Jessie Mothersole 1873 – 1958
Archaeologist, artist, author.
8 August 1873 –22 April 1958
Education
1891/92-1896 Slade School of Art. Awarded prizes and certificates for drawing from life and antique drawing.
Some Key Achievements and Interests
1897 Exhibited in the Women’s Work Section of the Victorian Era Exhibition.
1899-1927 Studied, and then worked with, the artist Henry Holiday. Showed a talent for stained glass and decorative art work.
Early 1900s Worked with Margaret Murray in Egypt copying tomb paintings and photographing scenes. Images published in the article ‘Tomb Copying in Egypt’ in Sunday at Home.
1903 Collaborated with Henry Holiday on designs for the stained glass windows at Lincoln Cathedral.
Based back in the UK focussed on book illustration and writing on British archaeology. Was particularly interested in UK archaeological sites Hadrian’s Wall and Deere Street Roman Road.
Was an active campaigner for women’s suffrage. Involved in the Women’s Social and Political Union (WSPU).
1903 Illustrated Charles Stuttaford’s translation of Apuleius: The Story of Cupid and Psyche.
1904 Full size copies of the tomb paintings made by Mothersole and Hansard at Saqqara, Egypt displayed at Annual Archaeological Exhibition at UCL.
1910 Published illustrated book The Isles of Scilly: their story, their folk and their flowers.
1922 Hadrian’s Wall, an illustrated travel guide which documented her journey along the 73 mile monument in 1920 over 2-3 months.
Exhibited at the Royal Academy Summer Exhibition, Walker’s Art Gallery.
1925 Member of the Society for the Promotion of Roman Studies.
1920, 1930s Contributed to Wonders of the Past ed J A Hammerton, a serial on archaeology.
Female Networks
Archaeologists including Margaret Murray and fellow artist in Egypt Winifred ‘Freda’ Hansard. Suffrage campaigners including Myra Sadd Brown.
Connection to Bloomsbury
1892-1896 Lived at College Hall during Slade studies.
Some works
1903 (Illustrator) Apuleius. The Story of Cupid and Psyche. Stuttaford, C. (ed.).
1910 The Isles of Scilly – their story, their folk, their flowers with illustrations by Mothersole. London. The Religious Tract Society.
1922 Hadrian’s Wall. London. Bodley Head.
1927 In Roman Scotland. London. Bodley Head.
Further reading
The Slade Session, and Beyond | UCL Slade Archive Project
Modelling Excavations with Wikibase – Beyond Notability
ttps://www.chroniclelive.co.uk/news/north-east-news/jessie-mothersole-woman-hadrians-wall-22955060