The art of Jessie M King, 1875–1949
Sep 25, 2007
The Fisherman and His Soul : Her Feet were Naked
from A House of Pomegranates by Oscar Wilde, 1915.
A delicate piece of Orientalism illustrating Wilde’s book of fairy tales. Jessie Marion King’s work is a fascinating amalgam of the decorative post-Beardsley style exemplified by Harry Clarke and the Glasgow Style of Charles Rennie Mackintosh’s Arts and Crafts movement. It’s unfortunate that her associations with Mackintosh sometimes overshadow her career as an illustrator despite her being as talented and productive as many of her male contemporaries.
The rest of the Wilde illustrations can be seen at Art Passions along with a number of other works.
• Jessie M King biography page
Elsewhere on { feuilleton }
• The illustrators archive
4 comments or trackbacks
#1 posted by Thombeau
Sep 25th, 2007
Ooh, thanks for turning me on to another someone I was unfamiliar with, but whose work I now adore! That’s why I started visiting your page to begin with. YAY!
#2 posted by John
Sep 25th, 2007
Heh, my pleasure. Her work is wonderful, isn’t it, especially the early fine-line style she used.
BTW, no idea why the silly spam filter wanted to hold your comment. It usually works by giving more preference to those who’ve posted before.
#3 posted by Nathalie
Sep 25th, 2007
Lovely art (and well fitted to Oscar Wilde’s tales too).
#4 posted by pe-jota
Sep 26th, 2007
Absolutely precious and delicate