Sheila Gertrude Mackie (1928-2010) was an English artist, illustrator and teacher from

Consett Consett is a town in County Durham, England, about south-west of Newcastle upon Tyne. It had a population of 27,394 in 2001 and an estimate of 25,812 in 2019. History Consett sits high on the edge of the Pennines. Its' name originates in the ...

County Durham County Durham ( ), officially simply Durham,UK General Acts 1997 c. 23Lieutenancies Act 1997 Schedule 1(3). From legislation.gov.uk, retrieved 6 April 2022. is a ceremonial county in North East England.North East Assembly �About North East E ...

. She was born in

Chester-le-Street Chester-le-Street (), also known as Chester, is a market town and civil parish in County Durham, England, around north of Durham and also close to Sunderland and Newcastle upon Tyne. It is located on the River Wear, which runs out to sea at Sun ...

, and studied art at King's College in Newcastle (now

Newcastle University Newcastle University (legally the University of Newcastle upon Tyne) is a UK public university, public research university based in Newcastle upon Tyne, North East England. It has overseas campuses in Singapore and Malaysia. The university is ...

). She taught art at

Consett Grammar School Consett Academy is a secondary school, secondary Academy (English school), academy school in Consett, the result of a merger between Consett Community Sports College and Moorside Community Technology College. History Consett Community Sports Co ...

, where she was head of department from 1950, and also spent many months painting and working at

Bertram Mills Bertram Wagstaff Mills (August 1873 – 16 April 1938) was a British circus owner originally from Paddington, London, who ran the Bertram Mills Circus. His circus became famous in the UK for its Christmas shows at Olympia in West London televised ...

Circus. In later life she lived at

Shotley Bridge Shotley Bridge is a village, adjoining the town of Consett in County Durham, England. It is on the A694 road and beside the River Derwent which is crossed by the bridge giving the name. It was once the heart of Britain's swordmaking industry. ...

where she painted in a caravan studio. Several of her paintings were bought by the then Derwentside District Council, and are now owned by

Durham County Council Durham County Council is a local authority administering all significant local government functions in the unitary authority area of County Durham in North East England. The council area covers part of the ceremonial county of County Durham, e ...

. Her ''Platform 4, Newcastle Station'' was bought in 1953 for the

Government Art Collection The Government Art Collection (GAC) is the collection of artworks owned by the UK government and administered by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS). The GAC's artworks are used to decorate major government buildings in t ...

. In the early 1960s she painted two large murals ''Agony in the Garden'' and ''The Conversion of Saul'', each by for the retreat house at the then monastery of

Minsteracres Minsteracres is an 18th-century mansion house, now a Christian retreat centre, in Northumberland, England. It is a Grade II listed building. The house was built in 1758 by George Silvertop. Originally erected with two storeys, a third storey was ...

; they were known to still exist in 2010 and are listed in the database ''PostWar Murals Database''. ''NB Order of listings is not explicit but appears to by county, so "Northumberland"'' She illustrated books including

Julian Glover Julian Wyatt Glover (born 27 March 1935) is an English classical actor with many stage, television, and film roles since commencing his career in the 1950s. He is a recipient of the Laurence Olivier Award and has performed many times for th ...

's ''

Beowulf ''Beowulf'' (; ang, Bēowulf ) is an Old English epic poem in the tradition of Germanic heroic legend consisting of 3,182 alliterative lines. It is one of the most important and most often translated works of Old English literature. The ...

'',

Magnus Magnusson Magnus Magnusson, (born Magnús Sigursteinsson; 12 October 1929 – 7 January 2007) was an Icelandic-born British-based journalist, translator, writer and television presenter. Born in Reykjavík, he lived in Scotland for almost all his life, a ...

's book on the island of

Lindisfarne Lindisfarne, also called Holy Island, is a tidal island off the northeast coast of England, which constitutes the civil parish of Holy Island in Northumberland. Holy Island has a recorded history from the 6th century AD; it was an important ...

, and books by naturalist

David Bellamy David James Bellamy (18 January 1933 – 11 December 2019) was an English botanist, television presenter, author and environmental campaigner. Early and personal life Bellamy was born in London to parents Winifred May (née Green) and Thoma ...

. In 2001 an exhibition of Mackie's work was held at the Durham Art Gallery: it was called "Through the Eyes of a Dragon" because she was born in the Chinese year of the dragon. Mackie died on 13 September 2010. She had two children and two grandchildren and was divorced.

Selected publications

* * * *

References

External links

* ''Showing seven of her paintings'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Mackie, Sheila 1928 births 2010 deaths English women painters People from Consett People from Chester-le-Street Alumni of King's College, Newcastle 20th-century English painters 21st-century English painters People from Shotley Bridge 20th-century English women 21st-century English women