Margaret Thomas

Margaret Thomas (26 September 1916 – 27 March 2016) was a British painter. She is remembered in particular for her still lifes and her flower paintings which received considerable acclaim, and are in numerous UK public collections. Career Thomas was born in London, England on 26 September 1916. When she was 12 years old she was introduced to Ethel Walker, and other women artists, by her governess.  Thomas would later exhibit pieces in the same shows as Walker. In 1934 Thomas began her studies at Sidcup School of Art. She continued, having won a scholarship, at the Slade School of Fine Art in London. For her final year, she studied at the Royal Academy Schools under Thomas Monnington and Ernest Jackson. Her works were being noticed as early as 1938: commenting on an exhibition of The Women Artists, The Observer noted that "most of the outstanding pieces are contributed by the non-members such as ... 'Flu' by Margaret Thomas ..." During World War II the Royal Academy Schools closed and Thomas moved to the Wiltshire countryside. She was inspired by nature, "I frequently return to the motif of a dying flower; I draw endless inspiration from these spiky, spectral and sculptural presences. When picked, flowers must be left alone to fulfil their destinies, to orientate to the light, to sort out their relative strengths, to stabilise and mature. They cannot be arranged. All this I seek to show in my paintings."