Mrs Mary Gaskell Gillick OBE
Other names: neé Tutin
Born 1881
Died 27 January 1965
Active: 1898 - 1951
Country of birth and death: England
Sculptor, medallist
Born in Nottingham. Daughter of Thomas Tutin (born c.1836), a builder. She studied at Nottingham School of Art (NSA) and then at the Royal College of Art with Lanteri. Whilst studying at Nottingham Mary met Ernest Gillick who she married in 1905, they formed an 'ideal working partnership'. Their peer group at NSA included the painters, Harold and Laura Knight with whom they remained friends throughout their lives. Mary Gaskell Gillick died at the Elizabeth Garrett Anderson Hospital, St Pancras, London.
Her practice focused on medallic work and portraiture in low relief. She produced numerous commemorative medals including the Royal Society, Institute of Physics and Royal Academy Schools. In 1952 she executed the uncrowned head of Queen Elizabeth for the UK coinage, also used by various Commonwealth countries. A year later she produced a joint portrait of the Queen with the Duke of Edinburgh which was also widely used on commemorative medals.
Her works also included many portrait plaques, such as: Sir Henry Welcome (1953); Sir William Bragg; Sir Henry Dale; the Bishop of Chichester and Margaret Babbington of Canterbury.
Wealth at death: £20,471 0s. 0d.
Probate date: 28 April 1965
Locations
Address 14A Cheyne Row Chelsea London | View on map
1908 (Circa) - 1913 (Circa)
Address Moravian Close 381 King's Road London SW | View on map
1916 (Circa) - 1962 (Circa)
Exhibitions, Meetings, Awards and other Events
Exhibited at The Exhibition of the Royal Academy of Arts (Summer Exhibition), 1768-
1911 - 1962
Exhibited 33 times (26 times up to 1951), about 40 works in all
Institutional and Business Connections
Student at Royal College of Art (including National Art Training School)
1902 (Circa)
Studied at Nottingham School of Art
1898 - 1902
Worked for The Royal Mint
1952 (Circa)
Designed coins and won a competition for a relief sketch in plaster of Queen Elizabeth II (uncrowned) in 1952 which subsequently appeared on many pre-decimal coins: see Obituary in 'The Times' (1965) and Lowe, 'Sculpturess with city at heart', (2006)
Personal and Professional Connections
Wife/husband/spouse of Ernest George Gillick
1905
See Lowe, 'Sculpturess with city at heart', (2006).
Descriptions of Practice
Listed under Sculptors Biographical Dictionary of Medallists, Coin, Gem, and Seal-Engravers, Mint Masters, &c., Ancient and Modern with References to their Works, B.C. 500 - A.D. 1900, Volume VII, 1923 Biographical Dictionary of Medallists
Listed as 'Miss Mary G. Gillick' and as a contemporary modeller living in London. Exhibited portrait medallions at the Royal Academy, London, in 1911, 1912, 1916 and 1918. See vol. 7, (1923), p. 363.
Occupation given in Census Returns of England and Wales, 1911
'Sculptor' working on own account at studio
Sources
Bygones - 'Sculpturess with city at Heart ...', 1 April, 2006 Nottingham Local Studies Collection, Central Library, Nottingham
1 April 2006
p. 24.
Census Returns of England and Wales, 1911
2009
RG14PN3177 RG78PN118 RD36 SD1 ED3 SN101
England & Wales, National Probate Calendar (Index of Wills and Administrations), 1858-1966
2010
Name: Mary Gaskell Gillick
Probate Date: 28 Apr 1965
Death Date: 27 Jan 1965
Death Place: London, England
Registry: London, England
The Times Digital Archive 1785-1985
2008
The Times, Monday, Feb 01, 1965; pg. 14; Issue 56234; col E
Mrs. Mary Gillick
Category: Obituaries (accessed 11 August 2010)
Citing this record
'Mrs Mary Gaskell Gillick OBE', Mapping the Practice and Profession of Sculpture in Britain and Ireland 1851-1951, University of Glasgow History of Art and HATII, online database 2011 [http://sculpture.gla.ac.uk/view/person.php?id=msib4_1236871459, accessed 22 Mar 2023]
