Biography
Jessie Marion King studied at the Glasgow School of Art and won a travelling scholarship to Italy and Germany She became an internationally renowned book illustrator and designer of jewellery, wallpapers and fabrics.
In 1902, at the International Exhibition of Decorative Art in Turin, the Scottish section made something of a stir. The exhibit was organised by the Fra Newbery, the Headmaster of the Glasgow School of Art and the co-ordinating designer was Charles Rennie Mackintosh. A Gold Medal award was given to Jessie King for a gold-tooled white vellum book cover.
Among the other contributors here was E. A. Taylor who was carving out a career of painter, critic and furniture designer whom she was to marry in 1908. By 1911 they moved to Paris to run an atelier. Here she drew inspirations from the designs of Leon Bakst, which encouraged her to use stronger, more pungent colours. At the outbreak of the II World War, the Taylors returned to live in Scotland.
Biographical Material and Discussion
Watercolours for Budding Life
Work in Various Media
Bibliography
Jessie M. King and E. A. Taylor: Illustrator and Designer. Sotheby's Sale of 21 June 1977 at the Charles Rennie Mackintosh Society. Glasgow: Sotheby's Begravia, 1977.
Last modified 30 July 2001