Marion Richardson

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Marion Richardson (1892–1946) was British artist, educator and author who published workbooks on penmanship and handwriting.

Contents

[edit] Biography

Marion Elaine Richardson was born on October 9, 1892 in Ashford, Kent, the second daughter Walter Marshall Richardson and his wife, Ellen.[1]

[edit] Education

She was educated at Winchester High School for Girls, Uplands School, and Milham Ford School in Oxford. She trained to be a 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.[2]

[edit] Teaching career

From 1912-1923, 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.[2] She developed her own child-centered 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. 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.

[edit] Later life

She retired in 1942 due to her deteriorating health. In September 1945 she returned to Dudley and died on November 12, 1946. She was buried at St John's Church, Kates Hill, Dudley. 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 work Writing and Writing Patterns was still used in schools in the 1980s[1]. The Senrab Street School was renamed Marion Richardson Primary School in her memory. [3]

[edit] Publications

  • Richardson, Marion Elaine ([1928]). The Dudley Writing Cards. London: G Bell& Sons. 
  • Richardson, Marion Elaine (1935). Writing & Writing Patterns. 
  • Richardson, Marion Elaine (1948). Art and the Child. London: University of London Press. 

[edit] Primary Sources

The personal papers of Marion Richardson are held in the the Birmingham City University Art and Design Archives.[4]

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h Everitt, Sian (May 2006). "Richardson, Marion Elaine (1892-1946)". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. Oxford University Press. DOI:10.1093/ref:odnb/57053. 
  2. ^ a b Everitt, Sian. Marion Richardson Archive. ArchivesHub. Retrieved on 27 May 2008.
  3. ^ Marion Richardson. Retrieved on 27 May 2008.
  4. ^ Birmingham City University Art and Design Archives. Marion Richardson Archive. Birmingham City University. Retrieved on 27 May 2008.

[edit] External links

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