Part DC 110/2/4/p74 - Sketchbook

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time during this period in various prisons, being subject to forced feedings and solitary confinement, and wrote an unpublished memoir about his experiences.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.