Colourful glass painted by one of the only women to learn one of the most ancient crafts in the world in war-torn Britain – thanks to her father – is coming up for auction.
Sheila Willford was just 16 in 1944 when she started to learn glass painting from her dad Thomas Francis Willford, a Fellow of the Society of Master Glass Painters.
Some 15 examples of glass artwork created by Thomas and his daughter are set to be sold at Hansons Auctioneers’ October Fine Art Auction together with scale drawings of window designs by Thomas.
Some of the glass artwork in the sale depicts 1950s postcard characters such as a parson, judge and landlord. There is also a panel showing a scene from Shakspeare’s The Taming of The Shrew – created by Sheila to gain membership to the Society of Master Glass Painters.
Thomas Francis Willford and his daughter Sheila Willford.
The works of art are being sold by Sheila’s daughter Christine Marsden, 61, a retired childrenswear designer from Mickleover, Derby, following the loss of her mother at the age of 91 in May 2019.
She said: “I’m very proud of the artistic legacy left by my mother and grandfather. Sheila learned everything from Thomas, who was one of the best known and highly regarded traditional glass painters of his time. He worked mainly in the Wirral and the North West but also exported glass to Brazil and Wisconsin in America back in the 1950s.”
Sheila became her father’s apprentice in 1944 and together they worked on numerous commissions including the restoration of church windows damaged in the Second Wold War. For example, both father and daughter worked on a war-damaged window at Eastham Parish Church, Aintree, Liverpool, in 1952.
The Willfords’ work adorns more than 40 churches, civic buildings and houses across the country including All Saints Church in Marple, Cheshire, where the family originated from.
Other places which reaped the benefits of their skills included Derbyshire’s Bridgemont Mission at Whaley Bridge and The Vicarage at Cromford; All Saints Church, Bolton; St Anne’s, Birkenhead, and St Mary’s Church, Redditch.
Sheila was a prolific artist in many genres and, as well as painted glass, created around 400 watercolour paintings, sketches and commercial artwork including Manchester pub signs.
But it was her glass painting that got her noticed. According to a 1946 newspaper article headlined ‘No Other Girls Like These’, Sheila and her friend, fellow apprentice Edna Cadwallader, were the only girls in the UK employed as glass painters at a time when the Society of Master Glass Painters had 50 members.
Christine said: “Mum learned her craft from her father and after his untimely death at only 64 years of age, she moved to the Charles Lightfoot Glass Studio in Manchester.
“During her 50-year career she worked on numerous projects including work for private houses. A cottage in the Derbyshire village of Hartington has one of her glass paintings in its door.
“Mum left so many pieces of artwork, I collected around 100 sketches and paintings and, at her memorial service, invited people to take an item to remember her by.”
Charles Hanson, owner of Hansons, said: “Thomas and Sheila did much to preserve the historical beauty of Britain’s ancient buildings after the Second World War. We’re honoured to be selling an archive which celebrates their lives and work. I hope many collectors will snap up this rare opportunity to buy a piece of unique painted glass.”
The art of glass painting is so ancient historians aren’t sure when it began. However, when churches were built in the 10th century, huge glass windows with paintings of Christ and depictions of Biblical characters and stories began to emerge in churches in England.
The Sheila and Thomas Willford collection will be sold in Hansons’ October 9-11 Fine Art Auction at Bishton Hall, Wolseley Bridge, Staffordshire, ST17 0XN. To find out more, email Jim Spencer: [email protected]
