Born in Bristol in 1915, Mary Fedden studied at the Slade School of Art in London from 1932 to 1936 and throughout the war, she painted sets for the Arts Theatre in Great Newport Street, London. 1944 she was sent abroad as a Navy, Army and Air Force Institute (NAAFI) driver. Fedden began to paint in earnest once the war was over, enabling her to develop her personal style, which owed much to the influence of French and Russian modernists. In 1951, she married the British artist Julian Trevelyan, and they devoted themselves to art and travel. Her husband greatly influenced her paintings throughout the 1950s, and they collaborated on several occasions, often being commissioned to paint murals together.
By the 1960s, Fedden began formulating her distinctive style using pure, vibrant colours. From 1958 to 1964, she was a tutor at the Royal College of Art, where her pupils included David Hockney and Allen Jones. From 1965 until 1970, she taught at the Yehudi Menuhin School at Cobham in Surrey.
Mary Fedden was best known for her bold, vivid still lifes and colourful views of Italy and North Africa. Her work was touched by a unique naivete, and she will remain one of Britain’s best-loved artists. She continued working from the Hammersmith studio she shared with her husband (who died in 1988) well into her nineties.
