Josephine Margaret Harris (16 February 1931 – 28 September 2020) was a British glass engraver and painter.

Early life

Harris was born on 16 February 1931. Her father (Major Percy Harris) was a

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...

officer and the family moved frequently. She was educated mainly by governesses, but she also attended the York School of Art while they lived in the city. After the end of the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

, the family settled in

Saltash Saltash (Cornish: Essa) is a town and civil parish in south Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It had a population of 16,184 in 2011 census. Saltash faces the city of Plymouth over the River Tamar and is popularly known as "the Gateway to Corn ...

, Cornwall, and she attended Moorfield School for Girls, a

private school Private or privates may refer to: Music * " In Private", by Dusty Springfield from the 1990 album ''Reputation'' * Private (band), a Denmark-based band * "Private" (Ryōko Hirosue song), from the 1999 album ''Private'', written and also recorde ...

in Plymouth, from 1946 to 1948.

Artistic career

In 1948, she enrolled at the

Plymouth College of Art Arts University Plymouth is an independent university-sector Higher Education (HE) provider located in Plymouth in South West England. The former Plymouth College of Art was officially granted university status in 2022. In April 2019 the s ...

, where she learnt a careful observation of detail and skilful drawing under William Mann. She then worked at the Plymouth City Art Gallery, where she was involved in educating children about its collections and loaning pictures to local schools. In 1958, she moved to London where she unsuccessfully applied to the

Royal College of Art The Royal College of Art (RCA) is a public research university in London, United Kingdom, with campuses in South Kensington, Battersea and White City. It is the only entirely postgraduate art and design university in the United Kingdom. It o ...

. Instead, she gained employment as secretary and personal assistant to the Keeper of the

Schools A school is an educational institution designed to provide learning spaces and learning environments for the teaching of students under the direction of teachers. Most countries have systems of formal education, which is sometimes compulsor ...

at the Royal Academy of Arts; first Sir Henry Rushbury and then his successor Peter Greenham. She continued painting, becoming a member of the

Royal Watercolour Society The Royal Watercolour Society is a British institution of painters working in watercolours. The Society is a centre of excellence for water-based media on paper, which allows for a diverse and interesting range of approaches to the medium of wa ...

in 1967 and exhibiting her work with the Royal Academy. In 1969, Harris attended a glass decorating class by Peter Dreiser at

Morley College Morley College is a specialist adult education and further education college in London, England. The college has three main campuses, one in Waterloo on the South Bank, and two in West London namely in North Kensington and in Chelsea, the la ...

. She left her job at the Royal Academy to set up a studio in

Barnes, London Barnes () is a district in south London, part of the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, England. It takes up the extreme north-east of the borough, and as such is the closest part of the borough to central London. It is centred west south ...

, specialising in glass engraving. She worked with a diamond drill on vessels and larger architectural pieces, mostly to commission. These included memorial doors at

St Mary's Church, Barnes St Mary's Church, Barnes, is the parish church of Barnes, formerly in Surrey and now in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames. It is a Grade II* listed building. St Mary's Barnes is a thriving Christian community with an electoral roll ...

, screen panels commemorating the Punjab Frontier Force in

St Luke's Church, Chelsea The Parish Church of St Luke, Chelsea, is an Anglican church, on Sydney Street, Chelsea, London SW3, just off the King's Road. Ecclesiastically it is in the Deanery of Chelsea, part of the Diocese of London. It was designed by James Savage in 1 ...

, and a bowl celebrating the 10th anniversary of the

Garden Museum The Garden Museum (formerly known as the Museum of Garden History) in London is Britain's only museum of the art, history and design of gardens. The museum re-opened in 2017 after an 18-month redevelopment project. The building is largely th ...

. She was a founding member of the

Guild of Glass Engravers A guild ( ) is an association of artisans and merchants who oversee the practice of their craft/trade in a particular area. The earliest types of guild formed as organizations of tradesmen belonging to a professional association. They sometimes ...

in 1975, and became a "brother" of the

Art Workers' Guild The Art Workers' Guild is an organisation established in 1884 by a group of British painters, sculptors, architects, and designers associated with the ideas of William Morris and the Arts and Crafts movement. The guild promoted the 'unity of a ...

in 1981. She was also a member of the

New English Art Club The New English Art Club (NEAC) was founded in London in 1885 as an alternative venue to the Royal Academy. It continues to hold an annual exhibition of paintings and drawings at the Mall Galleries in London, exhibiting works by both members and a ...

. She was elected Master of the Art Workers' Guild for 1997.

Personal life

Harris never married nor had any children. She had an accident at home in 1986, and spent a long period in a convalescent home in Hartley, Plymouth. In 1996, she had a

brain cyst A central nervous system cyst is a type of cyst that presents and affects part of the central nervous system (CNS). They are usually benign and filled with either cerebrospinal fluid, blood, or tumor cells. CNS cysts are classified into two catego ...

removed. Harris died on 28 September 2020, aged 89, having become frail in later life.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Harris, Josephine 1931 births 2020 deaths 20th-century British women artists 21st-century British women artists Alumni of the Plymouth College of Art British watercolourists British women painters Glass engravers People from Saltash Masters of the Art Worker's Guild British glass artists