Originally available as a physical slide presentation, this collection of photos has been digitized to make it accessible to EGA chapters and members everywhere. Click each photo for a closer look. While descriptions for each slide can be seen below each photo, you can download a PDF of the slide descriptions by clicking here to assist you when presenting to a chapter. To request this presentation in a different format, please contact us! Visit our Slideshows & Presentations page to see what else is available!
These professionally produced slides were purchased from the Glasgow Museum, Scotland, in 1980 by Jacqueline Jacobs and donated to the EGA Library for its use. The script was developed by the donor from information given in the catalog of the exhibit. Additionally, photographs were taken by the donor of the stitchers from the catalog, where available, for added interest. Click here to download a document with more information about this slideshow.
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2 – Forward-written by Alasdair A. Auld, Museum Director.
Writing in 1933 , A F. Kendrick described the embroidery produced at Glasgow School of Art, under Jessie Newberry and Ann Macbeth, as “the most significant development in the field of needlework as of the end of the nineteenth century”. Summarizing the achievement he instanced their belief that design “should grow spontaneously out of the materials and technique used, the way in which the design should be completely of its own period, owing nothing to past forms” and the way that they changed attitudes by their educational work.
3 – Since its inception, the school has had a profound influence on both the teaching and acceptance of embroidery as an art form both nationally and internationally. Throughout the present century embroidery has come to be accepted not merely as a useful feminine accomplishment but as a valid medium for the expression of ideas.
4 – It was considered appropriate that the first exhibition, 1980, in the Glasgow Museum’ s new exhibition gallery should be devoted to this subject. The department has continued to flourish under a succession of inspired teachers and retains its position of pre-eminence to the present day.
The exhibition was selected and arranged, and Miss Fiona Macfarlane and Mrs. Elizabeth Arthur of the Department of Decorative Art wrote the catalogue. From large ecclesiastical hangings, through domestic embroidery, to educational work, the exhibition illustrates the range of achievement of those who taught and studied at the school during its formative years and makes a significant contribution to this little studied field of art history.
5 – Catherine Anderson (1885-1979) – was second of five children. She was bought up in Westbourne Terrace, Glasgow and educated at Craigmount School in Edinburgh, but returned to Glasgow around 1910 and attended the Art School for some years. Miss Macbeth taught her embroidery. She enrolled in the classes with a view to gaining her diploma, but unfortunately, due to illness, she never achieved this award. She was married in 1913, and widowed in1916, left with two small children. She continued to be interested in art and enjoyed painting and embroidery until late in life.
6 – Fire Screen – cream colored silk satin embroidered with silk threads in shades of various colors using satin, stem, daisy, straight, long & short stitches, and couching. Decorated with silver metal thread and tiny circular clear glass and silver metal beads. By A. Catherine Anderson.
7 – Mary Begg- (1877-1979) – was a teacher in an infant school in Motherwell. She had always been interested in embroidery and it is probable that she attended the Saturday morning classes that were held at the Glasgow School of Art especially for teachers. Miss Begg later became well known in Motherwell as being a talented embroideress and taught at evening classes in the area
8 – This Fire Screen Panel is pale green silk embroidered with floss silk threads in several colors, using satin, long & short, backstitch, straight stitches with French knots, and cross-stitchesand blanket stitches as filling stitches. Decorated with circular and oval glass beads in green, pink and blue. By Mary Begg.
9 – Muriel Boyd (born 1888) – was accepted as a student in 1904. She was very successful, being awarded the Professor Giraldon Prize for the Governors’ Day Class Full Free Studentship for design for the years 1906-1910. In 1913 the Governors of the School of Art awarded her the post school certificate for needlecraft. She exhibited widely and had many favorable reviews of her work.
10 – This picture is stitched on cream colored silk satin with silk floss threads in many shades, using satin, knot, stem, daisy, straight stitches and French knots. Decorated with small clear glass beads and four ivory colored semi-circular glass beads. Inscription: Ah Ou’elle EST belle la Marguerite. Initialed and dated 1909. Embroidered by Muriel Boyd
11 – This picture is cream colored silk satin embroidered with floss silk and silver metal threads in many shades, using stem, satin, straight stitches, knotted stitches, French knots, and couching. Decorated with ivory colored glass beads, white seed pearls and tiny circular beads in blue, purple and clear class. This piece has been exhibited in the Decorative Arts Exhibition of Great Britain and Irelan Palace of the Louvre, April – October 1914. Also by Muriel Boyd
12 – This picture is also embroidered by Muriel Boyd. It is cream colored silk satin embroidered with floss silk and gold metal threads in various shades, using satin, stem, straight, brick, daisy and knotted stitches with French knots and couching. Decorated with semi-circular rose-colored glass beads, white seed pearls and tiny circular glass beads in green, pink, and blue.
13 – This hanging panel is blue silk damask with blue linen backing and border edge and applique shapes in linen and silk. Embroidered with silk threads in many shades using satin, straight, stem and blanket stitches. Fringe of linen threads along the lower edge. Muriel Boyd also stitched this.
14 – Mary Fairgrieve (1875-1969) – was one of a family of six children living in Greenock. She did not attend the Glasgow School of Art until she was about 30 years old when her parents suggested Art School training after she had been tragically widowed on her honeymoon. After her years at the Art School, Mary Fairgrieve moved to Gourock and continued to work at various crafts. She was perhaps most talented in pottery painting and held many local exhibitions of the type of work.
15 – This picture was stitched by Mary Fairgrieve on cream colored silk satin and embroidered with floss silk threads in two shades of pink, two shades of green and brown. She used satin, chain, long & short, daisy, and running stitches.
16 – Mary Hogg (c 1890-1965 – lived in Clydebank and attended the School of Art as a full time student. In 1907 she was awarded a free studentship in evening classes and appears in the Art Club prize list, having received Miss Dewar’ s prize in Design and Decorated Art, which she again won in 1909. In addition to winning other awards, she acted as an instructress in the embroidery course held at the School of Art She attended the post certificate course held during 1912 and in 1913 was appointed instructress to the Continuation classes in embroidery by Old Kilpatrick School Board. After her marriage she moved to Newcastle where her husband as appointed Professor of Fine Art at Armstrong College.
17 – Mary Hogg did this embroidery on cream colored silk satin with floss silk and silver metal threads in various shades. She used satin, stem, chain, straight stitches, French knots, and couching. It is decorated with semi-circular colored glass beads.
18 – Ann Macbeth (1875-1948) – enrolled as a student at the School of Art in 1898 receiving excellent grades in the life drawing and design exams. She became a member of the staff in 1908, at which time she had extended her teaching to include metalwork and bookbinding design. She lectured widely in Scotland and England on the teaching of needlework, the result of which was the joint publication with Margaret Swanson of “Educational Needlecraft”. She also taught art needlework and decorative leatherwork at the summer school in St. Andrews.
She published several other books during her lifetime and during the Great War she sent a student to Reading to organize needlework as an employment for wounded soldiers and through her efforts pottery painting was taken up both in schools and by wounded men.
19 – This Fire Screen Panel was designed by Ann Macbeth and stitched by Marie Currie for whom there are no dates. It is stitched on cream colored silk satin and embroidered with floss silk threads in various shades, using satin, stem, chain, and daisy stitches with French knots.
Decorated with white seed pearls. Initialed MC.
20 – Entitled “Elspeth”, this watercolor on paper is signed and dated MCMIV and is found in Women Painters of the World. Elspeth Currie aged eight, sister of Marie Currie and friend of Ann Macbeth is the artist.
21 – This picture ” SleepingBeauty” is worked on beige silk with silk applique shapes in cream, pink and fawn. Embroidered with gold metal threads and silk threads of various colors using satin, stem and knot stitches, with French knots and couching. One foot is padded, as is the hair of the figure. This piece was exhibited in Turin in 1902, and the Fine Arts Society, Glasgow in 1900, 1979. It was designed and worked by Ann Macbeth.
22 – This picture is cream colored silk embroidered with two thicknesses of silk threads in a variety of shades using satin, stem and running stitches and French knots. Decorated with white seed pearls with circular gold, white and pale blue glass beads. Designed and worked by Ann Macbeth.
23 – Panel ” The Nativity” is worked on natural linen embroidered with wool and silk of various shades, gold wire and glass beads in pink, white, four shades of blue and colorless beads. The stitches include stem, chain, and blanket, cross, eyele,t back, f,ly zigzag, knot, various satin stitches and French knots. The panel has a crochet edging and is mounted on blue linen, which also has a crochet edging. There are 13 brass rings covered with green wool in buttonhole stitch for hanging. Designed and worked by Ann Macbeth in 1940.
24 – Panel “The Good Shepherd” is worked on natural linen embroidered with wool and silk in a variety of shades, as well as gold metal threads. The stitches include satin, long & short, chain, detached chain, buttonhole, straight, stem, and couching. The panel has a crochet edging and is mounted on blue linen, which also has a crochet edging. This panel is in the collection of the Patterdale Parish Church. It was designed and worked by Ann Macbeth in 1936 in Patterdale. It shows Hartsop, Deepdale, and Kirkstone Pass in the background, with melody of Parry’s setting of William Blake’s “Jerusalem” below.
25 – This Altar Frontal is stitched on cream colored corded silk with gold and silver metal threads and silk threads in various shades, silk cords and narrow purple silk braid. Worked in satin, knot, chain, stem, straight long & short, running, and daisy stitches, with French knots and couching. It is decorated with seed pearls, round flat green beads, semi-circular glass beads in a variety of colors and a flat oval shell disc. The Frontal is in the collection of The Cathedral Church of Saint Mary the Virgin in Glasgow. It was designed by Ann Macbeth and stitched by Agnes E. P. Skene and took two years to complete. The Frontal depicts the Blessed Virgin Mary and St.
Mungo on either side of a symbol depicting the Trinity Church of St. Mary the Virgin.
26 – Draught Screen – fawn colored linen embroidered with silks and wools in various shades. It is decorated with semi-circular green and blue beads and round green, blue, pink, and orange beads. The stitches include straight, satin, and stem with French knots and couching. Designed by Ann Macbeth and stitched by B.F. Maitland.
27 – Una and the Red Cross Knight- is white satin embroidered with silks of two thickness’ in various shades, with gold metal thread and gold and silver metal beads. Stitches include satin, stem, long & short, eyelet, couched thread, and French knots. Designed and worked by Ann Macbeth.
28 – “Lavender”- cream colored silk embroidered with floss silk threads of cream and fawn, using satin, stem, and straight stitches. Designed by Ann Macbeth and worked by Mary Macbeth.
29 – This Fire Screen is cream colored silk embroidered with floss silks of many shades, using knot, satin, stem and chain stitches with French knots. It is decorated with five semi-circular milky glass beads. Designed by Ann Macbeth and stitched by Madge Maitland.
30 – Picture of St Margaret of Scotland – is cream colored silk embroidered with gold metal and floss silk threads in a variety of shades, using satin and stem stitches with French knots and couching. Decorated with faceted black glass beads and semi-circular milky glass beads. Designed by Ann Macbeth and stitched by Shelia Macbeth.
31 – This unfinished design is drawn in red ink on white silk and pale blue corded silk. It is embroidered with floss threads of many shades, using satin and stem stitches and couching. Designed and worked by Ann Macbeth.
32 – Elsie Morton (1891-1973) – was the eldest daughter of Alexander Morton of Darvel. He produced carpets for many leading designers, examples being exhibited at major exhibitions. Through her father’ s contact with Ann Macbeth, Elsie was encouraged to become a student at the School of Art. Throughout her stay in Glasgow she lived with Ann Macbeth. She began in 1910 and in 1913 gained her school certificate for needlecraft. She taught classes and in 1915 the School of Art purchased six gesso panels worked by her. She was recognized with several awards and after receiving her diploma in 1917, she returned to Bridge of Allan where she founded the Beacons School for Girls.
33 – “St. Cecilia” – embroidered on cream colored silk with floss silk in a variety of shades, and silver metal threads. Stitches used were chain, satin, daisy, long & short, stem and French knots and couching. Padded under the metal threads and decorated with semi-circular blue glass beads and white seed pearls. Designed and worked by Elsie Morton.
34 – Jessie Newbery (1864-1948 – was born in Paisley and was educated both there and in Edinburgh before she became a student at Glasgow School of Art, where she married the headmaster in 1889. She established embroidery classes as well as taught enameling and mosaics work. In 1906 she instituted an annual prize for embroidery which in 1915 was awarded to her younger daughter Mary, who herself became an accomplished artist. Jessie Newbery retired after fourteen years as head of the embroidery department during which time her work was shown at many exhibitions in Britain, France, Germany, Italy, and the United States. Although best remembered for her embroidery, she won awards in stained glass , repousse alms plate and silver repousse chalice and paten, which she designed for St. Brides Episcopal Church. In the Turin International Exhibition of Decorative Art in 1902, her work was represented by an embroidered bedspread and an Axminster carpet worked to her design by Alexander Morton & Co. of Darvel, Ayrshire.
35 – This banner is Hessian and applique linen embroidered with gold metal threads and floss silk thread in a variety of shades using satin, straight, stem stitches and couching. There is blue silk cord thread through upper edge of banner. Designed and worked by Jessie Newbery and Ann Macbeth, with one name embroidered on one side, and the other name on the reverse side.
36 – This piece was designed and worked by Margaret Roy, who completed the Art School course in 1912. She was head of the needlework department at the Domestic Science College1910-1919. There was no photograph, date, or other information given about this stitcher. The picture is on white satin embroidered with silk threads in shades of pink, purple, green, yellow, orange, grey, and white. It has small pearls and glass beads in white, black, and iridescent green. Stitches used are satin, chain, feather, knot, stem, French knots and couching.
37 – This is a photograph of students at the Glasgow School of Art Embroidery.
38 – End of slideshow
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