Jessica Hayllar


Jessica Ellen Hayllar was a British artist and painter.

Biography

Hayllar was born in London and was the eldest daughter of the nine children born to Ellen Phoebe Cavell and her husband James Hayllar. The family lived at Mecklenburgh Square in London and also rented a country house in Suffolk for several months each year before moving to a large house, Castle Priory, by the Thames at Wallingford, then in Berkshire. Hayllar and her four sisters attended a day school in Gower Street and all were given art lessons by their father, who was himself a well-regarded painter. Jessica Hayllar became the most prolific artist among the Hayllar offspring, although her sister Edith also achieved some recognition. Jessica Hayllar exhibited at the Royal Academy in London regularly between 1879 and 1915 and also had works shown at the Society of British Artists, with the Institute of Painters in Oil Colours and at the Royal Manchester Institution. She often painted domestic scenes, local villagers and depicted family occasions and gatherings. Windows and doorways were another frequent theme in her work. Ill health as a result of being knocked down by a carriage in 1900 greatly reduced her output in her later years when she was living in Bournemouth with her father. In her final years she mostly concentrated on painting flower pieces.