JESSIE MARION KING (1875-1949)

JESSIE MARION KING (1875-1949)
FRONTISPIECE FOR 'L'EVANGILE DE L'ENFANCE', 1902
pen and ink on vellum
29cm x 20cm (frame size 45.5cm x 35.2cm)
Provenance: Collection of Major J. R. AbbeyPaul Grinke Esq., LondonPrivate Collection
Exhibited: The Scottish Arts Council Jessie M King 1875–1949, touring exhibition, 1971, no. 3aLiterature: The Studio, volume XXVI, 1902, p. 185 illustratedWhite C. The Enchanted World of Jessie M King, Canongate 1989, p.33, pl.28 illustratedNote: Jessie King also designed the binding for the book 'L’Evangile de L'Enfance', within which this frontispiece sat. She entered the binding decorated with what White terms ‘bent-wire abstract figures’ at the Turin Exhibition of 1902, where it received such acclaim as to be awarded a Gold Medal. For a woman to receive this accolade was highly unusual, as is demonstrated by the certificate being made out to ‘Signor Jessie King’. Her achievement is all the more remarkable given the early point in her career, as she was at this time both teaching and studying at the Glasgow School of Art.