://bit.ly/33NYWpi and https://bit.ly/2wB71Sf .

She also showed (attached 1) at an exhibition of the Society of Modern Painters at Manchester in May 1916, one of the works being titled 'Interior' like ours - or could it be the same one, borrowed back from the Williamson? In Jan 1930 she was still working and exhibiting (with the Merseyside Art Circle) - at least I assume it's her, despite the 'Miss' misnomer. The critic found the unusual technique she employed in an exhibited watercolour "a little alarming, but highly interesting and most promising" (attached 2). And in July 1933, in an article about her nephew, a budding young architect, she was described as "a well-known local sculptor" (attached 3) - the same piece implies she must have been related in some way to George Bernard Shaw.

Martin Hopkinson,

Ethel M Frimston exhibited Interior as no 7 in the Studios Club Room exhibition in c. March 1914
The Williamson painting was purchased in 1913, but was it then lent to this 1914 show just across the Mersey?

Martin Hopkinson,

Caroline Bray 1814 not 1815 - 1905 nee Hennell was a frirnd of George Eliot . She was a Freethinker , an author of children's studies and school textbooks. She is in ODNB
She died in Coventry in 1905 which is why the Herbert owns her portrait
One of her sisters Mary is also on ODNB
The Meyrick family in Daniel Deronda [1876] may have been inspired by the Bray family

Martin Hopkinson,

The Frinmton family is still active in NESTON. Milke [John Michal] of 14 West Drive, Neston is Secretary of Legionnaires in the Wirral Chess League.
He waa Secretary of Knauf Insulatio Ltd up to 2000

Martin Hopkinson,

She could be related to the Liverpool landscape painter William Alison Martin [1878/9-1935] who trained under Augustus John at Liverpool see Mary Bennett's Merseyside Painters .. He painted a mural in Toxteth, South Liverpool
He was influenced by French painting , Steer and Monticelli
it is likely that she trained in Liverpool

Bryan Biggs,

Bisson mentions Alison Martin quite a bit in his book on the Sandon but not that he was related to Ethel. Both of them were at the University art school, the 'Art Sheds'. I have looked again at Mary Bennett's catalogue to the Walker Art Gallery's 1981 show, 'The Art Sheds 1894-1905'. Its pages are unnumbered but in the introduction you will find Ethel listed among the women students who went on to have a professional art practice, her as a sculptor.

There are registers of the Art Sheds, 1901-05, in the art school archive, now Liverpool John Moores University. And Ethel may well be in the photos of students & staff that student May 'Bee' Phillips took, 1903-05, now in the Walker collection.

There is another intriguing reference to the 'suffragette sculptor' in Charles Reilly's colourful biography, 'Scaffolding in the Sky' (1938, Routledge). Recounting the move of his Architecture Dept from the University into the vacant Bluecoat building (where the Sandon artists were already renting rooms) in 1909 (pp. 134-35), he mentions a 'dark handsome young sculptress' who was renting a studio that he needed access to as part of the move. He eventually won her over (and reading between the lines, they had a relationship). Later, while Reilly was trying to establish a repertory theatre in Liverpool (The Playhouse), she appears again, 'my little suffragette sculptress friend from the Bluecoat building came with her sister in flaming scarlet' (p. 141). Without naming her, surely this is Ethel Martin.

Thanks Osmund for the links to press reviews of her work. I have let Charlotte Keenan at the Walker know about this discussion in case she can shed further light on Ethel. The attitudes of the time (exemplified by Reilly's treatment of women) meant that talented female artists like Frimston remain relatively hidden. A painting by another Sandon artist, Winifred Phillips (Mary's sister), 'The Players' won the Slade summer prize in 1908, and though shown at the Walker in the Art Sheds exhibition in 1981, it remains in store at UCL. She was a member of the New English Art Club but, like Frimston, is barely known.

Jacinto Regalado,

The book I mentioned above (second comment of this discussion) is, in fact, about Charles Reilly.

Kieran Owens,

Martin, a small footnote on William Alison Martin. The son of William and Emma Martin, he was born William Albert Martin, at Oak Cottage, Hornspit Lane, Liverpool, on the 19th August 1878 and was baptised in St. Saviour's Church, Everton, on the 18th September of that same year. He died at 10, South Castle Street, Liverpool, on the 6th March 1936 (rather than 1935). Four of his works can be seen on the ArtUK site:

https://bit.ly/3dvMYp1

Manto Psarelli,

Thank you all for your contributions so far; fascinating posts which enable us to trace Caroline Ethel Martin Frimston’s biography as well as start shedding light on her artistic career.

Osmund Bullock,

William Alison Martin (as Kieran says, 1878-1936, not 1935) was also from a Wesleyan family in Liverpool, and his father was also called William. And (Caroline) Ethel did have a brother called William. However, he was William Sidney Martin, and born in Feb 1867.

WAM's father William was a clerk, born c1845 in Liverpool - he was the son of William Martin, a stone mason, who was born c1810 in Scotland. (Caroline) Ethel Martin's father William, a flag maker (formerly a joiner), was born c1835 at St Agnes / Mount Hawke in Cornwall. It is most unlikely there was any blood connection between the two families.

The attached draft is what I can extract in terms of coherent 'lives' from the above: suggestions for correction/ refinement welcome. Its clear that 'our Ethel' was on the General Committee of the Sandon Society by 1909 and possibly earlier since she appears in its list under her own name not her married one (from late 1910) in the undated 'prospectus' on the Bluecoat site - which however includes the MS date 1910 for a forward opening teaching date that February written in towards the end.

When people add press cutting attachments -often very informative - would they please ensure that, one way or another), the source and date are included: mostly they are, but sometimes not.

It would be useful to know how long the Frimstons lived at Neston and the Fridlanders in Prince Arthur Road, Hampstead: that debouches on the Greenhill (off the High Street) and was driven through about 1867, knocking down two-thirds of an early 18th-c. terrace of which Stanfield House (that marine painter's former residence) is the remaining third in the northern angle.

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Kieran Owens,

Pieter, below are some suggested changes to Ellen Ethel Martin's biography and attached are some items from which you might like to extract further information:

• From 1900 onwards, Miss Ethel Martin was a regular exhibitor of portraits and landscapes, and, in 1903, was part of a three-person exhibition at the Doré Gallery in London. Her painting of 'Caroline Bray' was one of the featured works in that show.

• The artist was later known as Mrs. Ernest David Fridlander, her husband also being an artist and author ('Matthew Maris and His Work', 1921), with whom she exhibited at the Doré show. He was born in Coventry, on the 3rd November 1870. As a member of the Jewish watchmaking Fridlander family based in Coventry, he was the son of A. E. Fridlander (1841 - 1928). His father was associated with both George Eliot and Caroline Bray, the latter having been a founding member of the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, of which A. E. Fridlander was a long-time supporter. He is known to have discussed aspects of the Jewish religion with George Eliot around the time of her writing the novel 'Daniel Deronda'. A. E. Fridlander was also a life-long Freemason, having been initiated in 1864, at the age of 23.

• Ernest and Ethel were married in Chelsea on the 12th January 1905. As Ernest David Emmanuel Fridlander his probate records his death as having occurred, at 6, Prince Arthur Road, London, N.W.3., on the 29th June 1960, with an estate valued at £28,863 .

• As an unmarried woman Ethel Martin exhibited at the Royal Academy in 1900 (when living at Sevenoaks, Kent) and in 1904 (from Chelsea), and as a married woman (Mrs. E. D. Fridlander) in 1905, 1911, 1912, 1915 and, after a long gap, once again in 1946, the latter from her address at 6, Prince Arthur Road, London, N.W.3.

In 1904, her address for her RA submission was given as 3, Stanley Studios, Park Walk, Chelsea. As a married woman, for all of her subsequent RA submissions she was always listed at "Martin, E (Mrs. E. D. Fridlander)". Her address in 1905 was listed as also at 3, Stanley Studios, Park Walk, Chelsea, and in 1911, 1912 and 1915 was given as 33, Canfield Gardens, Hampstead.

The National Art Library in London holds a copy of the following Baillie Gallery catalogue:

'Paintings and drawings by Ethel Martin (Mrs. E.D. Fridlander), Beatrix Martin, E.D. Fridlander, Ann Maitland, Harriet Halhed : January 7th - 28th, 1914.'

As the daughter of James and Mary Ellen Martin, Ellen Ethel Martin was born in Sevenoaks, Kent, on the 4th September 1873 and was baptised at Shipborne on the 9th October of that same year.

The 1939 Register shows her living with her husband at Haverfordwest in Pembrokeshire, along with Beatrix Fridlander, who was also an artist. This Beatrix, although with her brother-in-law's surname, is Ellen Ethel's own sister.

According to the London Electoral Register, Ernest David and Ellen Ethel Fridlander lived at 6, Prince Arthur Road in Hampstead from as early as 1920 continuously until their respective deaths in 1960 and 1969.

As Ellen Ethel Fridlander, her probate records that she died at her 6, Prince Arthur Road address in Hampstead, on the 11th January 1969, leaving an estate valued at £72,251.

Attached are various articles that help verify all of the above, as well as a screen grab of 6, Prince Arthur Road..

Kieran Owens,

Additionally, in case 236 at the 13th Arts & Crafts Exhibition Society show at the Royal Academy, of 1926, Ethel Martin and her sister Beatrix presented a "Collar; needle-run lace" and a "Scarf; needle-run lace" respectively. Both of them were listed at the Prince Arthur Road address.

https://archive.org/details/ACESExhib13AAD19801121/page/n45/mode/2up

Also attached is another early exhibition review from 1900; the 1905 marriage notice of Ernest and Ethel; and Ethel's probate.



Thanks Kieran: all very useful.

The Martin/Fridlanders are something of an enigma: less [Ellen] Ethel than her younger sister Beatrix Martin (? her dates) and him.

I suspect the 1939 Register misnaming of Beatrix as Fridlander was just a mistake. The only other explanation I can think of is some 'social' reason applicable in rural Wales but not in metropolitan Hampstead, where it looks as though Beatrix may have made it (literally) a 'menage a trois' if she also lived at Prince Arthur Road rather than just using it as the 1926 exhibiting address: but unmarried sisters living with older married ones was not that unusual.

Ethel's work is almost generally undiscoverable now: Beatrix's and Ernest Fridlander's entirely so (to me at least), and he only seems to be remembered by his book on Maris - who he certainly knew, since Maris (who lived in London from 1877 and died in St John's Wood) gave him a sketchbook of figure studies now in the Rijksmuseum. He wrote no other books listed in the BL catalogue unless he was also the 'David Fridlander' (another enigmatic name if not Ernest using his second) who had four collections of poetry published by Blackwell's in Oxford between 1933 and 1938.

The inescapable implication is that Ethel, or Ernest, or both (and Beatrix) had 'private means' and were in no serious way dependent on their artistic activities. If they had been, at least with any notable success, more of their 'product' would now be apparent: if dependent on it without success they wouldn't have lived for half a century in large Hampstead properties and left sizeable estates.

I

Kieran Owens,

Beatrix Martin, of 6, Prince Arthur Road, died on the 18th October, 1964, at 4, Rosecroft Avenue, Hampstead, and left a personal estate worth £34,754, which is equivalent to about £600,000 today. Having been born at Sevenoaks, Kent, on the 4th November 1876, this makes 87 at the time of her death. Probate was granted to Ellen Ethel Fridlander and her solicitor.

Between 1896 and 1902 she exhibited works at the Lime Tree Studio in Sevenoaks, as well as at the Sevenoaks Technical Institute, which opened in 1902.

Assuming her to be the same person, in October 1903, November 1905, October 1908, October 1909, she exhibited work at the Stock Exchange Art Society's exhibition at the Drapers' Hall, Throgmorton Street, London. This suggests that she was working in some capacity at the Exchange. In March 1906 she and her sister Ethel (acknowledged as Mrs. Fridlander) again showed work at Sevenoaks' Lime Tree Studio.

In April 1912, Ernest, Ethel and Beatrix held a group show, for which the Coventry Herald carried the attached review. Within this piece, it notes that Ethel Martin (Mrs. Fridlander) had previously shown works at the Grafton Gallery, the Royal Society of Oil Painters, and the Royal Academy.

In May 1914, a pair of lace collars by Beatrix was the 4th prize in a draw run by the Sevenoaks Arts and Crafts Society Art Union at the Lime Tree Studio.

The website, 'Tomb With A View - An historic graveyard in the heart of Hampstead', which relates to the burial ground attached to the Parish Church of St John-at-Hampstead, Church Row, London, carries the following details:

"Matthew Maris (1839 - 1917) - Painter and etcher. Born The Hague, exhibited frequently in Britain, as did his two brothers. He and his local artist friends Ernest Fridlander (1870-1960), and Beatrix Martin (1876-1964), are commemorated in a series of linked plaques.

A 1922 edition of The Connoisseur carried a review of Ernest's biography of Maris:

"“Matthew Maris,” by Ernest D. Fridlander. (The Medici Society, Limited. 750 numbered copies at 21s. each) - Mr. Fridlander was a friend of Matthew Maris, and has succeeded in producing an intimate biography of the artist....."

The New Statesman in the same year noticed that "Mr. Fridlander met Matthew Maris in 1899, and from that time saw the artist at intervals throughout the rest of his life."

In its entry for Alfred Emanuel Fridlander (c1839 - 1928), the Palgrave Dictionary of Anglo-Jewish History mentions that his son, Ernest, was educated at the University of London.

Ernest also contributed to the illustrated souvenir from The French Gallery's memorial exhibition of works by Maris, which took place in 1918:

https://bit.ly/2JqPEX0

Thanks again Kieran. Curious death detail for Beatrix: 4 Rosecroft Avenue is a large house now comprising flats, some big (and of course expensive). I wonder if it had a prior history as a nursing home.

Otherwise what you say tends to confirm my supposition that they were 'semi-professionals' rather than 'amateurs' but -at least so far -only Beatrix showing possible indication of also having some other form of occupation early on - and leaving the general question of where their work has all now disappeared to.

Fridlander's London University degree, adding a further curious turn, a B.Sc. Hons in 1892, but the graduate list adds no other detail.

Kieran Owens,

Pieter, as to Ernest's scientific degree, it appears that he was a meteorologist, as he delivered a widely-quoted talk to the Royal Meteorological Society in 1896 entitled "Atmospheric Dust Observations from Various Parts of the World", his research having been undertaken with "a form of Mr. Aitken's pocket dust counter." The Observatory, of the same year, lists him as "Mr. E. D. Fridlander, B.Sc". Douglas Archibald's "The Story of Atmosphere (1901) includes the following: ".......Mr E. D. Fridlander, taken with Aitken's pocket dust counter in various parts of the world, embracing the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, New Zealand, California, the Indian Ocean, and Switzerland...."

Additionally, the 1962 edition of 'Who's Who In Art', lists Ethel Martin (Mrs. E. D. Fridlander) as being the daughter of James Martin, a member of the London Stock exchange, so it appears that Beatrix Martin was one and the same as the artist exhibiting at the Stock Exchange exhibitions. Ethel is noticed as having been educated at a private school in Sevenoaks and at Hampstead High School.



Kieran Owens,

In regards to the 1939 Register, it should be noted that Anne E. Fridlander, born 7th March 1864, was also listed as living with Ernest, Ethel and Beatrix at Royal Terrace, Haverfordwest.

Kieran Owens,

The 1891 UK Census list the Fridlander family as living at Cambridge Villa, in the parish of St. Michael with St. John, Coventry, and Ernest, aged 20, is described as a "Science student". Interestingly, his mother, Flora Solomon, was born in Kingston, Jamaica.

Kieran Owens,

Finally (and please accept my apologies for the drip-feed of information), Harry Levine's 'The Jews of Coventry' (1970) gives a detailed account of the Fridlander family, describing Ernest as an amateur artist who was influenced by William Blake. Levine records that, from the 22nd January to the 10th February 1962, Leighton House held a retrospective of his artworks. It also rather poignantly records the following:

"He (Ernest) and his wife (née Ethel Martin), a gifted artist who subordinated her own art to that of her husband, were close friends of Mathew Maris, the Dutch artist."

Perhaps Leighton House still hold a record or a catalogue for Ernest's retrospective.

S. Elin Jones,

The 1939 register that we see, tends to be the working document and mistakes were made, especially when it comes to different names within a household. Just on the side of Beatrix Fridlander's entry the enumerator has written in green pen 'Martin'.

In July of 1939 the Gov't published a leaflet entitled 'Evacuation, Why and How? Although primarily concerned with the evacuation of children it did highlight concerns about safety in London.

The children started leaving from Sept 1st. Many Adults also evacuated themselves (especially if they had private means) to places such as Devon and Wales. The four Fridlanders were staying with James Williams' family, a retired Seaman, his wife and children.

It is a little confusing, even though they are living at the same address, they appear to be recorded under different schedules. It wouldn't surprise me if the Fridlanders went to stay in Haverfordwest for the short term for Safety, either with friends or lodging. The register was completed on Sept. 29th 1939.

Kieran Owens,

For what it worth, James Martin, Ethel and Beatrix's father, died at 27, Park Crescent, Brighton, on the 26th September 1935, leaving an estate valued at £16,145.

In the 1911 UK Census, James Martin, aged 64, as a member of the Stock Exchange and dealer in stocks and shares, was living Crowhurstland Farm, Dormansland, Surrey, with his wife Mary Ellen, and children Beatrix (34), Dorothy (32) and Henry Lloyd Martin (31). The latter, who was also a member of the Stock Exchange, died in France, an Army Captain, on the 28th September 1916. His name is recorded on the The Thiepval Memorial:

https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/12467719

Kieran Owens,

Apologies to Ethel Martin Frimston as Ethel Martin/Fridlander is dominating this discussion!

Thanks all round again. Updated drafts attached, now separated.

I'm not sure if the Martin/Fridlanders are worth the detour, given the invisibility of the artistic output of all three of them, but I don't make judgements in getting these various ducks into ordered rows. It's still a little unaccountable that Beatrix Martin died (1964) in the house of a sister-in-law (Annie Fridlander) who had predeceased her in either 1963 or even '62: Annie had a sister Adelaide Rachel (b. 1865) but where she was by then (if she lived to 99) is also something I don't currently have home access to sources to check for dates etc .

Kieran Owens,

Annie Esher Fridlander died at 4, Rosecroft Avenue, Hampstead, on the 24th February 1963, her estate being valued at probate at €48,892.

Kieran Owens,

Adelaide Rachel Martin married Gilbert Scott Ram in Kensington in 1902, he being a civil servant, and specifically one of H.M.'s Inspectors of Factories (Electrical) under the Home Office. With a home address of 4, Rosslyn Mansions, Goldhurst Terrace, Hampstead, she died at 3, Broadhust Gardens, London, on the 8th September 1946, leaving an estate valued at €38,391. One of her executors was her sister Ethel Fridlander.

Kieran Owens,

Attached are two reviews of the Ernest David Fridlander's Leighton House memorial exhibition, the first from the Birmingham Daily Post of Monday 15th January 1962, and the second from the Kensington Post of Friday 9th February 1962.

Thanks again Kieran: I assume your 'names gremlin' is also responsible for Adelaide Rachel 'Martin' (i.e. Fridlander). Strange confusion about EDF having an Emmanuel Coll., Cambridge connection, but illuminating on his aversion to publicity, albeit clearly affordable for one '[financially] competent enough... to avoid the commerce of art'.

Kieran Owens,

You are correct about Adelaide's surname, Pieter. It has been a long day!

The other (intentionally damning?) Kensington Post comment of interest is the "art for art's sake" one. It feels like a jibe, whereas it should be a compliment.

The Leighton House show strikes a slightly odd note: a display of work by an artist practically no-one had heard of, who had only showed a few pieces in small group private shows over half a century before, and had avoided exposure in the intervening time. Rather like the plaques at Hampstead church, it sounds like a memorial show sponsored by his widow through likely art/social connections and, as in the claim of her 'subordinating' her work to his, rather poignant -especially since nothing by him now seems publicly apparent.

Minor adjustments attached but that's more than enough on them I think: any further ones I'll just send to Marion for the file when this discussion closes - which is due given its really about a picture by 'the other Ethel Martin'.

S. Elin Jones,

Have info about Beatrix and Ethel’s training, an exhibition Ethel Frimston exhibited in from 1905 and more about their group exhibition. Unless they they are already on here. Should I just mail it through?

Thanks: I don't think there would be a significant overlap with anything already above if you added it here (which also keeps all the source material produced all together and in open view). I'll adjust my draft accordingly until the discussion is formally closed and, as already said, ensure Marion has a final version to add then.

E Jones, Thanks very much for offering to send further information. As Pieter says, please do post comments here, because it keeps everything together and in view.

S. Elin Jones,

Ethel Martin (Frimston) exhibited at the Walker Gallery, Liverpool from 1902. These exhibits include the type and technique that Ethel Martin (Frimston) went on to show at other exhibitions.
The catalogue includes the following;

*The thirty-second, 1902 Walker Art Gallery, Liverpool
1425 - Statuette, plaster - £10 10s
1453 - Coloured plaster panel - £4 4s

Source - Mapping the Practice and Profession of Sculpture in Britain and Ireland 1851-1951,
University of Glasgow


She also exhibited at the Walker Art Gallery, Liverpool in 1905;
*Walker Art Gallery, Liverpool Autumn Exhibition; 1905
1662 - Expectations (Plaster) - Miss Ethel Martin - £5 .0s
1705 - Portrait Sketch (Statuette, Plaster) - Miss Ethel Martin
1723 - Riches (Panel Relief) - Miss Ethel Martin - £10. 0s
Martin, Miss Ethel - 37 Moorfields, Liverpool. 1662, 1705, 1723

Her address is registered as being 37, Moorfields, Liverpool.
This address is also registered by another three artists exhibiting that year. At least two are known to have lived in Liverpool.
Alfred R Martin (sculptor) - Another Liverpool based Martin that specialised in sculpture.
Sam J. M. Brown
J. Y. Dawbarn, M. A.


Could Both Ethel Martin Frimston and Beatrix Martin have exhibited in the Walker art Gallery at the same time?
A Miss B. M. Martin was also included in the exhibition catalogue of 1905. (Mary was Beatrix’s Mother’s name)

Cupid’s Garden (enamel on copper) - Miss B. M. Martin - £13 13s
Miss B. M. Martin - 52, Rathbone Place, London. 1677

Source - Walker Art Gallery, Liverpool Autumn Exhibition Catalogue; 1905

Funnily enough, 52 Rathbone Place is an address usually seen stamped on the back of canvases, as it is the address of the art suppliers ‘Daler and Rowney’. This isn’t a canvas, but as it happens, it does seem that there was also a studio at that address. Other artists have also used it as a address in exhibitions.

I can’t seem to find this info on the thread, but it’s a long thread.

Thanks E. Jones: 52 Rathbone Place, which Rowney's still had until quite recently - and its still a framer's shop (I think) though don't so often pass - is in a late Georgian terrace off the Tottenham Court road. Though the practice was commoner in the late 18th/ early 19th century when framer/suppliers were often 'proto-galleries' it may be more likely that artists were using it as an accomodation address for exhibiting/sale agent purposes, not with studio space there.

S. Elin Jones,

Yes, that’s what I thought, but surprisingly found some references in the catalogues of the Royal Academy Exhibitions listing their address as;

1899 - Beyes, G., The Studio, 52 Rathbone-Place, W. 1909
1900 - Smith, C (Miss), The Studio, 52 Rathbone-Place, W. 1531,1545

According to the Electoral register both 51 and 52 Rathbone-Place were classed as tennement and tennement (joint) properties. Looks like there were flats above the shop. There were also families living in number 51. One family lived at 52 for over thirty years. It would have been an extremely convenient place to have a studio.

For what it is worth I am pasting below a short biography I wrote a while back in regard to this artist. I had some assistance from a member of her family:

Ethel Martin Frimston (1880-1940) was a painter in oil and watercolour and sculptor in bronze and plaster, based in Liverpool. Our research suggests that she was born Caroline Ethel Martin in Liverpool in 1880. She married Edward Noel Frimston, a cotton broker, circa 1910. In 1908 she exhibited at the Walker Art Gallery in Liverpool as Ethel Martin. By 1911 she was known as Mrs Noel Frimston and/or Ethel Martin Frimston and she continued to exhibit at the Walker Art Gallery as Mrs Frimston. Her work was included in the important Post Impressionist exhibition held by the Sandon Studios in Liverpool in 1911. During her time at Sandon Studios she was taught by Augustus John. Her exhibition addresses were given subsequently as Sandon Studios although we think she was living later at Neston in Cheshire. An oil interior by her is in the collection of Williamson Art Gallery in Birkenhead. Her sister-in-law, Winifred Elizabeth Frimston (born Toxteth Park, Liverpool 1886) was also an artist who exhibited at the Walker Art Gallery. Ethel Martin Frimston was living at Neston when she died on 1st August 1940. Her husband survived her.

Martin Hopkinson,

Poliitically active as a suffragette associated with the Women;s Social and Poliitical Union. She visited Russia and with Maud Budden delivered a talk What we saw in Rusia at the Sandon Studios Society in 1932
Bryan Biggs and John Belchem ed.,Bluecoat, Liverpool , Liverpool , 2020, pp. 43, 83, 86
This should be mentioned in any summary of her career

See attached 'summary of her career' as at 2 May 2020, to which I have also added Grant Waters's note of 25 June for further reference, since it is of independent origin -not based on the discussion here. The other ladies [Ellen] Ethel Martin (later Mrs [David] Fridlander) and her sister Beatrix have now been 'disambiguated' as unrelated people.

This is one that could probably now close before it goes back over ground already trodden, but it's not my call...

Manto Psarelli,

Thank you to all who contributed to this discussion. Special thanks to Kieran Owens, Osmund Bullock, Bryan Biggs and E. Jones for their research (and great investigating work) which provided us with an invaluable insight to Ethel Martin Frimston’s life and career -as well as to Pieter van der Merwe for producing a summary of Ethel's career and for summarising the discussions we have been having online. Many thanks are also due to Grant Waters for the short biography (included in Peter’s document). I am delighted to recommend to Art UK that we now close this discussion, having reached the conclusion that artist Ethel Martin (later Frimston) is different to artist Ethel Martin.

Jacob Simon,

Pieter has recommended closure on the basis that the discussion has provided copious information to answer the question, "Could Ethel Martin Frimston be the same artist as Ethel Martin?"

As the new Group leader for British 19th century portraits, I support his recommendation. Marion, I wonder where closure has got to?

PS. I don't really understand why this discussion has a "British 19th century portraits" tag.

Manto, Jacob, thank you for recommending that we close the discussion. The collection is aware of the discussion, although there may be some delay because our contact is working part time.

Jacob, it was added to the 19th C portraits group because 'Caroline Bray (1814–1905)' was painted in 1901 so I thought there might be an interest there.