AN ARTIST is shining a spotlight on the ‘invisible women’ in Thomas Chippendale’s life.

The artwork by Lorain Behrens has been created as Otley celebrates the 300th anniversary of the birth of its most famous son.

The anniversary has prompted walks and talks, music and poetry - and even a specially named beer produced for the occasion.

And now the wives of the master craftsman are being remembered in a work created by Lorain for an exhibition taking place this month.

Thomas married twice - first to Catherine Redshaw in 1748 with whom he had nine children. Catherine died in 1772 - and five years later Thomas married Elizabeth Davis and is believed to have fathered three more children.

Lorain said: “There is plenty of information on Thomas Chippendale on the internet; but unsurprisingly virtually nothing on the women who produced his offspring. Catherine is mentioned on www.geni.com, as being a wife and mother, listing the names of her nine children. Elizabeth can also be found on the same site where her life is also reduced to a summary consisting of her birth date, death date and names of her children.”

Lorain, from Menston, said: “As an artist studying for a Masters in Visual Arts, I made a chance discovery of someone who had existed, albeit in the shadow of a renowned man who was able to develop his creative skills. This led me to think about how women have been made transparent by patriarchal oppression throughout history.

“In order to engage with the issue of invisible women like Catherine Redshaw, I have created an exhibition of work for my MA graduation show. Using Perspex, which has been engraved and cut on a laser cutter, I have created her ‘image’ along with a selection of iconic women from art history.”

Lorain Be is a freelance artist and writer who is connected to Otley through the Courthouse and Otley Makers’ Space. She is one of five artists who will be exhibiting their work at the MA Graduation Show to be held at Dean Clough Mills, Halifax, from September 9 to15.

She said: “Throughout history, the roles of women have been belittled, ignored and erased. Women have always been 50 per cent of the population, but only feature in around 0.5 per cent of recorded history.”