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Heme

Heme (American English), or haem (Commonwealth English, both pronounced /hi:m/ ), is a ring-shaped iron-containing molecular component of hemoglobin, which is necessary to bind oxygen in the bloodstream. It is composed of four pyrrole rings with 2 vinyl and 2 propionic acid side chains. Heme is biosynthesized in both the bone marrow and the liver.

Heme plays a critical role in multiple different redox reactions in mammals, due to its ability to carry the oxygen molecule. Reactions include oxidative metabolism (cytochrome c oxidase, succinate dehydrogenase), xenobiotic detoxification via cytochrome P450 pathways (including metabolism of some drugs), gas sensing (guanyl cyclases, nitric oxide synthase), and microRNA processing (DGCR8).

Heme is a coordination complex "consisting of an iron ion coordinated to a tetrapyrrole acting as a tetradentate ligand, and to one or two axial ligands". The definition is loose, and many depictions omit the axial ligands. Among the metalloporphyrins deployed by metalloproteins as prosthetic groups, heme is one of the most widely used and defines a family of proteins known as hemoproteins. Hemes are most commonly recognized as components of hemoglobin, the red pigment in blood, but are also found in a number of other biologically important hemoproteins such as myoglobin, cytochromes, catalases, heme peroxidase, and endothelial nitric oxide synthase.

The word haem is derived from Greek αἷμα haima 'blood'.

Function

Hemoproteins have diverse biological functions including the transportation of diatomic gases, chemical catalysis, diatomic gas detection, and electron transfer. The heme iron serves as a source or sink of electrons during electron transfer or redox chemistry. In peroxidase reactions, the porphyrin molecule also serves as an electron source, being able to delocalize radical electrons in the conjugated ring. In the transportation or detection of diatomic gases, the gas binds to the heme iron. During the detection of diatomic gases, the binding of the gas ligand to the heme iron induces conformational changes in the surrounding protein. In general, diatomic gases only bind to the reduced heme, as ferrous Fe(II) while most peroxidases cycle between Fe(III) and Fe(IV) and hemeproteins involved in mitochondrial redox, oxidation-reduction, cycle between Fe(II) and Fe(III).

It has been speculated that the original evolutionary function of hemoproteins was electron transfer in primitive sulfur-based photosynthesis pathways in ancestral cyanobacteria-like organisms before the appearance of molecular oxygen.

Hemoproteins achieve their remarkable functional diversity by modifying the environment of the heme macrocycle within the protein matrix. For example, the ability of hemoglobin to effectively deliver oxygen to tissues is due to specific amino acid residues located near the heme molecule. Hemoglobin reversibly binds to oxygen in the lungs when the pH is high, and the carbon dioxide concentration is low. When the situation is reversed (low pH and high carbon dioxide concentrations), hemoglobin will release oxygen into the tissues. This phenomenon, which states that hemoglobin's oxygen binding affinity is inversely proportional to both acidity and concentration of carbon dioxide, is known as the Bohr effect. The molecular mechanism behind this effect is the steric organization of the globin chain; a histidine residue, located adjacent to the heme group, becomes positively charged under acidic conditions (which are caused by dissolved CO2 in working muscles, etc.), releasing oxygen from the heme group.

Major hemes
There are several biologically important kinds of heme:

The most common type is heme B; other important types include heme A and heme C. Isolated hemes are commonly designated by capital letters while hemes bound to proteins are designated by lower case letters. Cytochrome a refers to the heme A in specific combination with membrane protein forming a portion of cytochrome c oxidase.

Other hemes

 * The following carbon numbering system of porphyrins is an older numbering used by biochemists and not the 1–24 numbering system recommended by IUPAC, which is shown in the table above.

 * Heme l is the derivative of heme B which is covalently attached to the protein of lactoperoxidase, eosinophil peroxidase, and thyroid peroxidase. The addition of peroxide with the glutamyl-375 and aspartyl-225 of lactoperoxidase forms ester bonds between these amino acid residues and the heme 1- and 5-methyl groups, respectively. Similar ester bonds with these two methyl groups are thought to form in eosinophil and thyroid peroxidases. Heme l is one important characteristic of animal peroxidases; plant peroxidases incorporate heme B. Lactoperoxidase and eosinophil peroxidase are protective enzymes responsible for the destruction of invading bacteria and virus. Thyroid peroxidase is the enzyme catalyzing the biosynthesis of the important thyroid hormones. Because lactoperoxidase destroys invading organisms in the lungs and excrement, it is thought to be an important protective enzyme.
 * Heme m is the derivative of heme B covalently bound at the active site of myeloperoxidase. Heme m contains the two ester bonds at the heme 1- and 5-methyl groups also present in heme l of other mammalian peroxidases, such as lactoperoxidase and eosinophil peroxidase. In addition, a unique sulfonamide ion linkage between the sulfur of a methionyl amino-acid residue and the heme 2-vinyl group is formed, giving this enzyme the unique capability of easily oxidizing chloride and bromide ions to hypochlorite and hypobromite. Myeloperoxidase is present in mammalian neutrophils and is responsible for the destruction of invading bacteria and viral agents. It perhaps synthesizes hypobromite by "mistake". Both hypochlorite and hypobromite are very reactive species responsible for the production of halogenated nucleosides, which are mutagenic compounds.
 * Heme D is another derivative of heme B, but in which the propionic acid side chain at the carbon of position 6, which is also hydroxylated, forms a γ-spirolactone. Ring III is also hydroxylated at position 5, in a conformation trans to the new lactone group. Heme D is the site for oxygen reduction to water of many types of bacteria at low oxygen tension.
 * Heme S is related to heme B by having a formyl group at position 2 in place of the 2-vinyl group. Heme S is found in the hemoglobin of a few species of marine worms. The correct structures of heme B and heme S were first elucidated by German chemist Hans Fischer.

The names of cytochromes typically (but not always) reflect the kinds of hemes they contain: cytochrome a contains heme A, cytochrome c contains heme C, etc. This convention may have been first introduced with the publication of the structure of heme A.

Use of capital letters to designate the type of heme
The practice of designating hemes with upper case letters was formalized in a footnote in a paper by Puustinen and Wikstrom, which explains under which conditions a capital letter should be used: "we prefer the use of capital letters to describe the heme structure as isolated. Lowercase letters may then be freely used for cytochromes and enzymes, as well as to describe individual protein-bound heme groups (for example, cytochrome bc, and aa3 complexes, cytochrome b5, heme c1 of the bc1 complex, heme a3 of the aa3 complex, etc)." In other words, the chemical compound would be designated with a capital letter, but specific instances in structures with lowercase. Thus cytochrome oxidase, which has two A hemes (heme a and heme a3) in its structure, contains two moles of heme A per mole protein. Cytochrome bc1, with hemes bH, bL, and c1, contains heme B and heme C in a 2:1 ratio. The practice seems to have originated in a paper by Caughey and York in which the product of a new isolation procedure for the heme of cytochrome aa3 was designated heme A to differentiate it from previous preparations: "Our product is not identical in all respects with the heme a obtained in solution by other workers by the reduction of the hemin a as isolated previously (2). For this reason, we shall designate our product heme A until the apparent differences can be rationalized." In a later paper, Caughey's group uses capital letters for isolated heme B and C as well as A.

Synthesis

The enzymatic process that produces heme is properly called porphyrin synthesis, as all the intermediates are tetrapyrroles that are chemically classified as porphyrins. The process is highly conserved across biology. In humans, this pathway serves almost exclusively to form heme. In bacteria, it also produces more complex substances such as cofactor F430 and cobalamin (vitamin B12).

The pathway is initiated by the synthesis of δ-aminolevulinic acid (dALA or δALA) from the amino acid glycine and succinyl-CoA from the citric acid cycle (Krebs cycle). The rate-limiting enzyme responsible for this reaction, ALA synthase, is negatively regulated by glucose and heme concentration. Mechanism of inhibition of ALAs by heme or hemin is by decreasing stability of mRNA synthesis and by decreasing the intake of mRNA in the mitochondria. This mechanism is of therapeutic importance: infusion of heme arginate or hematin and glucose can abort attacks of acute intermittent porphyria in patients with an inborn error of metabolism of this process, by reducing transcription of ALA synthase.

The organs mainly involved in heme synthesis are the liver (in which the rate of synthesis is highly variable, depending on the systemic heme pool) and the bone marrow (in which rate of synthesis of Heme is relatively constant and depends on the production of globin chain), although every cell requires heme to function properly. However, due to its toxic properties, proteins such as emopexin (Hx) are required to help maintain physiological stores of iron in order for them to be used in synthesis. Heme is seen as an intermediate molecule in catabolism of hemoglobin in the process of bilirubin metabolism. Defects in various enzymes in synthesis of heme can lead to group of disorder called porphyrias, which include acute intermittent porphyria, congenital erythropoetic porphyria, porphyria cutanea tarda, hereditary coproporphyria, variegate porphyria, and erythropoietic protoporphyria.

Synthesis for food
Impossible Foods, producers of plant-based meat substitutes, use an accelerated heme synthesis process involving soybean root leghemoglobin and yeast, adding the resulting heme to items such as meatless (vegan) Impossible burger patties. The DNA for leghemoglobin production was extracted from the soybean root nodules and expressed in yeast cells to overproduce heme for use in the meatless burgers. This process claims to create a meaty flavor in the resulting products.

Degradation

Degradation begins inside macrophages of the spleen, which remove old and damaged erythrocytes from the circulation.

In the first step, heme is converted to biliverdin by the enzyme heme oxygenase (HO). NADPH is used as the reducing agent, molecular oxygen enters the reaction, carbon monoxide (CO) is produced and the iron is released from the molecule as the ferrous ion (Fe2+). CO acts as a cellular messenger and functions in vasodilation.

In addition, heme degradation appears to be an evolutionarily-conserved response to oxidative stress. Briefly, when cells are exposed to free radicals, there is a rapid induction of the expression of the stress-responsive heme oxygenase-1 (HMOX1) isoenzyme that catabolizes heme (see below). The reason why cells must increase exponentially their capability to degrade heme in response to oxidative stress remains unclear but this appears to be part of a cytoprotective response that avoids the deleterious effects of free heme. When large amounts of free heme accumulates, the heme detoxification/degradation systems get overwhelmed, enabling heme to exert its damaging effects.

In the second reaction, biliverdin is converted to bilirubin by biliverdin reductase (BVR):

Bilirubin is transported into the liver by facilitated diffusion bound to a protein (serum albumin), where it is conjugated with glucuronic acid to become more water-soluble. The reaction is catalyzed by the enzyme UDP-glucuronosyltransferase.

This form of bilirubin is excreted from the liver in bile. Excretion of bilirubin from liver to biliary canaliculi is an active, energy-dependent and rate-limiting process. The intestinal bacteria deconjugate bilirubin diglucuronide releasing free bilirubin, which can either be reabsorbed or reduced to urobilinogen by the bacterial enzyme bilirubin reductase.

Some urobilinogen is absorbed by intestinal cells and transported into the kidneys and excreted with urine (urobilin, which is the product of oxidation of urobilinogen, and is responsible for the yellow colour of urine). The remainder travels down the digestive tract and is converted to stercobilinogen. This is oxidized to stercobilin, which is excreted and is responsible for the brown color of feces.

In health and disease
Under homeostasis, the reactivity of heme is controlled by its insertion into the "heme pockets" of hemoproteins. Under oxidative stress however, some hemoproteins, e.g. hemoglobin, can release their heme prosthetic groups. The non-protein-bound (free) heme produced in this manner becomes highly cytotoxic, most probably due to the iron atom contained within its protoporphyrin IX ring, which can act as a Fenton's reagent to catalyze in an unfettered manner the production of free radicals. It catalyzes the oxidation and aggregation of protein, the formation of cytotoxic lipid peroxide via lipid peroxidation and damages DNA through oxidative stress. Due to its lipophilic properties, it impairs lipid bilayers in organelles such as mitochondria and nuclei. These properties of free heme can sensitize a variety of cell types to undergo programmed cell death in response to pro-inflammatory agonists, a deleterious effect that plays an important role in the pathogenesis of certain inflammatory diseases such as malaria and sepsis.

Cancer
There is an association between high intake of heme iron sourced from meat and increased risk of colorectal cancer.

The American Institute for Cancer Research (AICR) and World Cancer Research Fund International (WCRF) concluded in a 2018 report that there is limited but suggestive evidence that foods containing heme iron increase risk of colorectal cancer. A 2019 review found that heme iron intake is associated with increased breast cancer risk.

Genes
The following genes are part of the chemical pathway for making heme:

 * ALAD: aminolevulinic acid, δ-, dehydratase (deficiency causes ala-dehydratase deficiency porphyria)
 * ALAS1: aminolevulinate, δ-, synthase 1
 * ALAS2: aminolevulinate, δ-, synthase 2 (deficiency causes sideroblastic/hypochromic anemia)
 * CPOX: coproporphyrinogen oxidase (deficiency causes hereditary coproporphyria)
 * FECH: ferrochelatase (deficiency causes erythropoietic protoporphyria)
 * HMBS: hydroxymethylbilane synthase (deficiency causes acute intermittent porphyria)
 * PPOX: protoporphyrinogen oxidase (deficiency causes variegate porphyria)
 * UROD: uroporphyrinogen decarboxylase (deficiency causes porphyria cutanea tarda)
 * UROS: uroporphyrinogen III synthase (deficiency causes congenital erythropoietic porphyria)

title: Heme


text:
Talk:List of painters by name

Layout
for easy of reference wouldn't this be a better layout?

Cézanne, Paul, (1839-1906), French artist

Singularity 20:34, 11 July 2005 (UTC)
 * Probably, but every list I've seen on Wiki is written first name first. I don't know why one is favored over the other, but apparently it is.  I certainly wouldn't want to be the one to go through and reformat it. ;) --Etacar11 20:46, 11 July 2005 (UTC)
 * Actually this makes some sense. Many well-known artists are often refered to just by their surname, so it might help people find who they are looking for. The downside, as Etacar11 says, is that it would be quite painful to convert the list. And worse, since articles are listed 'firstname surname', it would be quite painful to keep reformating new entries. -- Solipsist 12:16, 13 July 2005 (UTC)

 * 14-April-2007: Two years later, the list is still first-name-first. Painters with multi/compound names would be a problem with commas, and also the Chinese names are already last-name-first (such as Wen Tong under "W").  I just added "Gerard ter Borch" (under "B"), but someone might search the page by "ter Borch" or "van Bee" for Beethoven, so the current format seems okay, for such searching.  Honestly, web-browsers should show compressed scans for matching lines, but 2007 is still the age where browsers can't even scan for multiple words in a line or paragraph. In what century will a browser be able to search "Francis Key" and match "Francis Scott Key" (or match "Wolfgang Mozart" without "Amadeus")?  Browsers seem pretty backward today, but remember that even multi-computer search-engines are still in their infancy, not scientifically designed, but mostly just ad-hoc, whimsical contraptions, like most software anywhere.  Wiki-search is way ahead of them, so running a wiki-search for "Francis Key" will match "Francis Scott Key" and similar multi-word names. -Wikid77 13:50, 14 April 2007 (UTC)

---

Rabo Karabekian?
Isn't this person entirely fictional? See Bluebeard (book); as far as I know there is no real historical person.

Perhaps the list under "Maine Painting" should go on a sepperate page?

Done, to List of Maine Painters. -- Infrogmation

---

Isn't it time this page broken up into separate pages by letter? BevRowe 17:44 Apr 3, 2003 (UTC)

Does anyone think that L. S. Lowry is famous enough to be put in the popular artists section of this article, as he is very famous in Britain. Or has no-one outside Britain ever heard of him? G-Man 30th apr 2003

I've given it a week and no-ones objected so I'll take that as a yes G-Man 6th may 03

 * The "Shortcuts to highly popular painters:", I presume, is for the names that would be the most accessed by users. If you think Lowery has a reputation in the league of Rembrant or Cezanne, then you'd think he belongs there. However please, why can't he be in alphabetical order like everyone else on the list? Wondering simply, -- Infrogmation 15:22 May 6, 2003 (UTC)
 * And why isn't he on the main list? Certainly he should be on the main list if he deserves a spot on the short list as well. That's a bit much for me; I'm moving him from out of order on the short list to in order on the main list. -- Infrogmation 15:29 May 6, 2003 (UTC)

-

 * could someone knowledgable look at Zoicon5's comments on Talk:List of Maine painters? Thanks. Martin 21:00 22 Jul 2003 (UTC)

I think it's rather superfluous to note that an individual on the list is a "painter". Clearly, they wouldn't belong on the list if they weren't. -- Infrogmation 17:41 25 Jul 2003 (UTC)

Lermontov?
I do not think that Mikhail Lermontov belongs to the list. He was a great poet but quite a mediocre painter, maybe we should exclude him?

Proposal for Complete Overhaul
The list is indeed completely chaotic. Some examples:

 * Nationalities are sometimes linked to the country (e.g.: "Raphael, (1483-1520), [Italy|Italian] painter") and sometimes not (e.g.: "Leonardo da Vinci, (1452-1519), Italian painter, sculptor and inventor").
 * The nationalities are not given (e.g.: "Franz Marc, (1880-1916)"), or are non-standard (e.g.: "U.S.", "USA", "American").
 * Dates are sometimes not given (e.g.: "Miltos Manetas, Greek painter").
 * Other professions & specialisations are mentioned (e.g.: "Abbasi, Riza, (1565 - 1635), Persian painter, miniatures and homoerotic")
 * A few lines of biography are added (e.g.: "Juan Bautista Garcia (1904-1974), Corsican immigrant to Puerto Rico who later became the inspiration for the famed television show, Los Garcia")
 * It's not really necesary to place "painter" behind every name, after all, this is a list of painters, one would expect the names on that list to be, indeed, painters.
 * The general layout of an entry is not formalised.
 * Etc.

Conclusion: this list requires a thorough cleanup.

Addendum: Painters needs it's own subcategory in a new subcategory "Artists" in "Culture - Art"

Proposal: complete overhaul of the article (and several others), a few possibilities:

 * 1) Seperate lists are made:
 * [List_Of_Painters]. (disambiguation page to all the following lists):
 * [List_Of_Painters_By_Name]. (the current [List_Of_Painters])
 * [List_Of_Painters_By_Country]. (disambiguation page to all [List_Of__Painters])
 * [List_Of_Painters_By_Movement] (e.g.: Impressionist Painters, Renaissance Painters, etc.).
 * [List_Of_Painters_By_Century] (self-evident).
 * 1) The lists are ordered as following:
 * For the 'By_Name', Entries are given as followed: Name, Surname, (year of Birth-year of Death), e.g.: ("Franz Marc (1880-1946)"), this way, the names can be copied and pasted in all other lists. Nationalities are not really necessary(?).
 * The lists are divided into categories (letters, countries, movements, centuries) and every category is sorted alphabetically.
 * (Possible exception for 'By_Century': sorting by year or birth).

As for the name question: seeing as any webpage can be searched, it doesn't seem me as necessary to deviate from the standard "Name-Surname" form and place the surname first. Besides, most painters have their own seperate article.

Please comment or leave a message on my talk page.

Hraban 14:05, 10 December 2005 (UTC)

 * Looks damn fine to me - David Gerard 14:08, 10 December 2005 (UTC)

Cleanup
Cleanup fase I now complete:

 * All entries have been standardised (to "Name Surname (Year of birth, Year of death)").
 * As much as possible, dates have been added to the entries.

Cleanup fase II can now begin:

 * All entries should be checked for correctness (spelling, correct dates).
 * Links to articles should be checked (as well as seeing if there is perhaps an article, but with another title).

This leaves the case of determining "who should be on the list".

Proposal:

be on the lists.
 * 1) The list should mention all artists who are on the sibling lists (by century, by movement, by style(?), by country), or rather: every artist should be on every other list (idealy).
 * 2) Therefore, we require a set of criteria to determine whether an artist is noteworthy enough to

Criteria I propose:
 * 1) Influence (has the artist (or his work) influenced other artists or certain styles?)
 * 2) Value (is the artist an important painter for a certain movement/style/time/country/culture?)

Or, simpler:

 * 1) Would the artist get an article on wikipedia that would not be deleted?

Advice on the criteria would be more than welcome.

Hraban 12:35, 11 December 2005 (UTC)

Guidelines for Inclusion
I have going through the list and nominating linked articles for deletion. I don't know if that is appropriate or not. There must be guidelines for inclusion on this list, or the millions of people who adequately and deftly weild paintbrushes will need entries. I suggest the guidlines for inclusion be: 1. A history of critical response in recognized journals and periodicals. 2.A consistent exhibition record in public galleries or records of participation with public galleries and foundations. 3. Evidence of a significant contribution to the discipline of painting in other capacities. I have done a cursory perusal of the list, and there are many that need to be deleted for the above reasons. -- Thamiel 17:15 6 Nov 2006

16-April-2007: I estimate the list has only about 1,800 painters, so more could be added. Many notable painters are not yet in English Wikipedia, but those painters appear in foreign WPs. -Wikid77 13:18, 16 April 2007 (UTC)

Allow 3000? painters
16-April-2007: I estimate the list has about 1,850 painters, so removing painters is not a priority yet (start pruning after 3,000? painters). This month, I have added dozens of notable painters who have WP articles or German-WP articles but were not on the list. Pre-judging notability is difficult (such as the painter of the recently purported painting of Jane Austen), so judge not too quickly. As of April 2007, I believe that WP art-articles are in their infancy, so keep adding everywhere. -Wikid77 13:19, 16 April 2007 (UTC)

Ridiculous list!
This list has far too many non-notable, self promoting, red links. Can they be deleted? Teapotgeorge 10:11, 17 May 2007 (UTC)
 * Non-notables can be deleted. Some red links may merit articles, so they should be kept if that is the case. Be particularly careful over historic artists. Tyrenius 19:43, 18 May 2007 (UTC)

Regarding Wolfgang Siemens
The entry "Wolfgang Siemens" was deleted twice. What about "This list is incomplete; you can help by expanding it."? What about the other "red links"? You Can find an articel about the painter on German-WK: http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wolfgang_Siemens (I am not: Wolfgang Siemens himself, not a friend or his agent.) —Preceding unsigned comment added by 145.254.134.239 (talk) 18:10, 2 September 2007 (UTC)
 * It is preferable to list artists which have articles, so that their notability can be assured before they are added. We are not the German wikipedia.  I'm sure a number of red links shouldn't be there. Why not translate the article on Siemens and put it on the English Wiki? You are advised to get a user name; otherwise it is difficult to communicate on your talk page. Tyrenius 18:26, 2 September 2007 (UTC)
 * I know that we're not on the German Wiki - the URL should be an hint to indicate the relevance of Siemens' person and work. Sorry - but I'm not sure to be able to translate the german article on Siemens acceptably.--Netzgestalt 20:31, 2 September 2007 (UTC)
 * Try Translation or use a machine translation. Tyrenius 00:00, 3 September 2007 (UTC)
 * The German page looks like a stub, few references, somewhat nn, IMO why bother? Modernist 00:34, 3 September 2007 (UTC)
 * Dear Mr. Modernist! Much to my regret I have to realize that I'm guilty of disturbance. Yours respectfully --Netzgestalt 12:22, 3 September 2007 (UTC)

Red Ink
I've restored the red ink primarily because several are well known artists and while there are no articles yet they are in many instances deserving and/or notable. I'v observed other lists in other languages with well known American artists in red ink awaiting translation into German, Italian, Spanish, and French etc...Modernist (talk) 22:57, 6 November 2009 (UTC)
 * But surely you understand why I deleted them: no articles, no links, so how well-known they are is yet to be determined. Instead of reverting, why not write up a couple of stubs? I mean, you're still not at 100,000 edits... Drmies (talk) 00:23, 7 November 2009 (UTC)
 * Here's one: Herb Aach. You ready for a challenge, a stubby painter throwdown? Drmies (talk) 00:32, 7 November 2009 (UTC)
 * Cool, I can work that :)...Modernist (talk) 00:54, 7 November 2009 (UTC)
 * Oh yeah? Mary Abbott (artist). Basuki Abdullah. Drmies (talk) 01:16, 7 November 2009 (UTC)
 * Nice work...Modernist (talk) 02:02, 7 November 2009 (UTC)
 * Thanks. How about Ruth Abrams (artist)? 4-0! (So, artnet is OK to include as an external link? I wasn't sure.) Drmies (talk) 02:15, 7 November 2009 (UTC)
 * Artnet and Askart are both OK...Modernist (talk) 02:19, 7 November 2009 (UTC)

Spelling conventions
According to a series of edits like https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=List_of_painters_by_name_beginning_with_%22A%22&oldid=958377518 by, it was suggested that the lists by letter each follow U.S. spelling conventions. Is there a particular reason for this? Wouldn't "English-language" spelling conventions be more appropriate, to avoid WP:ENGVAR questions? TheFeds 01:24, 27 December 2020 (UTC)

Most pages can be one or the other, but shouldn't be both. Subsequently changing from one to the other is discouraged.Bmcln1 (talk) 16:28, 27 December 2020 (UTC)

license: Creative Commons - Attribution Share-Alike - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

title: Talk:List of painters by name


text:
Laura Ashley

Laura Ashley (née Mountney; 7 September 1925 – 17 September 1985) was a Welsh fashion designer and businesswoman. She originally made furnishing materials in the 1950s, expanding the business into clothing design and manufacture in the 1960s. The Laura Ashley style is characterised by Romantic designs – often with a 19th-century rural feel – and the use of natural fabrics.

Early life
Ashley was born at her grandmother's home, 31 Station Terrace, Dowlais, Merthyr Tydfil, Wales. She was raised in a civil service family as a Strict Baptist. The chapel she attended in Dowlais (Hebron) was Welsh language and although she could not understand it, she loved it, especially the singing. Educated at Marshall's School in Merthyr Tydfil until 1932, she was then sent to the Elmwood School, Croydon. She was evacuated back to Wales aged 13, but with so many World War II evacuees there were no school places left and she attended Aberdare Secretarial School.

An apron that purports to be the first garment made by her when a teenager hangs in the dining room of the Llangoed Hall Hotel near Brecon in Powys.

In 1942, at age 16, she left school and served in the Women's Royal Naval Service. During this period she met engineer Bernard Ashley at a youth club in Wallington. After the war, Bernard was posted to India with the Gurkhas, and the pair corresponded by letter. From 1945 to 1952, she worked as a secretary for the National Federation of Women's Institutes in London, marrying Bernard in 1949.

The company
While working as a secretary and raising her first two children, Ashley undertook some development work for the Women's Institute on quilting. Revisiting the craft she had learnt with her grandmother, she began designing headscarves, napkins, table mats and tea-towels which Bernard printed on a machine he had designed in their attic flat at 83 Cambridge Street, Pimlico, London.

The couple had invested £10 in wood for the screen frame, dyes and a few yards of linen. Ashley's inspiration to start producing printed fabric came from a Women's Institute display of traditional handicrafts at the Victoria & Albert Museum. When Ashley looked for small patches carrying Victorian designs to help her make patchworks, she found no such thing existed. Here was an opportunity, and she started to print Victorian style headscarves in 1953.

The scarves quickly became successful – retailing both via mail order and at high street chains such as John Lewis – and Bernard left his City job to print fabrics full-time. The company was originally registered as Ashley Mountney (Laura's maiden name), but Bernard changed the name to Laura Ashley because he felt a woman's name was more appropriate for the type of products they were producing. The new company moved to Kent in 1955, but when the third of their four children was born, the family moved to Wales in 1960.

Laura Ashley's first shop was opened at 35 Maengwyn Street, Machynlleth, Montgomeryshire, in 1961. The Laura Ashley association is commemorated by a small plaque. The shop sold locally produced honey and walking sticks as well as the couple's own products. Here Laura worked with a seamstress to introduce their first forays into fashion, producing smock like shirts and gardening smocks. The family lived above the shop until moving to Carno, Montgomeryshire. They first set up in the vacant social club, but moved in 1967 to the local railway station, which had been closed two years earlier.

Personal life
Laura and Bernard Ashley had four children who were all involved with the business. David (born 1954/55 ), the eldest son, designed the shops; one of the daughters, Jane, was the company photographer; another daughter, Emma, and their second son, Nick, were part of the company's fashion design team. Bernard was the company chairman and Laura kept a close eye on fabrics. The success of the business meant that the Ashleys could afford a yacht, a private plane, the French Château de Remaisnil in Picardy, Rhydoldog House, a mansion near Rhayader, Powys, Wales,  a town-house in Brussels, and the villa Contenta in Lyford Cay, New Providence, Bahamas.

Death
In 1985, just after her 60th birthday, Laura Ashley fell down the stairs of her daughter's home in the West Midlands and was taken to hospital in Coventry, where she died ten days later of a brain haemorrhage. She is buried in the churchyard of St John the Baptist, in Carno, Wales.

Legacy
Two months after her death in 1985, Laura Ashley Holdings went public in a flotation that was 34 times oversubscribed. A memorial plaque to Laura Ashley, at the family's former home 83 Cambridge Street, Pimlico was unveiled on 5 July 1994.

Sir Bernard Ashley died of cancer on 14 February 2009.

Foundation
The Laura Ashley Foundation was set up in 1987; as the Foundation has been run by the late Sir Bernard and their children, the strategy has evolved from purely funding the arts to also funding broader community and social welfare projects. It was this evolution that prompted the change of name in 2011 from The Laura Ashley Foundation to The Ashley Family Foundation.

title: Laura Ashley