{"id":6118,"date":"2018-11-26T19:05:26","date_gmt":"2018-11-26T19:05:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/damesnet.com\/?p=6118"},"modified":"2018-11-26T19:05:26","modified_gmt":"2018-11-26T19:05:26","slug":"painting-the-town-blue","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/damesnet.com\/?p=6118","title":{"rendered":"Painting the town blue"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"<\/a>

Pamela Hansford Johnson\/A Writing Life<\/p><\/div>\n

It is clearly the case that where dames<\/span>net<\/span><\/strong> leads, other dames follow. This was perfectly illustrated recently when national treasure Dame Judi Dench was featured urging Londoners to nominate their \u2018unsung female heroes\u2019 as candidate for a blue plaque:<\/p>\n

https:\/\/www.gazette-news.co.uk\/leisure\/showbiz\/17238097.dame-judi-dench-calls-for-public-to-nominate-women-for-blue-plaques\/<\/p>\n

Well this dame was writing about this back in March 2016, when English Heritage highlighted some of London\u2019s pioneering women who are commemorated by blue plaques: https:\/\/damesnet.com\/?p=3849<\/p>\n

Unfortunately, in the interim not much has been achieved in terms of redressing the gender imbalance in this particular area. \u00a0Women still account for just 14% of blue plaques in the capital, so we welcome Dame Judi\u2019s intervention.<\/p>\n

My earlier blog provides all the necessary information on the procedure for nominating women, so this time I decided to check out some possible candidates from south London, where I live. \u00a0The following women all contributed to the creative process, and to my mind meet the English Heritage criteria.<\/p>\n

Anna Airy<\/strong> was an English oil painter, pastel artist and etcher. She was born in Greenwich, south-east London, in 1882, and became one of the leading women artists of her generation. She was one of the first women to be officially commissioned as a war artist.<\/p>\n

In June 1918 the Munitions Committee of the Imperial War Museum (IWM) commissioned four paintings of typical scenes from munitions factories in Hendon, Hackney and Nottingham and at the South Metropolitan Gas Co.\u00a0 Working conditions in the factories were difficult and sometimes dangerous; at the National Projectile Factory in Hackney the ground was so hot that her shoes were reportedly burnt off her feet.<\/p>\n

Airy was also commissioned by the Women’s Work Section of the IWM during the war and her work was featured in an IWM exhibition of Women War Artists in 2011-2012: https:\/\/www.iwm.org.uk\/history\/6-stunning-first-world-war-artworks-by-women-war-artists<\/p>\n

Mary Clare Absalom<\/strong>, actress, was born in Lambeth, south-west London in 1892. \u00a0She appeared on stage and in film and television. In theatre she became one of Noel Coward\u2019s \u2018leading ladies\u2019, and appeared in several of his plays, including Cavalcade<\/em> and Waiting in the Wings<\/em>.\u00a0 In 1945 Clare played the lead role of the victim in Agatha Christie\u2019s play Appointment with Death.<\/em><\/p>\n

Screen parts followed, including a role in the silent film The Black Spider<\/em> and she appeared in two of Alfred Hitchcock\u2019s films: Young and Innocent <\/em>and The Lady Vanishes<\/em>.\u00a0 Her forte was in strong character parts. Her only title role was as the eccentric detective Palmyra Pym in the 1940 film Mrs Pym of Scotland Yard.<\/em><\/p>\n

My third nomination is Pamela Hansford Johnson<\/strong>, novelist, playwright, poet, literary and social critic.\u00a0 She was born in Clapham, south London, in 1912. \u00a0She began her literary career writing poetry and went on to write 27 novels, where she explored themes of comedy, tragedy and crime.\u00a0 Her second husband was the novelist C.P. Snow.<\/p>\n

She also published short stories, critical works, sociological studies and autobiographical essays, and received a CBE in 1975.<\/p>\n

Once again, we would love to hear your suggestions for blue plaque nominations. Dame Judi exhorts us to paint the town blue with women\u2019s plaques. Let\u2019s go for it.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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