Louisa Waterford Prize
The Louisa Waterford Prize was founded by The Tin Shed to celebrate the strengths of artists, makers and designers today and pay tribute to the legacy of Louisa Beresford (nee Stuart), Marchioness of Waterford.
Louisa was an accomplished artist and philanthropist, often described as a woman ahead of her time. Part of her philanthropic work included encouraging artisans to make a living from their skills. It's an ethos we share at The Tin Shed today, in supporting artists and makers via our events and online studios.
Details for the 2026 event will be announced soon.
About Louisa
Born Lady Louisa Stuart, she became Marchioness of Waterford after marrying Henry Beresford, Lord Waterford. She moved from his family seat in Ireland to Ford Castle in Northumberland following his death in the mid-1800's.
Already an accomplished amateur artist Louisa was well-known in London's elite artistic circles. She was tutored by art critic and author John Ruskin and they became good friends for about 40 years until her death. Louisa is also known for her philanthropic work. She and her husband built hundreds of new houses and a school for the estate workers in Ireland, as well as setting up sustainable craft industries to provide employment. Although still grieving when she arrived at Ford, she re-designed and improved living conditions on the estate and built a new school. That building is now Lady Waterford Hall.
She also improved living conditions for the mining communities near her husband's family home at Seaton Delaval in Northumberland and was instrumental in setting up a women's mission and fundraising following a pit disaster that killed over two hundred men and boys.
Today Ford's well-preserved buildings and the biblical scenes she spent 22 years painting stand as her legacy. Although Louisa and her work isn't as well-known as her male counterparts, the murals remain unparalleled by any other woman artist of Louisa’s generation across Europe.
