Camille Souter first came to London in 1948 to train as a nurse. While studying there she took the opportunity to visit as many exhibitions and concerts as possible. It was, she recalls "the most wonderful education I ever had."1 When she arrived she still went by the name of Betty Pamela Holmes.

By 1951 she had married the Old Vic actor Gordon Souter. Her first husband is said to have nicknamed her "Camille" as an allusion to the tubercular heroine of Alexander Dumas' La Dame aux Camelias. After completing her nursing studies, she almost immediately began to paint full-time. In London, Betty Pamela Holmes, the nurse, became Camille Souter, the bohemian artist.

During the mid-fifties she left the city, dividing her time between Italy and Ireland. A retrospective exhibition was held at the RHA in 2001. (Biographical note courtesy of Garrett Cormican).
1 Quote from an interview with the artist, March 1998

Source: Auctions

Camille Souter (b.1929)

Born in Northampton Souter was raised in Ireland. She lived in Wicklow for many years before moving to Achill where she still lives and paints. Her painting has a magical quality that few can equal. In circa 89 a reviewer wrote of Souter, who had a joint show with Nano Reid "Camille Souter's paintings have a statuesque elegance to them, even when the subject is something as banal as silage bags. She is an artist who avoids prettiness while seeking beauty". Numerous exhibitions of her work have taken place over the years and her paintings included in many public collections.

She was elected Saoi of Aosdana in 2008.