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Lady Patricia Gibberd (née Spielman; 17 October 1926 - 19 Septemeber 2006) was a Trustee of the Harlow Art Trust from its creation in 1953 until her death. Gibberd helped establish the idea of public sculpture in postwar Britain.

Early life and career[edit]

Gibberd was born Patricia Nanette Spielman in Bristol on 17th October 1926 to successful businessman Bernard Spielman. After receiving her education at Badminton School, she began her early career in London, working as a technician on public information films for the Ministry of Information.[1]

In 1946, Gibberd and her family moved to Potter Street in Essex. Shortly after, the postwar Labour Government announced their plans to develop the New Town of nearby Harlow. As a Labour local councillor, she was involved in many aspects of Harlow development. She was active in many committees, including Gainsborough's house in Sudbury, the Yorkshire Sculpture Park (Bretton Hall), the Eastern Arts Association and the Crafts Council, and for several years ran exhibitions at the RIBA. She was also the first chairwoman in the Harlow Health Centres Trust.[2]

Harlow Art Trust[edit]

Gibberd was a prominent member of the Harlow Art Trust alongside Philip Hendy, then Director of the National Gallery, Maurice Ash of the Elmhirst Foundation, and architect and master planner of Harlow New Town, Frederick Gibberd.[1] The Art Trust (which was independent of the Council and the Development Corporation in order to avoid the Council's political agenda) was formed to provide public sculpture for the developing new town. Gibberd would visit final-year art school exhibitions and shows and identify quality and determination in young sculptors, from this the Trust built a formidable collection without any regular funding or paid staff.[1]

Over the years the collection of public art in Harlow reveived international regard; it has included work by Barbara Hepworth, Dame Elizabeth Frink, and Gerda Rubinstein.[3]

Personal Life[edit]

In 1946 she married the naturalist Gerald Fox-Edwards, they had one daughter called Deborah. After their divorce Gibberd moved to Greenwich. In 1973, while working in the Harlow Arts Trust, she married Frederick Gibberd, she then returned to Harlow, living in a house in Marsh Lane. Here she and Frederick developed and curated the Gibberd Garden, now looked after by the Gibberd Garden Trust.[1][2]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b c d Rea, Julian (01-12-2007). "A major contribution to public sculpture in Britain: Patricia, Lady Gibberd (1926–2006), and the Harlow Sculpture Collection". The Sculpture Journal. Vol.16 (2): p.89-91 – via Gale Academic OneFile. {{cite journal}}: |pages= has extra text (help); |volume= has extra text (help); Check date values in: |date= (help)
  2. ^ a b "Lives in Brief". The Times. 2006-10-24. p. 74. ISSN 0140-0460. Retrieved 2022-04-28. {{cite news}}: Check |url= value (help)
  3. ^ "Harlow Art Trust". Harlow Sculpture. 2019-09-10. Retrieved 2022-04-28.