Margot Eates
Margot Eates was a British art historian and curator who led the London Museum through the second world war.
Early life and education
Eates was born in London to parents Augustus Reginald Eates and Mary Louise Eates.Career
After working for several seasons at Maiden Castle hill fort excavation, Eates inherited professional responsibilities from Tessa Verney Wheeler following her death, including dealing with the press and inducting new workers. Eates was one of many women trained by Tessa Verney Wheeler who played a significant role in early twentieth century archaeology, and was one of the early organisers who established the Institute of Archaeology, in London.Eates then joined the staff of the London Museum, giving lectures to students. She went on to manage the movement of the collection into storage during the war, and worked on keeping the London Museum open, campaigning for the use of Lancaster House premises and co-curating the 'New Movements in Art' exhibition. She became the first example of a TV archaeologist when she presented a programme about the Maiden Castle excavations as a live broadcast on the BBC on 14 July 1937.
After the war Eates turned her attention to art, and in 1948 producing the first book about her friend Paul Nash, following his death in 1946. Eates worked closely with her partner Hartley Ramsden throughout their lives together, and contributed to Ramsden's volumes on Michelangelo. Eates later turned her efforts to church preservation, campaigns against airport extensions, and urban gardening.