Gertrude Jekyll
British landscape artist
Born
November 2, 1843 in London5th of 7 children
Died
December 9, 1932
Parents
Edward Jekyll and Julia Hammersley
Education
South Kensington School of Art
Studied: Writing and Painting
FriendshipsJohn Ruskin
British art critic, teacher, poet, and writer
Inspired the Arts and Crafts Movement
William Morris
Poet, philosopher, artist, and publisher
Most influential interior designer of the nineteenth century
George Frederick Watts
Painter and sculptor
Largely involved in the symbolist movement in art
Hercules Brabazon Brabazon
Squire, employer, pianist, and one of the world’s best water colour painters
Gertrude Jekyll decorated his office for him
An interesting fact about him is that in order to obtain his family’s estate from his uncle’s will, he had to take his mother’s maiden name as his last name in place of his father’s last name, Sharpe, hence the repetition of Brabazon in his name
Interests and Talents
Arts: Painting, drawing, sketching, embroidering, and photography
Country crafts: Thatching, fencing, walling, carpentry, metal working, carving, gilding, inlaying, and decorating silver by embossing
Gardens
Created over 400 gardens in the United Kingdom, United States, and Europe
“She designed a garden for the Jack Phillips Memorial Cloister in Godalming” (Pattison, 2013).
Consulted on approximately 350 gardens for other people
Many of her gardens have been restored.
Munstead Wood in Surrey
Jekyll’s home
Built by her best friend and close colleague, Sir Edwin Lutyens
She asked him to design a house in her garden
Books
Wood & Garden, 1899
Home & Garden, 1900
Wall, Water and Woodland Gardens, 1901
Lilies for English Gardens, 1901
Roses for English Gardens, 1902
Old West Surrey, 1904
Some English Gardens, 1904
Flower Decoration in the House, 1907
Children and Gardens, 1908
Colour Schemes for the Flower Garden, 1908
Gardens for Small Country Houses, 1912
Gertrude Jekyll and the Arts & Crafts Garden (modern edition of the above)
Annuals and Biennials, 1916
Garden Ornament, 1918
A Gardener’s Testament, 1937 (Edited by Francis Jekyll, nephew, and GC Taylor, biographer. Some of her articles & notes, mostly from later life)
Godalming Museum Local Studies Library
Collections of her books, drawings, watercolors, notebooks, and so much more can be found here.
The Gertrude Jekyll Collection of Garden Drawings
Correspondence between Gertrude Jekyll and Clients
Original Plant List Notebooks
Some of her personal memorabilia
Late Nineteenth, Early Twentieth Centuries
Women gained the right to vote
Women’s suffrage organizations:
Suffragette Fellowship
Library of the London Society for Women’s Service
Jekyll showed support for them by embroidering a banner for the Godalming branch of the National Union of Women’s Suffrage Societies (NUWSS)
The Women’s Liberation Movement, which was basically second wave feminism in the UK, happened in the late 1960s.
She was alive during many of the important turning points going on not only in the UK, but around the world.
References
Gertrude Jekyll. (n.d.). Gertrude Jekyll. Retrieved February 12, 2013, from http://www.gertrudejekyll.co.uk/
George Frederick Watts - The complete works. (n.d.). George Frederick Watts - The complete works. Retrieved March 1, 2013, from http://www.georgefredericwatts.org/
Gertrude Jekyll | historical print and gift card | Historical online cards and art prints | Category | Lifechart. (2007). Historical online cards and art prints | heritage trails, interpretive displays | Lifechart. Retrieved March 1, 2013, from http://www.lifechart.co.uk/product.php?pid=5
Hannam, J. (n.d.). Women's History, Feminist History - Articles - Making History. Institute of Historical Research | The national centre for history. Retrieved February 26, 2013, from http://www.history.ac.uk/makinghistory/resources/articles/womens_history.html
Hercules Brabazon Brabazon. (n.d.). Sedlescombe Parish Council. Retrieved March 1, 2013, from http://www.sedlescombe.org.uk/History/HBBtext.html
Holz, D. (2010, August 25). Environmental Design Archives Descriptive Narratives. UC Berkeley College of Environmental Design. Retrieved February 19, 2013, from http://www.ced.berkeley.edu/cedarchives/profiles/jekyll.htm
Home. (n.d.). Home. Retrieved March 1, 2013, from http://www.william-morris.co.uk/
Myopia (Nearsightedness) | American Optometric Association. (2013). American Optometric Association - Serving Doctors of Optometry & Their Patients. Retrieved March 1, 2013, from http://www.aoa.org/myopia.xml
Pattison, A. (2013, February 19). Gertrude Jekyll 1843-1932 - Information for researchers at Godalming Museum - Waverley Borough Council. Waverley Borough Council Homepage - Telephone: 01483 523333. Retrieved February 12, 2013, from http://www.waverley.gov.uk/info/200129/godalming_museum/307/information_for_researchers_at_godalming_museum/5
The Ruskin Research Centre, Lancaster University, UK. (n.d.). Home | Lancaster University. Retrieved March 1, 2013, from http://www.lancs.ac.uk/fass/ruskin/ruskin/jr.htm
Born
November 2, 1843 in London5th of 7 children
Died
December 9, 1932
Parents
Edward Jekyll and Julia Hammersley
Education
South Kensington School of Art
Studied: Writing and Painting
FriendshipsJohn Ruskin
British art critic, teacher, poet, and writer
Inspired the Arts and Crafts Movement
William Morris
Poet, philosopher, artist, and publisher
Most influential interior designer of the nineteenth century
George Frederick Watts
Painter and sculptor
Largely involved in the symbolist movement in art
Hercules Brabazon Brabazon
Squire, employer, pianist, and one of the world’s best water colour painters
Gertrude Jekyll decorated his office for him
An interesting fact about him is that in order to obtain his family’s estate from his uncle’s will, he had to take his mother’s maiden name as his last name in place of his father’s last name, Sharpe, hence the repetition of Brabazon in his name
Interests and Talents
Arts: Painting, drawing, sketching, embroidering, and photography
Country crafts: Thatching, fencing, walling, carpentry, metal working, carving, gilding, inlaying, and decorating silver by embossing
Gardens
Created over 400 gardens in the United Kingdom, United States, and Europe
“She designed a garden for the Jack Phillips Memorial Cloister in Godalming” (Pattison, 2013).
Consulted on approximately 350 gardens for other people
Many of her gardens have been restored.
Munstead Wood in Surrey
Jekyll’s home
Built by her best friend and close colleague, Sir Edwin Lutyens
She asked him to design a house in her garden
Books
Wood & Garden, 1899
Home & Garden, 1900
Wall, Water and Woodland Gardens, 1901
Lilies for English Gardens, 1901
Roses for English Gardens, 1902
Old West Surrey, 1904
Some English Gardens, 1904
Flower Decoration in the House, 1907
Children and Gardens, 1908
Colour Schemes for the Flower Garden, 1908
Gardens for Small Country Houses, 1912
Gertrude Jekyll and the Arts & Crafts Garden (modern edition of the above)
Annuals and Biennials, 1916
Garden Ornament, 1918
A Gardener’s Testament, 1937 (Edited by Francis Jekyll, nephew, and GC Taylor, biographer. Some of her articles & notes, mostly from later life)
Godalming Museum Local Studies Library
Collections of her books, drawings, watercolors, notebooks, and so much more can be found here.
The Gertrude Jekyll Collection of Garden Drawings
Correspondence between Gertrude Jekyll and Clients
Original Plant List Notebooks
Some of her personal memorabilia
Late Nineteenth, Early Twentieth Centuries
Women gained the right to vote
Women’s suffrage organizations:
Suffragette Fellowship
Library of the London Society for Women’s Service
Jekyll showed support for them by embroidering a banner for the Godalming branch of the National Union of Women’s Suffrage Societies (NUWSS)
The Women’s Liberation Movement, which was basically second wave feminism in the UK, happened in the late 1960s.
She was alive during many of the important turning points going on not only in the UK, but around the world.
References
Gertrude Jekyll. (n.d.). Gertrude Jekyll. Retrieved February 12, 2013, from http://www.gertrudejekyll.co.uk/
George Frederick Watts - The complete works. (n.d.). George Frederick Watts - The complete works. Retrieved March 1, 2013, from http://www.georgefredericwatts.org/
Gertrude Jekyll | historical print and gift card | Historical online cards and art prints | Category | Lifechart. (2007). Historical online cards and art prints | heritage trails, interpretive displays | Lifechart. Retrieved March 1, 2013, from http://www.lifechart.co.uk/product.php?pid=5
Hannam, J. (n.d.). Women's History, Feminist History - Articles - Making History. Institute of Historical Research | The national centre for history. Retrieved February 26, 2013, from http://www.history.ac.uk/makinghistory/resources/articles/womens_history.html
Hercules Brabazon Brabazon. (n.d.). Sedlescombe Parish Council. Retrieved March 1, 2013, from http://www.sedlescombe.org.uk/History/HBBtext.html
Holz, D. (2010, August 25). Environmental Design Archives Descriptive Narratives. UC Berkeley College of Environmental Design. Retrieved February 19, 2013, from http://www.ced.berkeley.edu/cedarchives/profiles/jekyll.htm
Home. (n.d.). Home. Retrieved March 1, 2013, from http://www.william-morris.co.uk/
Myopia (Nearsightedness) | American Optometric Association. (2013). American Optometric Association - Serving Doctors of Optometry & Their Patients. Retrieved March 1, 2013, from http://www.aoa.org/myopia.xml
Pattison, A. (2013, February 19). Gertrude Jekyll 1843-1932 - Information for researchers at Godalming Museum - Waverley Borough Council. Waverley Borough Council Homepage - Telephone: 01483 523333. Retrieved February 12, 2013, from http://www.waverley.gov.uk/info/200129/godalming_museum/307/information_for_researchers_at_godalming_museum/5
The Ruskin Research Centre, Lancaster University, UK. (n.d.). Home | Lancaster University. Retrieved March 1, 2013, from http://www.lancs.ac.uk/fass/ruskin/ruskin/jr.htm