Eleanor Mary Hughes The Portrait Painter Of Trees

Born in Christchurch, New Zealand, Eleanor Mary Hughes (née Waymouth) became a prominent landscape artist and a central figure in the celebrated Newlyn School of artists in Cornwall, England. After studying at the Canterbury College School of Art, she relocated to Britain in the early 1900s to study under Stanhope and Elizabeth Forbes.

Settling in the Lamorna Valley with her husband, painter Robert Morson Hughes, she became renowned for her extraordinary draughtsmanship, delicate watercolours, and masterful intaglio etchings. Her work frequently captured the rugged coastal beauty, intricate tree lines, and historic stone architecture of the Cornish landscape. Hughes was a regular exhibitor at the Royal Academy and was elected a full member of the Royal Institute of Painters in Water Colours in 1933.

The Lamorna Circle: A prominent member of the Lamorna Cove artist colony in Cornwall, it has been suggested that her printmaking may have been encouraged by her close friend Dame Laura Knight, who became an etcher in the same time period as Eleanor Hughes.

Her original works and etchings are preserved in the permanent collections of several prestigious institutions, including:

  • The British Museum (London, UK)

  • Penlee House Gallery & Museum (Penzance, UK)

  • Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa (Wellington, NZ)

  • Christchurch Art Gallery Te Puna o Waiwhetū (Christchurch, NZ)

  • Featured in the definitive national survey Ink on Paper: Aotearoa New Zealand Printmakers of the Modern Era by curator Peter Vangioni (Christchurch Art Gallery).

Further Reading & Biographical Profiles: To explore the comprehensive life and exhibition history of Eleanor Mary Hughes, please visit the biographical profiles below: