Biography

Stansmore Richmond Leslie Dean was born in Glasgow. From 1883 Dean attended classes at the Glasgow School of Art. A turning point for the artist came in 1890 when she was awarded the Haldane Travelling Scholarship – the first woman to receive the prize – which enabled her to study in Paris at the Académie Colarossi. From 1894 Dean had a studio at 180 West Regent Street, Glasgow. She frequently spent the summer months painting in the south of France and, later, Brittany. In 1910 she moved to northern France, where she lived until 1926. Dean did not exhibit again until 1927, when she returned to Scotland. In 1932 she and her husband settled in Kirkcudbright. By then Dean’s eyesight was failing, and she seldom painted during this last period of her life. She died on 15 December 1944 in the Cottage Hospital in Castle Douglas.