Jessie Alexandra Dick Explained

Jessie Alexandra Dick
Birth Date:13 July 1896
Birth Place:Largs, Scotland
Death Place:Clarkston, Scotland
Nationality:British
Known For:Painting and teaching

Jessie Alexandra Dick, known as J Alix Dick, (13 July 1896 – 16 August 1976) was a Scottish artist and teacher. She was known as a painter of portraits and still-life pieces in both oils and watercolours.

Biography

Dick was the youngest daughter in a family of eleven children. She was born in Largs where her father was the head gardener on the estate of Lord Kelvin.[1] She studied at the Glasgow School of Art from 1915 to 1919 and joined the teaching staff of the School in 1921.[2] Holding a variety of posts, but mainly teaching painting and drawing, she remained on the staff of the School until her retirement in 1959.[3] [4] She was an active member of the Glasgow Society of Lady Artists and, in 1960, was elected an associate member of the Royal Scottish Academy.[2] [5] She was also a regular exhibitor with the Royal Watercolour Society, with the Royal Society of Painter-Etchers and Engravers and at the Royal Glasgow Institute of the Fine Arts.[6] Dick died in 1976 after a fall at the home in Clarkston she shared with one of her sisters.[1] For many years a large portrait of her, Self Portrait in the Studio, hung in the Glasgow School of Art but was destroyed in 2014 when fire engulfed the building.[7] After her death, several fine watercolours by Dick were saved by a neighbour when about to be thrown away.[4] The McLean Museum and Art Gallery in Greenock holds examples of her work.[6]

Glasgow School of Art

From 1922 until her retirement in 1959, Alix Dick taught at the GSA in various roles:

Notes and References

  1. Web site: The Girl in the Pink Dress: Can you help identify the beautiful young women in the painting. Fiona McKay. The Herald. 9 April 2017. 5 February 2019.
  2. Book: Paul Harris & Julian Halsby. Canongate. 1990. The Dictionary of Scottish Painters 1600 to the Present. 1-84195-150-1.
  3. Web site: Dick, Jessie Alexandra, (1896-1976). gsaarchives.org. 5 February 2019.
  4. Book: . Canongate. 1990. Glasgow Girls Women in Art and Design 1880-1920. 184195151X.
  5. Book: Peter J.M. McEwan. Antique Collectors' Club. 1994. The Dictionary of Scottish Art and Architecture. 1-85149-134-1.
  6. Book: David Buckman. Art Dictionaries Ltd. 2006. Artists in Britain Since 1945 Vol 1, A to L . 0-953260-95-X.
  7. Web site: Things we lost in the fire: the tragedy at The Glasgow School of Art. Tim Cornwell. Art UK. 18 December 2018. 5 February 2019.