Key Information
Reference code
Title
Date(s)
- 1896-1963 (Creation)
Level of description
Collection
Extent
61 Items
Content and Structure
Scope and content
A variety of loose artworks and six sketchbooks completed by Mary Ramsay, including life drawings, portraits, architectural studies, designs, prints, and illustrations. Some of these items are dated to her time as a student at The Glasgow School of Art. Most items are pencil on paper, with a few further studies in paint. This collection also includes a portfolio folder (DC 110/1/4) and personal papers (DC 110/3).
This collection includes one item by Jessie Wilson (DC 110/1/1/18), another student of The Glasgow School of Art, with whom Mary Ramsay and Margaret Macdonald started a pottery decorating business at The Studio, Strathyre, in 1926.
Appraisal, destruction and scheduling
Accruals
System of arrangement
These items have been arranged by type across three subfonds: Artworks (DC 110/1), Sketchbooks (DC 110/2), and Personal papers (DC 110/3).
Mary Ramsay's loose artworks were originally deposited within a portfolio folder (DC 110/1/4). These have been arranged into three individual series: Life Drawings and Portraits (DC 110/1/1), Architectural Studies (DC 110/1/2), and Illustrations and Designs (DC 110/1/3), organised by their subject matter.
Her sketchbooks have been organised chronologically where possible.
This has altered the original arrangement of the items when they were deposited with The Glasgow School of Art Archives and Collections.
General Information
Name of creator
Biographical history
Mary Anderson Ramsay was born in 1896 in Partick, and had two brothers, George (seven years her elder) and William (nine years her elder). In 1901 the family moved to Bridge of Allan, where the following year they established a sanatorium called ‘Salem’ - the establishment appears to have closed by 1909, being renamed ‘Drumpark’ and registered under new owners thereafter. From 1911 Mary was living with her parents at Glencairn Cottage in Logie, near Stirling; at this time her father was working as an author. From the age of 14 she was attending school part time, but may have been working part time alongside taking classes to prepare for Art School.
In 1914 she began her studies at The Glasgow School of Art, registered at the address 87 Edith Grove, Chelsea, in London. Her student registration also lists the address of a studio, 488 Cathedral Street, Glasgow, for the duration of her study. It is here that she would have been in contact with other studio renters Jessie Wilson and Margaret Macdonald, fellow students at the GSA with whom she would later found The Studio.
Mary Ramsay’s studies coincided with the First World War, and during this time her brothers were conscientious objectors. Her brother William spent time during this period in various prisons, being subject to forced feedings and solitary confinement, and wrote an unpublished memoir about his experiences. Mary visited him in England during his imprisonment.
Mary received her Diploma in Design and Decorative Art in 1918, and in the same year was awarded one of four Maintenance Scholarships for £50 (worth approx. £2300 in 2023), as well as Professor Anning Bell’s Prize in the Design Department. She earned an Endorsement on her Diploma in the 1918-1919 session. After 1919, Ramsay continued to study part time at the GSA, taking courses in Design (1920-21), Modelling (1921-22), and Pottery (1922-23).
In 1923 she moved with her brother William to a house named ‘Dunellan’ in Perthshire. From 1926 she took tenancy of The Studio, Strathyre, founding a pottery decorating business with GSA peers Wilson and Macdonald. The artists bought in blanks from industrial potteries and hand painted them; Mary’s work is distinguished by her floral patterns and the frequent use of an illustrated cat in her artist signature.
In 1940 Mary married Edgar King, and thereafter spent much of her time in England. Mary passed away in 1963. The family’s connection to the Studio was maintained until the mid-1980s, upon King’s death. The building has since been incorporated into a nearby inn.
Archival history
Custodial history
Accessioned 16/10/2017 accession number JAC/226.
Physical Description and Conditions of Use
Conditions governing access
Glasgow School of Art Archives and Collections are open for research by appointment. For further details, please refer to our Access Policy @ https://gsaarchives.net/policies
Conditions governing reproduction
Application for permission to reproduce should be submitted to The Archives and Collections at The Glasgow School of Art.
Reproduction subject to usual conditions: educational use and condition of material.
For further details, please refer to our Reprographic Service Guide @ https://gsaarchives.net/policies
Language of material
Script of material
Language and script notes
Physical Description
Finding aids
Related Material
Existence and location of originals
Existence and location of copies
Related materials
Notes area
Alternative identifier(s)
Keywords/Tags
Place access points
People and Organisations
- The Glasgow School of Art (Subject)
Genre access points
Status
Level of detail
Processing information
- Catalogue exported from Archon and imported into AtoM during system migration, 2018-2019.
Catalogued by Molly McCracken, SGSAH intern, May 2023
Language(s)
Script(s)
Sources
Archivist's note
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