Winifred Broughton Edge 1896-1977

Portrait of Mrs MacKenna. Painted in oil on canvas and within a fine, made-for-the-painting, gold on black lacquer frame. A hand written label to the reverse states ‘Miss Winifred B. Edge, 66 Godwin Road, Rangoon. Title: ‘Portrait of Mrs MacKenna (Not For Sale).

o.s: 27 in x 31 in
the work: 20 in x 24 in

Winifred Edge enrolled at the Royal Academy Schools to study painting in 1913; her resulting career as a professional portrait painter short lived, in part due to her being a woman but perhaps also to her training during the First World War.
By 1916 the majority of Edge’s fellow students were female, the nation’s young men conscripted. A year after Edge had enrolled at the Royal Academy Schools a moratorium was placed on vacancies for women as they were ‘outnumbering the male’. A life class for women was only provided at the Royal Academy from 1893, thirty years after it was first requested and whilst both male and female models sat for the class, the latter were nude whilst the men initially wore bathing trunks with a length of fabric wrapped around them.
Soon after graduating, Winifred Edge married and had two children.

She had won several prizes at the Royal Academy Schools and exhibited on three occasions; twice in 1917 and on a third and final occasion in 1918. From then on evidence would suggest that Edge worked mainly in an amateur capacity. This portrait further suggesting that she had also left the country.

Sir James MacKenna was an influential British colonial administrator who served extensively in Burma at the beginning of the 20th century. He joined the Indian Civil Services in 1894, became Director of Agriculture in 1906 and director of Agricultural Research Institute at Pusa between 1916 and 1920. Having retired in 1920 he was knighted in 1925. During his time of service he travelled extensively throughout Burma usually in the company of his wife, Ester Florence. They had married in 1902.