Ethel Leontine Gabain, 1883-1950

• Biography

  Attribute	Value
  Biography	Ethel Gabain was a printmaker and painter, born in Le Havre, of mixed French and Scottish descent. After spending her first 14 years in France, Gabain moved to boarding school in Britain and later studied at the Slade School of Art, the Central School of Art and in Paris. In 1913 she married the artist John Copley. With Copley, she was a founder-member of the Senefelder Club. She was a lithographer, etcher and painter of portraits and figures, and from 1915 exhibited at the Royal Academy and elsewhere in London. She made her first appearance at Royal Academy of Art with an oil painting Zinnias, and then exhibited widely in Britain. Gabain's favourite themes were adolescent girlhood and a figure against window. Gabain designed the poster The Art of Travel for the Underground Group, which shows these characters. She became an official war artist during WWII and later a popular lecturer on art history In 1932 she was elected to the Royal Society of British Artists. In 1940 she became an Official War Artist.
  Place of birth	Le Havre, France
  Education	The Slade School of Fine Art, Central School of Art and Crafts, Paris,
  Employment	Designed posters for the Underground Group and London Transport, 1921-1935
  Role	Artist,