A plaque has been unveiled at 51 Avenue Gardens in Acton to honour Margaret Dovaston (1884–1954), a British artist renowned for her vivid genre paintings and early work as an official war artist during the First World War.
The house — now owned by Paul Hill and Richard Zheng — was both Margaret’s home and studio from 1925. Designed by her architect brother, John Dovaston, the house became the centre of her prolific artistic career. By that time, she was already embedded in Ealing’s cultural scene, having studied at the Ealing School of Art and founded the Ealing Art Guild, later the Ealing Arts Club.
The unveiling ceremony on 18 May 2025 was led by Councillor Yvonne Johnson, Mayor of Ealing for 2024–25, who played a key role in realising the project. As the key voice on the South Acton Ward Forum, Councillor Johnson backed the idea of the plaque and secured its funding. Its planned unveiling was delayed by the COVID pandemic, but it was able to go ahead at last — a moment warmly welcomed by the local community.
Nigel Middlemiss, a 40-year member of the Acton History Group and founder of the Mill Hill Park Residents’ Association, delivered the keynote address. He traced Margaret’s artistic journey, from her stark wartime drawings to the colourful and lively domestic scenes that defined her later work.
Mr Middlemiss said: “It was with so-called genre paintings that she made her name, and fame, and livelihood. Unlike landscapes or portraits, genre paintings show everyday, contented life — people chatting, playing chess, making toasts. She painted them in oils at a fantastic rate, and her agents sold them quickly, many to Canada, the US, and South Africa. Her popularity endures: just a few years ago, her painting An Afternoon Drink sold for £33,000.”
Mr Middlemiss also reflected on Margaret’s life during the Second World War. He said: “She lived through World War Two here, acting as the local Air Raid Warden, with an air-raid shelter in her garden. One of her wartime paintings depicts the Mayor of Ealing in 1940 inspecting bomb damage in the borough with Queen Elizabeth and King George VI — the grandparents of our current king. The painting is on display here today, and I believe the original is held in Ealing Council’s offices.”
He added: “Margaret never married, though children feature affectionately in her work. She eventually retired to her family home in Twyford — not Twyford Avenue, Acton! but Twyford, Shropshire — where she drove a tractor and smoked a pipe. She was a real character and a deeply human artist… utterly worthy, pre-eminently worthy, of a plaque in her honour.”
Guests enjoyed cakes topped with edible replicas of Margaret’s artwork — a sweet and colourful tribute to a woman who brought warmth, charm, and insight into the homes and hearts of many.
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