Alice Westlake

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Alice Westlake , b. Hare (born January 9, 1842 in Brompton , London , † August 11, 1923 in London), was a British suffragette and artist.

Life

Family and first years of life

Alice Westlake was a daughter of the lawyer Thomas Hare and his first wife Mary, b. Samson († 1855). In total, the couple had four sons and four daughters, including the future writer Marian Andrews . The family lived in London, first at Pelham Place, Brompton, and in Chestnut Cottage in Ham , until they settled on Gosbury Hill in the Hook borough. The daughters were homeschooled.

In 1864 Alice Hare married the lawyer John Westlake . There were no children from the marriage.

Commitment to women's rights

Alice Westlake worked, among other things, for the introduction of women's suffrage in the United Kingdom and the improvement of educational and professional opportunities for women. She belonged to the Langham Place Group and in 1865 became a member of the Kensington Society, where women exchanged views on such goals and began the first activities to implement them. Both she and her husband signed John Stuart Mill 's women's suffrage petition in 1866 and were members of the Enfranchisement of Women Committee (1866/1867). Alice Westlake was also active in its successor organization, the London National Society for Women's Suffrage. In 1882 she became a member of the Central Committee of the National Society for Women's Suffrage, and in the 1890s she was on the executive committee of the Women's Liberal Unionist Association.

The Westlakes were active supporters of suffragette and doctor Elizabeth Garrett Anderson . So they helped her in 1870 with her candidacy for the London School Board (LSB). Alice Westlake was elected her successor in 1876 and represented Marylebone on the London School Board until 1888 . She also supported Garrett Anderson's efforts to establish a hospital for women in London. In this area she made her most extensive contribution to the women's movement. After founding the St. Mary's Dispensary for Women and Children (1866), she became a member of the first board of directors. Later she was treasurer of its successor, the New Hospital for Women, while her husband was in the administration. In 1922, a year before her death, she was the hospital's vice-president.

Alice Westlake: Portrait of her husband John Westlake , National Portrait Gallery

Artistic work

Westlake was artistically active as a painter and etcher . In 1875/1877 she sent to the Royal Academy of Arts and also exhibited in the Paris Salon . Portraits of her father and husband that she created are in the National Portrait Gallery in London .

Works (selection)
  • Portrait by Thomas Hare , pencil, c. 1885, 445 mm × 318 mm, National Portrait Gallery, London
  • Portrait by John Westlake , oil on panel, c. 1896/1897, 337 mm × 260 mm, National Portrait Gallery, London

literature

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Rosemary Mitchell: Andrews, Marian. In: Oxford Dictionary of National Biography . Oxford 2004, ISBN 0-19-861411-X , ( oxforddnb.com license required ), as of May 14, 2020, accessed June 12, 2020.
  2. ^ A b Elizabeth Crawford: Westlake, Alice. In: The Women's Suffrage Movement: A Reference Guide, 1866-1928. Routledge, London 2002, p. 706.
  3. ↑ Alice Westlake (née Hare) (1840-1923), artist npg.org.uk. Retrieved June 12, 2020.
personal data
SURNAME Westlake, Alice
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Hare, Alice (maiden name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION British suffragette and artist
DATE OF BIRTH January 9, 1842
PLACE OF BIRTH Brompton , London
DATE OF DEATH August 11, 1923
Place of death London