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20 October 2017

ella coates 1910

Our last Poster Girl was in fact the very first. The London Transport website tells us that ‘Ella Coates was born in 1889 and studied at The London School of Art. She was commissioned for two London Transport posters by Frank Pick whilst at the School of Art. The first of these was Kew Gardens by Tram in 1910, at a time when Ella was living in Kew.The second poster was Great Hall, Hampton Court. The study for this was carried out in 1911 but the poster was not made until 1913. In 1914 Ella married Arthur Banks moving to Lancashire and later Yorkshire. She also exhibited at the Walker Art Gallery in Liverpool. She died in 1937.’ But Ella Coates was the first woman ever to be commissioned by London Transport.

 

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