During the 1906-1909 years, she taught at a school in Solihull.
Her paintings were exhibited by the Royal Birmingham Society of Artists (1890-1907),
and by the Royal Academy of Arts in 1907 and 1917
In 1911, married Ernest Smith, a sculptor
Edith Blackwell Holden (1871-1920) was a British artist and art teacher, known in her
time as an illustrator of children's books. Much influenced by the Arts and Crafts
movement, she specialized in painting animals and plants. Holden was made famous by
the posthumous publication, in 1977, of her "Nature Notes for 1906" under the title The
Country Diary of an Edwardian Lady. She was living in Kineton Green Road, Olton,
Solihull in 1905-6 when she recorded the notes The collection of seasonal observations,
poetry, and pictures of birds, plants, and insects, which was never even considered for
publication when it was composed, has the nostalgic charm of a vanished world seven
decades later. It was a best seller.
Edith's mother, a Unitarian, was Emma Wearing, a former governess who wrote two
religious books, Ursula's Childhood and Beatrice of St. Mawse, published by the Society
for Promoting Christian Knowledge. Her father, also a Unitarian, was Arthur Holden,
owner of a factory in Birmingham and a philanthropist. Edith's middle name honoured
the pioneer woman physician, Elizabeth Blackwell, also a Unitarian and the Holdens'
cousin. The Holden family attended the Birmingham Labour Church.
During the 1906-09 school years Edith Holden taught at the Solihull School for Girls.
She fashioned her "Nature Notes for 1906" as a model for her students' work. Then, like
her younger sisters, Holden became an illustrator. She illustrated four volumes, 1907-10,
of The Animal's Friend, a magazine of the National Council for Animals' Welfare, and a
number of children's books, including The Three Goats Gruff. Her paintings were often
exhibited from 1890-1907 by the Royal Birmingham Society of Artists, and by the Royal
Academy of Arts in 1907 and 1917.
In 1911 Edith Holden married Ernest Smith, a sculptor who became principal assistant to
Countess Feodora Gleichen. At the Countess's studio in St. James Palace the Smiths
associated with leading artists like Sir George Frampton, sculptor of the statue of Peter
Pan in Kensington Gardens, and royal visitors such as King Faisal of Arabia. Meanwhile,
Edith continued her career as an illustrator.
This much is known about the nine years of her married life, until her death.
On Tuesday, 16th March 1920, she was found drowned in a backwater of the River
Thames, near Kew Gardens Walk.On the prior Monday morning Edith had complained to
Ernest of a headache, but this was not uncommon and the matter had not been dwelt on.
The main subject at breakfast had been the impending visit of some friends for Easter, to
which Edith was looking forward. Ernest left for the studio at St. James's Palace and
Edith said that she would probably go down to the river later to see the University crews
practicing.
When Ernest returned home that evening his wife was out but the table had been laid for
the evening meal, and Ernest assumed that she was with friends. It was not until the next
morning that he learned the truth. Her body had been found at six o' clock on the Tuesday
morning. The inquest established that she had tried to reach a branch of chestnut buds.
The bough was out of reach and with the aid of her umbrella Edith had tried to break it
off, fallen forward into the river and drowned.
* The Animal's Friend (four volumes, 1907-1910, the magazine of the National Council
for Animals' Welfare)
* Daily Bread (1910) by Margaret Gatty
* Woodland Whisperings (1911) by Margaret Rankin
* a series of undated children's books published by Henry Frowde/Hodder &
Stoughton
o Animals Around Us
o Birds
o Beasts and Fishes
o The Three Goats Gruff
o Mrs Strang's Annual for Children.
* The Hedgehog Feast (text by her great-niece Rowena Stot; 1978)
…………..
UU article
Edith Blackwell Holden (September 26, 1871-April 6, 1920) was a British artist and art
teacher, known in her time as an illustrator of children's books. Much influenced by the
Arts and Crafts movement, she specialized in painting animals. Holden was made famous
by the posthumous publication, in 1977, of her "Nature Notes for 1906" under the title
The Country Diary of an Edwardian Lady. The collection of seasonal observations,
poetry, and pictures of birds, plants, and insects, which was never even considered for
publication when it was composed, had the nostalgic charm of a vanished world seven
decades later. It was a best seller.
Edith's mother, a Unitarian, was Emma Wearing, a former governess who wrote two
religious books, Ursula's Childhood and Beatrice of St. Mawse, published by the Society
for Promoting Christian Knowledge. Her father, a Unitarian, was Arthur Holden, owner
of a factory in Birmingham and a philanthropist. Edith's middle name honoured the
pioneer woman physician, Elizabeth Blackwell, also a Unitarian and the Holdens' cousin.
The Holden family attended the Birmingham Labour Church. Like many religious
liberals of the 19th century, the Holdens were interested in spiritualism. Mrs. Holden
practiced automatic writing.
There were four girls and two boys in the Holden family. Edith and her sisters were given
their early education at home. Three of the girls, Edith, Violet, and Evelyn, later received
scholarships for their study at the Birmingham School of Art. The two younger, Violet
and Evelyn, became illustrators. They collaborated on The Real Princess, published in
1894, and The House That Jack Built, 1895. Effie, the oldest, went to Sweden to study
the Arts and Crafts movement. Edith continued her studies with painter Joseph Adam at
the Craigmill Art School in Scotland.
During the 1906-09 school years Edith Holden taught at the Solihull School for Girls.
She fashioned her "Nature Notes for 1906" as a model for her students' work. Then, like
her younger sisters, Holden became an illustrator. She illustrated four volumes, 1907-10,
of The Animal's Friend, a magazine of the National Council for Animals' Welfare, and a
number of children's books, including The Three Goats Gruff. Her paintings were often
exhibited from 1890-1907 by the Royal Birmingham Society of Artists, and by the Royal
Academy of Arts in 1907 and 1917.
In 1911 Edith Holden married Ernest Smith, a sculptor who became principal assistant to
Countess Feodora Gleichen. At the Countess's studio in St. James Palace the Smiths
associated with leading artists like Sir George Frampton, sculptor of the statue of Peter
Pan in Kensington Gardens, and royal visitors such as King Faisal of Arabia. Meanwhile,
Edith continued her career as an illustrator. She died nine years later, in 1920, at the
Thames Kew Gardens in Richmond. Collecting flowers from a riverbank too near the
water, she drowned in the Thames River.
The only biography of Holden is Ina Taylor's The Edwardian Lady: The Story of Edith
Holden (1980). Following the publication of The Country Diary of an Edwardian Lady in
1977, a children's book, The Hedgehog Feast, with watercolours by Edith Holden and a
text by her great-niece Rowena Stott, was released the following year. Holden also
illustrated Daily Bread (1910) by Margaret Gatty, Woodland Whisperings (1911) by
Margaret Rankin, and a series of undated children's books published by Henry
Frowde/Hodder & Stoughton-Animals Around Us, Birds, Beasts and Fishes, The Three
Goats Gruff, and Mrs Strang's Annual for Children.