Merula Salaman (1914–2000), later Lady Guinness, was a British artist, author and actress. Born into an artistic family, she studied at the Slade School of Fine Art and produced paintings and needlework. She exhibited alongside other members of the Salaman family, while also pursuing work in theatre and writing.
Explore works by Merula Salaman previously offered at auction, view past results, or contact Lyon & Turnbull for a confidential auction valuation.
Merula Salaman's Early Life
Salaman was born into a cultured and artistic family, with creativity encouraged from an early age. She trained at the Slade School of Fine Art in London, a prestigious institution known for nurturing significant British artists. Her artistic education was thorough, grounding her in traditional techniques that later influenced her diverse creative output.
She wrote and illustrated several children's books, but her finest work was her needlework pictures, often biblical, in which vision and charm are combined in equal measure.
Who Was Merula Salaman Married To?
Salaman became Lady Guinness upon her marriage to fellow actor Sir Alec Guinness in 1938 and spent most of her life with him happily away from the public eye. Salaman exhibited at the Crane Kalman Gallery, and later with her siblings, who were also artists, at a show at Gallery 27 in London.
