Beatrice Offor (1864 - 1920)

- a Tottenham Artist

Beatrice Offor lived at 8 Bruce Grove, Tottenham for the latter part of her life. Forty  paintings and one sculpture were bequeathed to Bruce Castle Museum in 1937 and form the largest collection of her work in this country.

Beatrice s work is considered to be a fine example of the artwork of her time. She trained at the Slade School of Art and later exhibited thirteen of her paintings at the Royal Academy. Her work includes portraits and allegorical images of young women as well as portraits of local dignitaries. Sadly, like many British women artists of the Victorian and Edwardian periods, her work has not been widely noticed until now.

A rare interview with Beatrice Offor in an article for The Young Woman suggests that she was the creator of the famous Offor head. This term perhaps describes her romantic images of young women. The interviewer goes on to note: She was a great lover of allegorical subjects and she always tries to depict the beautiful.

Beatrice achieved a lot in her life. She raised a family and supported her husband, James Beaven, in business and local politics. She also managed to continue with her painting, working on a significant number of commissions for local institutions and dignitaries as well as pictures for public exhibition.

Her work lives on here at Bruce Castle Museum.

If anyone knows the whereabouts of any of Beatrice Offor's work Bruce Castle Museum should be interested to hear.
Bruce Castle Museum
Lordship lane
Tottenham,
N17 8NU
020 8808 8772