Artist Information
Artist
Irene Stella Rolph Langdale (1880-1976)Role
PainterDate made
n.d.Time Period
20th CenturyNotes
ARTIST BIOGRAPHY
Born in Middlesex, England, Irene Stella Rolph Langdale was a Canadian painter, etcher, illustrator of books and a sculptor, best known for her landscapes and imaginary images. Her father, Marmaduke A. Langdale RA (1840-1905), was a successful artist known mainly for his landscapes. Langdale studied art in Brighton and then at the Glasgow School of Art under director Frank Henry (Fra) Newbery (1855-1946) and others. At the time, many Glasgow artists shared an aversion to the Edinburgh-centric Scottish art establishment, which they viewed as oppressive. As a result, they embraced change and Langford was exposed to new enlightened thinking and artistic developments such as realism, naturalism, Impressionism, Symbolism, Orientalism and Celtism, in addition to the ground-breaking design work such as that done by the artist, designer and architect Charles Rennie McIntosh (1868-1928), one of the most important figures of Modern Style (British Art Nouveau style).
Langdale experimented with multiple media including oil, watercolour, pastel, charcoal, etching and sculpture. As an artist Langdale was always inspired by the past, its spirituality and perceived wisdom, and she admired the visionary work of the artist and poet William Blake (1757-1827) and others. She exhibited with the Royal Scottish Academy, the Royal Glasgow Institute of Fine Arts, the International Society of Sculptors, Painters and Gravers and the Paris Salon. She was a member of the International Print Society, and illustrated a number of books, including Dream of Gerontius, Christ in Hades, Hound of Heaven and Symphonie Symbolique. She traveled widely in Western Europe and northern Africa and those experiences combined with her training can be seen in her technical but often haunting depictions of classical sculpture, diverse architecture and exotic locales.
In the 1920s, Langdale had become friends with the artist, author and visionary mystic Katharine Maltwood (1878-1961) at her London studio and this friendship continued in Victoria, as both moved to the city ca. 1940. Katharine Maltwood with her husband John became active in the arts community purchasing Langdale’s work and that of other local artists, as well as items from global travels, inspired by the philosophies of the Arts and Crafts Movement, continental Symbolism and Asian aesthetics. The Maltwood Collection including Katharine’s works and writings was donated to the University of Victoria Art Collections in 1964.
Langdale went on many sketching trips across the province. She was inspired both by the power of the sea, as well as by the spiritual force of the forests and mountains. She exhibited with the Island Arts and Crafts Society in 1941 and had solo exhibitions at the Vancouver Art Gallery in the 1940s. She also showed her work in the B.C. Artists annual exhibitions in 1940, 1944-45, and 1948 at the Vancouver Art Gallery and at an exhibit at the Little Centre in Victoria, a precursor to the Art Gallery of Greater Victoria. Langdale moved to the United States in 1954 and died at age 96 in California. In 1990, The University of Victoria Maltwood Museum and Gallery put on a solo retrospective of Langdale's work.