Miss Anna Dabis
Born 1847 (Circa)
Died 13 March 1927
Active: 1881 - 1911
Country of birth: Germany
Country of death: England
Sculptor, teacher
Born in Rügen in northern Germany (Prussia) probably in 1847-48 (although the 1901 Census Returns give her date of birth as 1850-51). Based on her sister Therese's obituary, prepared by Newnham College, her father was a pastor, and both parents died quite young, leaving her and her siblings to be raised by an uncle and aunt. Dabis came to Britain before 1881 and worked as a teacher. She studied under Edouard Lanteri at the National Art Training School, South Kensington in the mid-1880s where she won a silver medal for 'Caryatid' in the National Competition in 1885 and exhibited a bronzed figure on a frieze the following year.
Between 1888-95 she exhibited at the Royal Academy. Her known works include a bronzed plaster bust of Frida Mond, wife of the chemist and industrialist, Ludwig Mond (1839-1909), and mother of Sir Alfred Mond (1868-1930), which is in the collection of King's College London (the sculpture was gifted by Lady Gollancz in 1930). Dabis and Frida Mond were both members of the English Goethe Society and the Folklore Society. At Frida Mond's death in 1923, Dabis received a lifetime annuity of £300 per annum (which under the terms of the will was to be transferred on Dabis's death to a Dr. Heinrich Hirtz in Ellenberg, Germany).
In 1889, Dabis signed the Declaration in Favour of Women's Suffrage. She also published a translation of a selection of the fairy stories collected by Ernst Moritz Arndt, under the title 'Fairy Tales from the Island of Rügen' (published by D. Nutt, London, 1896). The volume is dedicated to Frida Mond.
Her younger sister, Therese (1853-1906), read Classics at Newnham College, Cambridge from 1880 and was Lecturer/Professor in Classics at Royal Holloway College from 1887 to 1899. Her elder brother Wilhelm (born on 29 October 1845 at Bobbin, Rügen) worked as librarian in Berlin 1869 until 1872 or after, then emigrated to the United States.
This record includes information submitted by Professor Michael Trapp and from the website of King's College - 'The Mond Bequest at King's College London: A Celebration': http://www.kingscollections.org/exhibitions/archives/the-mond-bequest/mond-bequest-sculpture/bust (accessed 7 December 2012).
Wealth at death: £908 4s. 8d.
Probate date: 31 May 1927
Locations
Address 4 Wetherby Terrace Chelsea London England | View on map
1881 (Circa)
Address 88 Fulham Road London England | View on map
1888 (Circa) - 1889 (Circa)
Address 1 Cathcart Road London England | View on map
1890 (Circa)
Address 10 Milborn Grove Kensington London England | View on map
1891 (Circa)
Address 13 Glebe Place Chelsea London England | View on map
1893 (Circa) - 1895 (Circa)
Address 19 Glebe Place Chelsea London England | View on map
1900 (Circa)
Address 28 St Lawrence Road Kensington London England | View on map
1901 (Circa)
Address 102 Brompton Road London England | View on map
1902 (Circa) - 1904 (Circa)
Address Hill Crest Southfleet Avenue Southfleet England | View on map
1911
This may be the same house as 'Hiddensee' under a different name
Address Hiddensee Southfleet Avenue Southfleet England | View on map
1927
She died while living at this address. It may be the same house as 'Hill Crest' under a different name.
Exhibitions, Meetings, Awards and other Events
Exhibited at The Exhibition of the Royal Academy of Arts (Summer Exhibition), 1768-
1888 - 1895
Exhibited 5 times, ten works in all (statuettes, busts, and a medal)
Personal and Professional Connections
May be connected to Anna Davis
It is probable based on the address that this is the same person
Descriptions of Practice
Listed under Sculptors Post Office London Directory, 1900 Post Office/Kelly London Directories
1900
p.2370
Occupation given in Census Returns of England and Wales, 1881
'Teacher'
Occupation given in Census Returns of England and Wales, 1891
'Sculptor & Teacher of Art' worker (and a visitor, Agatha Hopnbaum, born c.1858 in Germany, governess)
Occupation given in Census Returns of England and Wales, 1901
none
Occupation given in Census Returns of England and Wales, 1911
'Sculptor (Artist)'
Sources
Census Returns of England and Wales, 1881
2004
RG11 piece 49 folio 34 page 8
Census Returns of England and Wales, 1891
2004
RG12 piece 31 folio 16 page 28
Census Returns of England and Wales, 1901
2005
RG13 piece 27 folio 5 page 4
Census Returns of England and Wales, 1911
2011
RG14PN3811 RG78PN144 RD43 SD4 ED18 SN48
England & Wales, National Probate Calendar (Index of Wills and Administrations), 1858-1966
2010
Name: Anna Dabis
Probate Date: 31 May 1927
Death Date: 13 Mar 1927
Death Place: Kent, England
Registry: London, England
Post Office London Directory, 1900 Post Office/Kelly London Directories
1900
p.2370
The Times Digital Archive 1785-1985
2008
Exhibition of National Competition Prize Works At South Kensington..
The Times (London, England), Friday, Jul 24, 1885; pg. 3; Issue 31507. (2296 words) AND The Times (London, England), Monday, Jul 26, 1886; pg. 13; Issue 31821. (2499 words) Category: News AND The Times (London, England), Friday, Aug 10, 1923; pg. 11; Issue 43416. (1406 words) Category: Deaths
Citing this record
'Miss Anna Dabis', Mapping the Practice and Profession of Sculpture in Britain and Ireland 1851-1951, University of Glasgow History of Art and HATII, online database 2011 [http://sculpture.gla.ac.uk/view/person.php?id=msib1_1271849358, accessed 23 Sep 2023]
