Keighley artist, Florence M. Wood (1908 -2004), trained at the Leeds College of Art in the late 1920s and whilst a student there exhibited her work for the first time at the Yorkshire Artist’s Exhibition in Leeds and at the Spring Exhibition, Cartwright Hall, Bradford.
After graduation, she taught art at schools in Newcastle and Harrogate and during WW2 worked as an artist on Secret Assignment projects for the Ministry of Aircraft Production in London.
After the war she taught art at Skipton Girl’s High School and continued to exhibit her work in Yorkshire, including at shows of the West Riding Artists and with the Women’s International Art Club, London. She was a committee member of the National Society for Art Education (Northern Region Branch).
In 1962 she had a solo exhibition of 35 examples of her artwork, including watercolours, oils, gouache, drypoint and etching, at Cliffe Castle, Keighley, attracting large numbers of local people. These artworks included Yorkshire and other English scenes, as well as works from her Italian painting trips.
Her paintings are now in private collections.
(Images of Florence’s artwork would be welcome – please make contact if you can help.)