Editing Imogen Stuart (section)

==Life==
===Early life===
Born Imogen Werner in Berlin in 1927,{{sfn|Fallon|2001|p=160}} she was the daughter of Katharina (née Klug), a former [[art history]] student originally from [[Province of Upper Silesia|Upper Silesia]] (now part of Poland), and the influential and internationally known art critic and writer [[Bruno E. Werner]] (1896–1964),{{sfn|Fallon|2001|p=160}}{{sfn|Maertz|2019|p=132}} Germany's leading art critic and an editor for the ''[[Deutsche Allgemeine Zeitung|Deutsche Allgemeine]]'' newspaper, who had championed the [[Bauhaus]] movement.{{sfn|Scally|2005}} Imogen and her only sibling, Sybil,{{sfn|Robinson|2002|p=215}} spent their childhoods in pre-war 1920s Berlin. Encouraged by their father, the two developed an interest in drawing and sculpting at a young age. Both were taught the techniques of [[Arts and Crafts movement|arts and crafts]] and sculpture by friends of their father.{{sfn|Robinson|2002|p=216}}
By early 1945, when the Russian army was [[Race to Berlin|advancing towards Berlin]], Imogen's "golden childhood came to an end" and both daughters were moved to a convent in [[Bavaria]], while their father went into hiding from the [[Nazi]]s.{{sfn|Robinson|2002|p=216}} He was in [[Dresden]], where he had grown up, during the February 1945 [[Bombing of Dresden|bombing of the city]]. He recounted the experience in his best-selling 1949 book ''Die Galeere''.{{sfn|Scally|2005}}

In Munich, she studied under the sculptor and professor [[Otto Hitzberger]], a retired professor for the [[Berlin University of the Arts]], who taught her modelling, carving and [[relief]] techniques across a variety of materials. He became her mentor and she later described him as her most important influence.{{sfn|Robinson|2002|pages=216–218}}

There, in 1948 she met her future husband, the Irishman [[Ian Stuart (sculptor)|Ian Stuart]] (1926–2013). He had also studied under Hitzberger and is often referred to as the "finest Irish sculptor" of his generation.<ref name="IS">"[https://www.irishtimes.com/life-and-style/people/talented-sculptor-known-for-quality-of-religious-and-secular-work-1.1314447 Talented sculptor known for quality of religious and secular work]". ''The Irish Times'', 23 February 2013. Retrieved 31 March 2024</ref>

===Move to Ireland===
{{multiple image
 | align        = right
 | image1       = Maude Gonne McBride nd.jpg
 | width1       = 110
 | caption1     = [[Maud Gonne]] (b. 1866)
 | image2       = Iseult Gonne 2.jpg
 | width2       = 123
 | caption2     = [[Iseult Gonne]] (b. 1894)
 | image3      = Francis Stuart.jpg
 | width3       = 120
 | caption3     = [[Francis Stuart]] (b. 1902)
}}

They became inseparable during their early time together, when Stuart would sing [[Irish rebel songs]] to her.<ref name="IS" /> The couple first visited Ireland in 1949 and moved permanently there that year,{{sfn|Robinson|2002|p=217}} at first living in with his parents at Laragh Castle near [[Glendalough]], [[County Wicklow]], into what the writer Kate Robinson described as a family containing a "notable mixture of politics and literature".{{sfn|Robinson|2002|pages=215, 218}} Ian's mother [[Iseult Gonne]] was married to the writer [[Francis Stuart]] and was the daughter of [[Maud Gonne]], the Irish revolutionary and feminist, known internationally as the muse for the poet [[W. B. Yeats]].{{sfn|Robinson|2002|pages=215, 218}} She was not intimidated by his family, being a highly educated and skilled artist in her own right. By coincidence, Iseult was a friend of the German diplomat [[Eduard Hempel]], a former German Minister to Ireland who was a friend of Imogen's father.{{sfn|Robinson|2002|p=217}}

Imogen said of her relocation to Ireland: "It is very hard to describe how different this country was from the country from which I had come. It was a totally different world, on a different planet. The Catholicism, the nationalism, the magical countryside, made it all seem like going back a hundred years."{{sfn|Robinson|2002|p=217}} They had three daughters: Aoibheann, Siobhan and Aisling. Siobhan died in a car crash in September 1998 and is buried in Glendalough.<ref name="it4">"[https://www.irishtimes.com/culture/a-life-in-stone-sculptor-imogen-stuart-reflects-on-her-life-and-her-work-1.4674778 A life in stone: Sculptor Imogen Stuart reflects on her life]". 2 October 2021. Retrieved 25 March 2024.</ref> {{sfn|Fallon|2022|p=12}}

Both were preoccupied with religious sculpture in wood and stone throughout their careers. They held a number of joint exhibitions, notably in 1959 at the [[Taylor Galleries|Dawson gallery]], Dublin, while they both exhibited at the 1962 [[Biennale]] in [[Salzburg]], [[Austria]].<ref name="IS" /> Although she became somewhat overshadowed by her husband during this early period, during which she held only a few one-woman shows.

===Commissions===
In the 1970s the Church began to seek a revival of religious art, led by a number of progressive leaders who recognised that the Church had under-invested in this aspect for centuries, with Imogen becoming a favourite of many church leaders; notably, she was given the newly created title "Artist in Charge" of the redesign of a number of churches, meaning she was given responsibility for hiring other artists, as well as architects, craftsmen and masons.{{sfn|Robinson|2002|p=219}} This led to the careers of a number of notable Irish visual artists, of whom one of the best known is the stained glass designer [[Harry Clarke]] (b. 1889).

===Later life===
Stuart spent most of her life in Ireland.<ref name="it4" /> She died aged 96 on 24 March 2024, having been actively working until near the end of her life.<ref>"[https://notices.irishtimes.com/61282901 Stuart, Imogen: Death]". ''The Irish Times'', March 2024. Retrieved 29 March 2024.</ref>{{sfn|Scally|2024}}