Ipswich Museum is celebrating the success of one of its senior employees in the prestigious East Anglian Book Awards 2022.
Emma Roodhouse, Collections and Learning Curator at Colchester and Ipswich Museums Service, co-authored ‘The Art of Doris and Anna Zinkeisen’ with fellow authors historian Philip Kelleway and artist and conservator Nicola Evans.
The book won the ‘General Non-Fiction’ category at the 2022 East Anglian Book Awards, which showcases the quality of writing and publishing across the whole of the East of England.
To add to the celebration, Emma was shortlisted for two books in this category. The second book, ‘Creating Constable’, by Emma and her colleague, local Ipswich historian Caleb Howgego, was written to accompany the recent ‘Creating Constable’ exhibition in Christchurch Mansion.
This lavishly illustrated book celebrates the life of Doris and Anna Zinkeisen, charting the rise of the sisters from a childhood in Scotland, to their emergence as amongst the most eminent artists of their day in London, to a quieter yet still highly productive life during their twilight years in rural Suffolk.
It also marks the recent purchase by the Colchester and Ipswich Museums Service of a glamorous Zinkeisen portrait to add to the Ipswich Borough collections. During the golden age from the 1920s through to the 1950s, the Zinkeisen sisters enjoyed a huge success and won numerous accolades. Their paintings and design work, including posters, murals for luxury ocean liners, and costume designs for stage and film, are today emblematic of that period in British art.
Councillor Carole Jones, Ipswich Borough Council Portfolio Holder for Planning and Museums, says:
“This is wonderful news for Emma and for Ipswich Museums. Emma brings a wealth of knowledge about art and artists to our museum service, and it’s fantastic to see that expertise celebrated. We also offer our warmest congratulations to Phillip and Nicola.
We are delighted that Emma has been recognised with this award, and we also congratulate Emma and Caleb for the shortlisting of their book ‘Creating Constable’, which accompanied a ground-breaking exhibition here in Ipswich.”
