This biography is republished from The Dictionary of Irish Biography and was written by Frances Clarke. Shared by permission in line with Creative Commons ‘Attribution’ (CC BY) licencing.
Born: 11 January 1858, Ireland
Died: 11 October 1941
Country most active: Ireland
Also known as: NA
Butler, Mildred Anne (1858–1941), animal and genre painter, was born 11 January 1858 in Kilmurry, Thomastown, Co. Kilkenny, the youngest daughter of Captain Henry Butler and Clara Butler (née Taylor) of the Newarke, Leicester. Her father, the grandson of the 11th Viscount Mountgarret, was himself an enthusiastic painter, known for his publication South African sketches: illustrative of the wildlife of a hunter on the frontier of Cape Colony (1841). Her early artistic efforts were mainly copies of romantic subjects, but the influence of the London artist Paul Jacob Naftel (1817–91), with whom she began corresponding in the early 1880s, proved to be crucial to her artistic development. Studies with Frank Calderon, an expert in animal painting, were also significant. She subsequently spent the summers of 1894 and 1895 in Newlyn, Cornwall, with the Irish artist Norman Garstin (1847–1926), who introduced her to contemporary French painting. In 1885 she made her first visit to the continent, travelling through France, Switzerland, and Italy. From 1905 to 1914 she travelled regularly to Europe, most particularly Aix-les-Bains and Wiesbaden, during which time she produced genre views of French and German villages. After 1914 her life at the family home was interrupted only by visits to London exhibitions. She is best known for her paintings of Kilmurry and its environs, many of which display an interest in botany. Much of her work is dominated by detailed representations of animals and birds, often drawn from photographs and stuffed specimens.
Butler’s career as an exhibitor began in 1882 with the Irish Fine Arts Society, later known as the Watercolour Society of Ireland, with which she had a long association. She exhibited regularly with the society from 1892 onwards, and was a member of its committee for many years. She was also closely associated with the Dudley Gallery in London; her work was first shown there in 1888, and on this evidence she was elected to their society. The purchase by the Chantrey bequest for the Tate Gallery of The morning bath for £50 in 1896 was a highpoint in her career. The first painting by a woman to be selected by the council, its purchase was followed by almost consistently good press reviews for her work. The Athenaeum of 5 May 1897 wrote: ‘The young lady knows how to look at her subjects with the eyes of a well trained artist.’ She also came to the attention of the American artistic press. She contributed to the portfolio of drawings given by the Society of Lady Artists to Princess May on her marriage to the duke of York in 1893, while in 1922 her work was included in the portfolio presented to Princess Mary on her marriage. Her patrons included Queen Alexandra, and the grand duke of Hesse, who purchased two of her paintings after she was invited to exhibit in Hesse Darmstadt in 1911. In 1914 she was made a member of the Union Internationale des Beaux Arts, and in 1921 her paintings were shown in Japan. She regularly exhibited with the Belfast Ramblers, the Ulster Academy, the RA, the RHA, the Society of Lady Artists, and the Royal Watercolour Society, of which she was made an associate member in 1896, and a full member in 1937.
In her later years severe rheumatism prevented Butler from painting. She had a keen interest in music. She survived all her five siblings, and inherited Kilmurry, where she died 11 October 1941. She was buried at Thomastown, Co. Kilkenny. Her paintings are represented in the collections of the NGI, Dublin City Gallery the Hugh Lane, the Ulster Museum, and the Tate, London.