- Marion Richardson
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Marion Richardson (9 October 1892 – 12 November 1946) was British artist, educator and author who published workbooks on penmanship and handwriting.
Contents
Biography
Marion Elaine Richardson was born on 9 October 1892 in Ashford, Kent, the second daughter of Walter Marshall Richardson and his wife, Ellen.[1]
Education
Marion was the middle of three sisters, and apparently used to entertain the other two with stories after lights out in the bedroom which they shared. She often serialised these over many nights. She joined a story-writing group when still a child – her nom de plume was 'A Mere Girl'.[citation needed]
In the holidays, Marion’s family rented a cottage from Elizabeth Nesbitt, (the author E. Nesbit who wrote 5 Children and It) where Marion discovered and enjoyed Ms Nesbitt's collection of books.[citation needed]
Marion was educated at Winchester High School for Girls, Uplands School, and Milham Ford School in Oxford.[2] She trained to be an art teacher at Birmingham Municipal School of Arts and Crafts from 1908-1912 where she studied under Robert Catterson-Smith who influenced her future work.[3]
Teaching career
During her training she was a pupil teacher at Moseley Art School, where she also worked as a Junior Assistant Teacher.[4] From 1912 to 1923, Marion was the art mistress at Dudley Girls High School.[1] In 1915-1916 she published a drawing syllabus which was similar to the standard Board of Education drawing programme, but within a year she began to encourage her pupils to produce work with little instruction.[3] She developed her own child-centred methods for teaching art which encouraged self expression and allowed the pupils to evaluate their own work.
In 1917, her pupils' work was exhibited by Roger Fry, who brought her work to public attention.[1] Marion was also close to Roger's sister, Margery Fry, who encouraged Marion to teach art in prisons, including Winson Green prison in Birmingham.
In 1923, Marion moved to London where she took private pupils and taught voluntarily at Holloway prison.[1] An exhibition of her Dudley pupils' artwork in London in 1923-1924 attracted much interest and created a greater demand for her work. In 1924 she visited schools and prisons with her pupils' work in Sweden, Finland and Russia.[1] In 1924 she returned to Dudley part time and lectured at the London Day Training College to trainee art teachers. She also taught at part-time at Benenden School, Kent, and Hayes Court School, Oxford.[1]
In 1930 she was appointed the inspector of art to the London County Council and continued to run courses for art teachers.[5] She toured Canada in 1934 and in 1935 published Writing and Writing Patterns, a set of hinged cards and booklets for teaching handwriting. In 1938 she organized a large and successful exhibition of children's art at County Hall in London.
Later life
She retired in 1942 due to her deteriorating health. In September 1945 she returned to Dudley and died on 12 November 1946.[1] She was buried at St John's Church, Kates Hill, Dudley on 15 November 1946.
Legacy
Her last work Art and the Child was published posthumously in 1948, and was a great success.[1] Her influence remained after her death and her Writing and Writing Patterns was still used in schools in the 1980s.[1] The Senrab Street School in Stepney, east London was renamed Marion Richardson School in her memory.[6]
Her grave has recently been rediscovered by the St John's Church Preservation Group after a search was made during grounds clearance works. The grave is now being cared for by the St John's Church Preservation Group and a start has been made to forming a Marion Richardson Society.[7] The St John's Church Preservation Group has also created a link with the Dudley Girls' High School Association to help raise Richardson's profile in the UK and around the world.[citation needed]
Publications
- Richardson, Marion Elaine (1928). The Dudley Writing Cards. London: G Bell& Sons.
- Richardson, Marion Elaine (1935). Writing & Writing Patterns. London.
- Richardson, Marion Elaine (1948). Art and the Child. London: University of London Press.
Primary sources
The personal papers of Marion Richardson are held in the Birmingham City University Art and Design Archives.[8]
Published Sources
- Everitt, Sian (May 2006). "Richardson, Marion Elaine (1892-1946)". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/57053. http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/57053. Retrieved 2008-02-06.
- Holdsworth, Bruce, (2009) 'Marion Richardson (1892–1946)'. Eds. Steve Herne (et al.) Readings in Primary Art Education, (Intellect, Bristol) ISBN 978-1-84150-242-7, pp 161–175.
- Smith, Chris, (2010) Tales From A Churchyard, St John's Church, Kates Hill, Dudley, Vol. 1, (St John's Church Preservation Group, Dudley), ISBN 978-0-9555484-2-0. Chapter 3 is devoted to the life of Marion Richardson.[9]
References
- ^ a b c d e f g h i Everitt, Sian (May 2006). "Richardson, Marion Elaine (1892-1946)". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/57053. http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/57053. Retrieved 2008-02-06.
- ^ Holdsworth, Bruce, (2009) 'Marion Richardson (1892–1946)'. p 161
- ^ a b Everitt, Sian. "Marion Richardson Archive". ArchivesHub. http://www.archiveshub.ac.uk/news/0702richardson.html. Retrieved 2008-05-27.
- ^ Holdsworth, (2009) 'Marion Richardson (1892–1946). p 163
- ^ Holdsworth, (2009) 'Marion Richardson (1892–1946)'. p 171
- ^ Marion Richardson School, History - Marion Richardson School, http://www.marionrichardsonschool.co.uk/history/, retrieved 2011-05-24
- ^ "St John's Church Preservation Group News Updates". http://www.savestjohnschurch.zoomshare.com/4.html. Retrieved 2008-11-03.
- ^ Birmingham City University Art and Design Archives. "Marion Richardson Archive". Birmingham City University. http://www.biad.bcu.ac.uk/research/archives/pages_collections/marionrichardson.php. Retrieved 2011-05-24.
- ^ Save St. John's Church Preservation Group, Save St John's Church: Home, http://www.savestjohnschurch.zoomshare.com/, retrieved 2011-05-24
External links
Categories:- 1946 deaths
- 1892 births
- Academics of the Institute of Education
- British artists
- Art educators
- Alumni of Birmingham Institute of Art and Design
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