Arts and Design

Agnes Wimborne obituary


My mother, Agnes Wimborne, who has died aged 94, was a renowned textile designer whose innovative work was shown around the world and later found a permanent home in the Victoria and Albert Museum.

Agnes Wimborne developed a keen interest in art from her early childhood



Agnes Wimborne developed a keen interest in art from her early childhood

Agnes was born in London to William Lawrence, an aircraft driller, and his wife, Emma (nee Gibbs), who died when Agnes was 11. Agnes developed a keen interest in art from her early childhood. After secondary school, she won a scholarship to the Central School of Arts and Crafts, London. During the second world war, which interrupted her studies, she worked as a topographical draughtsman.

In 1943 she married Henry Wimborne, a teacher and lawyer, and then spent a year in Jamaica, where Henry had found a teaching post. The light and tropical fauna of the island proved an inspiration and she incorporated these elements into her subsequent designs and paintings.

Returning to the UK, she resumed her studies, at the Bath Academy of Art and then the Central School, where she gained a diploma in textile design before becoming a teacher in the subject. Henry had taken up a teaching post in Ghana – and thanks to the many years during the 1950s spent commuting between there and London, Agnes’s work became influenced by the art, landscapes and wildlife of Africa.

Agnes began to design and sell wallpapers and textiles. She also painted on silk, did batik – a way of decorating cloth using wax and dye – and produced wonderful ceramics and paintings. Her work can be found in the permanent collection of textiles in the V&A.

One of her African-influenced designs was used to decorate the banqueting hall in Claridge’s hotel in London – and other designs have been used in at the house of Charlie Chaplin’s family in Geneva, at Apsley House, home of the first Duke of Wellington on Hyde Park Corner, and in the British embassy in Saudi Arabia.

Zoo print by Agnes Wimborne. The design has been used for wallpapers and fabrics



Zoo print by Agnes Wimborne. The design has been used for wallpapers and fabrics

She set up and ran her own textile firm for many years from the 60s, and worked with important names in the industry such as Colefax and Fowler, Jon Bannenberg, Mary Quant and Robert Carfrae. Her Peacock design is currently being marketed by Lewis and Wood.

Agnes spent the last 20 years of her life travelling to and from the Cyclades islands in Greece with me; she loved the crystal-clear light and vibrant colours. She continued to design and produce innovative work – and remained faithful to her belief that design and art plays an integral role in our lives.

Henry died in 2013. Agnes is survived by two sons, Luke and me, five grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.



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