Mary Pownall, later Mary Bromet, (1862–1937) was a British sculptor. She was active from 1890 until 1937 and was particularly associated with
Watford.[1]
Biography
Pownall was born in
Leigh in
Lancashire in 1862. In the 1890s she was living in
Birkenhead.
She studied in
Frankfurt in 1896 and in Paris from 1897 to 1898 where she was taught by Jean-Baptiste Champeil and Denis Puech.[2] She was also tutored by
Auguste Rodin. Pownall exhibited at the
Paris Salon from 1893 to 1899 and received an honourable mention for her work at the 1899 Exposition Universelle.[2] She then studied in Rome from 1898 to 1901. In Rome she lived at 53b Via Margutta.[3] Between 1897 and 1925 she regularly showed pieces at the
Royal Academy in London.[2]
In 1902 she married Alfred Bromet, a barrister, but she continued to use her maiden name for her work. From 1903 to 1931 they lived at Lime Lodge, Pinner Road in
Watford. Pownall was elected an associate member of the
Royal Society of British Artists in 1932.[4] In 1935 she wrote an illustrated autobiography, "Response", under the name Mary Pownall Bromet.[5] She died in
Oxhey in
Hertfordshire on 25 February 1937.