26/10/1902 – 03/08/1986
Professional pilot, trainer and breeder of racehorses, author, adventurer, British
At the age of four, Beryl Markham moved to Kenya with her father. Her lifelong sense of adventure began in childhood, when she played and hunted with local tribal boys.
Throughout her life, she worked in fields typically dominated by men. At 18, she became the first woman in Africa to be licensed to train racehorses and achieved remarkable results—among other things, she trained the winner of the Kenyan Derby six times.
Later, Beryl Markham obtained her pilot’s licence and worked as a freelancer delivering goods, passengers and mail. In 1936, she became the first woman to fly solo across the Atlantic from east to west. A tremendous achievement.
In 1942, she wrote about her accomplishments in the book ‘West with the Night’. She also lived in Kenya at the same time as Karen Blixen, who was part of her circle of acquaintances.
Through my portraits and my writing about Beryl Markham, I portray a courageous, independent woman who refused to be constrained by her era’s view of women and their place in society.
