Mary Gaskell Gillick OBE (née Tutin; 1881 – 27 January 1965)[1] was a sculptor and medallist, best known for her effigy of Elizabeth II used on coinage in the United Kingdom and elsewhere from 1953 to 1970.
Mary Gillick | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | 4 April, 1881 Nottingham, England |
| Died | 27 January, 1965 London, England |
| Nationality | British |
| Education | Nottingham School of Art, Royal College of Art |
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Personal life
editBorn Mary Gaskell Tutin in Nottingham, she was the eldest of three children born to Thomas Tutin and Elizabeth Gaskell (née Ardern),[2] who wed on 25 March 1880 in Knutsford, Cheshire.
She was educated at the Nottingham School of Art (1898–1902) and at the Royal College of Art (1902–1904), where she studied under the sculptor Édouard Lantéri.[3]
After making her first exhibition at the Royal Academy in 1911, she designed several medals to be used as awards, and several other, larger relief sculptures in stone and bronze[citation needed] including the stone commemorative sculpture, Crosby Hall, Chelsea 1926[4]
In 1905, she married sculptor Ernest Gillick.
Honours
editShe was appointed OBE in the 1953 Coronation Honours.[2]
Effigy of Elizabeth II
editIn 1952, Gillick's effigy design was selected from a field of seventeen to be used on general-circulation coinage for the new Queen Elizabeth, first issued in 1953. Gillick worked on the portrait between March and October 1952, with one sitting and close supervision by the Duke of Edinburgh.[3] Gillick's design was notable for portraying the Queen uncrowned, and was the last to be used on the pre-decimal coinage.
Gillick's die master had insufficient relief, and the striking was too weak. Facial features and the dress folds in the shoulder disappeared. The problem was solved by re-cutting the dies. This remastering was performed by Cecil Thomas, an experienced medallist who had already crafted overseas currencies featuring Elizabeth II, but who had initially been turned down for the British coinage in preference to Gillick.[5]
A cameo of Gillick's effigy of the Queen has been used on British commemorative stamps from 1966 to 9 March 2023;[6] the original effigy was also used for Maundy money until the Queen's death in 2022.
References
edit- ^ Mrs Mary Gaskell Gillick OBE in: Mapping the Practice and Profession of Sculpture in Britain and Ireland 1851–1951, accessed 12 December 2013
- ^ a b Attwood, Philip (9 May 2024), "Gillick [née Tutin], Mary Gaskell (1881–1965), sculptor and medallist", Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, doi:10.1093/odnb/9780198614128.013.40892, ISBN 978-0-19-861412-8, retrieved 6 November 2024
- ^ a b "Mary Gillick: Her Art in Your Pocket, exhibition at the Henry Moore Institute". Retrieved 16 July 2020.
- ^ "Nottingham Woman Sculptor". Vote. England. 24 December 1926. Retrieved 20 February 2024 – via British Newspaper Archive.
- ^ Thomas, Cecil Walter (1885–1976), Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Sept 2004
- ^ Johnson, Sam (28 February 2023). "Final set of stamps with late Queen Elizabeth II's head issued by Royal Mail features Flying Scotsman train". The Scotsman. Edinburgh: National World. Archived from the original on 1 March 2023. Retrieved 11 April 2023.