Hatt studied at Bath Technical School’s School of Art until enrolling at Goldsmith’s College where, in 1915, she designed a First World War recruiting poster featuring St George and the Dragon. She later disowned it following the death of several family members in the conflict.
After resuming study, next at the Royal College of Art, she began exhibiting her paintings in the 1920s and started to receive attention for her works. Hatt continued to exhibit her works over five decades, incorporating the major Modernist styles of the day, including Abstraction, Cubism and Purism.
In 1938 she received a family legacy which she put into building Littlemead, a distinctive Art Deco/ Bauhaus home in Clevedon. It became a meeting place for radical activity in arts and politics. As a member of the Communist Party, she stood twice (though unsuccessfully) for local election.
Sam Astill, principal museums officer at the South West Heritage Trust, says: “Doris Hatt was a woman ahead of her time – a feminist and socialist whose remarkable life and artistic achievements have remained surprisingly little known.”
The exhibition A Life in Colour: The Art of Doris Hatt, which runs from March 16-June 29, celebrates the artist’s work 50 years after her death.
Denys Wilcox, co-curator of The Court Gallery, says: “We look forward to this exhibition bringing her the wider recognition she so richly deserves.”
As well as co-curating the show, the gallery is sponsoring it and has published a book about the artist’s life and work. All the works at the Museum of Somerset are on loan.
However, later in the month, The Court Gallery offers a selection of her works on paper for sale at prices from £500-1500.
