Catalogue description Papers of Mary Seton Watts, neé Fraser-Tytler

Diaries, 1870-1906; notebooks of abstracts from diaries including notes dictated by her husband George Frederick Watts, 1886-1904; exercise books (with index) of notes George Frederick Watts made on scraps of paper whilst at work arranged, pasted into notebooks and transcribed by Mary Seton Watts's secretary, c.1886-1912; further notebooks including George Frederick Watts's notes pasted in and transcribed but not indexed; two Chapel notebooks and large drawings of designs for Compton Mortuary Chapel interior, c.1891-1904; other notebooks recording information on George Frederick Watts, his work and exhibitions probably for use in Mary Seton Watts's biography of her husband and in compiling a catalogue of his work; draft manuscript and first proof of the biography; three volume catalogue with photographs of George Frederick Watts's works, recording each work's owner and where it had been exhibited; 6 albums of press cuttings on George Frederick Watts and his work, 1873-1932; some original letters to and from Mary Seton Watts, 1891-1925, largely comprising letters to James Smith who purchased some of George Frederick Watts's paintings; copy of a Grosvenor Gallery Catalogue, 1882, and a notice of thanks from McGill University, Montreal for Mary Seton Watts's gift of a banner, 1908.

Correspondence and documents concerning Mary Seton Watts, in particular regarding her will can be found among the Watts Gallery Records [Ref: WGR]

Watts, Mary Seton, 1849-1938, neé Fraser-Tytler, artist

Gould, Veronica Franklin Mary Seton Watts, Unsung Heroine of the Art Nouveau (1998)

• Visual Arts

Paper index to Catalogue; transcriptions of letters and notes from diaries avaialble at Gallery

Mary Seton Watts was born in 1849, the third daughter of Charles Fraser-Tytler, then a civil servant in India. She was brought up in Aldourie Castle, Inverness-shire and was educated there, before studying art in Dresden, Rome, at the South Kensington Art Training School, The Slade, and also as a pupil of Aimeé-Jules Dalou, from whom she learnt clay-modelling. She was first introduced to George Frederick Watts (1817-1904) the Victorian painter and sculptor, by a family friend in 1870, but she had long been an admirer of his work. They married in November 1886. Whilst living in London, Mary became involved in the Home Arts and Industries Association, and also began a clay-modelling class for shoeblacks in Whitechapel. In 1891 the couple had a house built for them in the Surrey village of Compton. In the grounds of their new home Limnerslease, Mary discovered good quality clay, and began pottery classes, teaching the villagers of Compton how to model. In 1891 Compton Parish Council announced it required a new burial ground, and Mary put in a request to design a Chapel. This accepted, Mary began work on the design, a model of which was completed in 1895. Supervising villagers whom she employed to undertake the building work, the Compton Mortuary Chapel was dedicated in 1898, blending together Celtic influence and the emerging Art Nouveau style, a fitting example of the Home Arts and Industries ideals she championed. With the Chapel interior remaining to be completed, Mary decided to establish a professional pottery business and the Compton Pottery and the Potters' Art Guild were born, both of which existed until the 1950's. She also designed a small chapel at the Cambridge Military Hospital in Aldershot (c.1914-1918). A devoted wife to 'Signor', she outlived her husband by 34 years, and wrote his biography which was published in 1912. She also oversaw the establishment of the Watts Gallery in Compton to house a permanent exhibition of her husband's studio collection, which opened to the public in 1904, shortly before his death. Publications: George Frederick Watts, Annals of an Artist's Life, 3 vol. (Macmillan & Co., London, 1912); The Word in the Pattern (William H. Ward, London, 1899)

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