“The Young King,” A House of Pomegranates, n.d.

Jessie Marion King

1875–1949

 

Jessie Marion King entered the Glasgow School of Art in 1891, where she came in contact with the work of Charles Rennie Macintosh and other Arts and Crafts artists. She traveled to France and Italy on a scholarship from the school, and, while in Italy, first encountered the paintings of Botticelli, which were to have a strong influence on her work. Although definitely in the Glasgow style, her delicate pen-and-ink drawings, often with color washes, were highly individual.

In addition to being a talented illustrator, King was an accomplished designer of books, jewelry, textiles, and costume. In 1899 she received a commission from a Berlin department store to design items in the new “Scottish style.” In 1902, she received a gold medal for her book design of L’Evangile de l’Enfance in the International Exhibition of Decorative Arts in Turin. That same year she began teaching book design at the Glasgow School.

She married fellow artist E. A. Taylor in 1908, and moved with him to Paris in 1910, where they ran a studio gallery. They returned to Scotland at the outbreak of World War I and settled in the artist community of Kirkcudbright, where King started a center for women artists.

In her hand she had a spray of wild hemlock that was blossoming

“The Fisherman and His Soul,” A House of Pomegranates, n.d.

I had never seen anyone so pale

“The Fisherman and His Soul,” A House of Pomegranates, n.d.

Her face was veiled with a veil of gauze but her feet were naked

“The Fisherman and His Soul,” A House of Pomegranates, n.d.

But only a little child who was asleep

“The Star-Child,” A House of Pomegranates, n.d.

The little princess had always to play alone

“The Birthday of the Infanta,” A House of Pomegranates, n.d.