Kathleen Bridle was the daughter of an Irish coastguard officer and studied at the Metropolitan School of Art in Dublin and later – on a scholarship - at the Royal College of Art in London, where she met the famous sculptor Henry Moore. She started her professional career at a stained glass studio in Dublin, before she moved to Enniskillen, where taught art mostly at the local Collegiate School until her retirement. She made many trips throughout Europe and even travelled to New Zealand when she was older. Kathleen Bridle painted portraits, still lifes, scenes from Ireland and abroad, mainly in water colors but also in oil. Between 1920 and 1950 she had various exhibitions in many parts of Ireland. In 1948 she became a full member of the Royal Ulster Academy. She died in a retirement home near Enniskillen and was honored posthumously by a comprehensive retrospective of her works in 1998.
Ireland