Apollonia Kickius (1669 -1695) (or Kickieus or Kickeus) was a painter working in Scotland in the 17th century. She is one of only three women painters known to be working in Scotland prior to 1700 and is the sole woman in Scotland documented as working in the building trades from the 17th to mid 19th century.

Early life

Apollonia Kickius may have been born in London, England but likely lived in Scotland from the age of 8. Her parents were the artist Edward Kickius (thought to be German or Dutch and also known as Everhardus Kickius or Everard Kick) and Apollonia Hardij of The Hague. Edward Kickius was working in London in the late 1660s and in Scotland from 1677. The family lived in the Canongate, Edinburgh. Apollonia Kickius seems to have stayed in Scotland while her father left Edinburgh to return to England by 1685 and her mother joined him in London in 1687.

Career

In 1685 Kickius signed a receipt for money owing to her father for his painting work at Edinburgh Castle. This would indicate involvement in her father's business. She worked as a painter at Castle Lyon (now known as

Castle Huntly Castle Huntly is a castle in Scotland, now used as a prison under the name '' HMP Castle Huntly''. It is located approximately west of Dundee in the Carse of Gowrie, Perth and Kinross, close to the shore of the Firth of Tay, and can be seen ...

) for the 1st

Earl of Strathmore Earl of Strathmore and Kinghorne is a title in the Peerage of Scotland and the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was first created as Earl of Kinghorne in the Peerage of Scotland in 1606 for Patrick Lyon. In 1677, the designation of the earldom ...

(for whom Mrs Morris, an English house painter, also worked). Kickius was probably a mural painter. Apted and Hannabuss' biographical inventory of painters in Scotland prior to 1700 documents only three women amongst many men: Apollonia Kickius,

Esther Inglis Esther Inglis ( or ) (1571–1624) was a skilled member of the artisan class, as well as a miniaturist, who possessed several skills in areas such as calligraphy, writing, and embroidering. She was born in 1571 in either LondonFrye, Susan. 201 ...

and 'Mrs Morris'. Kickius is the only woman working in Scotland in Hewlings' list of women working in the building trades from 1600 to 1850.

Death

Kickius died on 13 September 1695. Her tombstone in

Longforgan Longforgan is a village and parish in the Carse of Gowrie, in Perth and Kinross, Scotland. It lies west of Dundee on the main A90 road. History A record survives of Sir Patrick Gray, as Baron of Longforgan, holding a baronial court here in 13 ...

Church (not far from Castle Lyon) notes her skill as a painter and that she was married:

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kickius, Apollonia Scottish women painters Scottish muralists 1695 deaths 1669 births 17th-century women artists 17th-century Scottish painters Women muralists