Biographies

Known as a painter of animals, Adamson was a talented artist who died young. Her cousin, Carole Adamson, has supplied the following information about her background:

What I know: her father was Alexander Adamson, who came from a family who for several generations had lived in southeast England—both he and Dorothy were born in Greenwich, which is now part of London. However, he was an engineer and lived much of his life in Liscard, Cheshire, where the family grew up. I am descended from Alexander’s baby brother, Rowland—because of the family patterns and circumstances, Rowland’s family knew little of the activities of the older members (Alexander was eldest of eight, Rowland the youngest), so most of my knowledge of Dorothy and her siblings has been learned recently through family history research.

What I can tell you is about her background. Her paternal grandfather, Thomas, was also an engineer (as were several of his brothers) and ended up manager of a shipyard. Thomas’s second son (after Alexander) became first officer on the sister ship of the Titanic. Her paternal grandmother, Sarah Norris, was the sister of Thomas Norris who founded the Norris Plane company, known in woodworking circles as one of the best hand tools around, apparently. Several female cousins were also artists, especially Edith Norris, who was a ceramic artist apparently. The family therefore seems to have been littered with that sort of talent—apparently Dorothy’s younger brother Fairlie was also a talented artist.

We would be pleased to locate more information about Dorothy Adamson and images of her work.