When Olive Maggs, a art historian and speaker at the March meeting of the Andover History and Archaeology Society, moved to the small Surrey village of Blackheath, south of Guildford, she was astonished to discover that the small village church had colourful murals by Anna Lea Merritt (1844-1930).

There was little information about them, so Olive started to research the work. The trail led back to Hurstbourne Tarrant, where Anna had retired in 1885, after a successful career as a professional artist in London.

Anna Lea Merritt was born into a Quaker family in Philadelphia, and moved with her sister to London around 1870. She had no formal art training. But, adopting the styles of admired artists, she built up enough of reputation with her portraiture and symbolist pictures to build a house at 32 Tite Street, Chelsea, an artistic neighbourhood.

In 1886, Anna married Henry Merritt, a painting restorer and art critic. Sadly, Henry died just four months later. Her husband’s death led to Anna painting the picture which brought her fame. ‘Love locked out’ (1890) shows a boy forlornly waiting outside a closed door — a bleak reflection on loss. Bought by the Chantrey Bequest, this was the first painting by a woman artist to be exhibited in what is now Tate Britain.

In the mid-1880s Anna was suffering chest problems from city living. She moved to the countryside, to The Limes, Hurstbourne Tarrant. There she was commissioned to paint murals for the Woman’s Building at the 1893 World Fair in Chicago — the only time she exhibited with other women. She painted the two murals in Hurstbourne Tarrant, using the Keim ‘breathable’ paints developed in Bavaria, and shipped them to the USA.

Olive observed how mural painting in England was difficult because of the damp climate. One technique, used by Rubens for the 1636 ceilings at the Banqueting House in London, involved oil-paintings being stuck on. The Royal Exchange has similarly fixed painted murals inside the public courtyard dating from 1892.

In her 1894-5 work at St Martin, Blackheath, Anna painted four narrative scenes from the life of Christ. These were the first murals undertaken by her in situ, using Keim paints applied on dry plaster. She persuaded bemused neighbours in Hurstbourne Tarrant to model for the pictures, dressed in clothing from Egypt. Lady Roberts-Austen, whose husband had built the church in 1893, commissioned the murals. In 2009, the murals were restored because of decaying plaster, again using Keim paints.

This was Anna’s last big commission, though she continued her painting, with a deepening interest in flowers and engravings. She lived in Hurstbourne Tarrant until her death in 1930, becoming an active member of the community and church. A sign board for The George and Dragon was painted by her, but is now lost. The Limes was destroyed by fire in 1938.

A visitor brought in a painting by the artist unknown to the speaker. This added an even greater interest for the very appreciative audience.