Agnes Miller Parker (1895–1980) was a Scottish engraver, illustrator and painter in oil and tempera. Born in Ayrshire, she spent most of her career in London and southern Britain. She is especially known as a twentieth century wood-engraver thanks to her collaboration with

H. E. Bates Herbert Ernest Bates (16 May 1905 – 29 January 1974) was a British writer known for his gritty, realistic short stories (he wrote more than 25 collections) and novels set predominantly in early- to mid-20th century England. His rural u ...

, which resulted in two outstanding wood engraved books: ''Through the Woods (1936)'' and ''Down the River (1937)'', published by

Victor Gollancz Sir Victor Gollancz (; 9 April 1893 – 8 February 1967) was a British publisher and humanitarian. Gollancz was known as a supporter of left-wing politics. His loyalties shifted between liberalism and communism; he defined himself as a Christian ...

Biography

Agnes Miller Parker (name on birth certificate Agnes Millar Parker) was born on 3 April 1895 at

Irvine, Ayrshire Irvine ( ;
; ) is a town and former royal burgh on th ...

, Scotland. She studied at the

Glasgow School of Art The Glasgow School of Art (GSA; ) is a higher education art school based in Glasgow, Scotland, offering undergraduate degrees, post-graduate awards (both taught and research-led), and PhDs in architecture, fine art, and design. These are all awa ...

from 1911 to 1917, and during that time resided with her family in

Riddrie Riddrie () is a north-eastern district of Glasgow, Scotland. It lies on the A80 Cumbernauld Road. Location and amenities Riddrie is a predominantly residential area consisting of 1920s or earlier semi-detached houses (especially in the area kno ...

. She subsequently joined the staff of the School for a short period. In 1918 she married the painter, William McCance; and thereafter passed most of her career in London and southern Britain. In 1955 they separated and Parker moved to Glasgow. They officially divorced in 1963 when she went to live in

Lamlash Lamlash () is a village on the Isle of Arran, in the Firth of Clyde, Scotland. It lies south of the island's main settlement and ferry port Brodick, in a sheltered bay on the island's east coast, facing the Holy Isle. Lamlash is the seat of A ...

on the

Isle of Arran The Isle of Arran (; ) or simply Arran is an island off the west coast of Scotland. It is the largest island in the Firth of Clyde and the seventh-largest Scottish island, at . Counties of Scotland, Historically part of Buteshire, it is in the ...

. She died in 1980 at

Greenock Greenock (; ; , ) is a town in Inverclyde, Scotland, located in the west central Lowlands of Scotland. The town is the administrative centre of Inverclyde Council. It is a former burgh within the historic county of Renfrewshire, and forms ...

. Parker's early paintings, as well as those of her husband, reflect the short-lived group of artists known as

Vorticists Vorticism was a London-based modernist art movement formed in 1914 by the writer and artist Wyndham Lewis. The movement was partially inspired by Cubism and was introduced to the public by means of the publication of the Vorticist manifesto in '' ...

, active in London in the 1920s. The main body of her work consists of wood-engravings for book illustrations that demonstrate fine draughtsmanship and skilful use of black and white design. She illustrated ''The Fables of

Aesop Aesop ( ; , ; c. 620–564 BCE; formerly rendered as Æsop) was a Greeks, Greek wikt:fabulist, fabulist and Oral storytelling, storyteller credited with a number of fables now collectively known as ''Aesop's Fables''. Although his existence re ...

'' (1931), ''Through the Woods'' by

(1936), ''The Open Air'' by

Richard Jefferies John Richard Jefferies (6 November 1848 – 14 August 1887) was an English nature writer, noted for his depiction of English rural life in essays, books of natural history, and novels. His childhood on a small Wiltshire farm had a great influ ...

(edited by Samuel J. Looker, 1949)"Life In The Open",(Review of ''The Open Air''), ''

The Glasgow Herald ''The Herald'' is a Scottish broadsheet newspaper founded in 1783. ''The Herald'' is the longest running national newspaper in the world and is the eighth oldest daily paper in the world. The title was simplified from ''The Glasgow Herald'' in ...

'', 16 December 1948 (p. 3). and her most acclaimed work, ''

Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard ''Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard'' is a poem by Thomas Gray, completed in 1750 and first published in 1751. The poem's origins are unknown, but it was partly inspired by Gray's thoughts following the death of the poet Richard West in 1742 ...

'' by

Thomas Gray Thomas Gray (26 December 1716 – 30 July 1771) was an English poet, letter-writer, and classics, classical scholar at Cambridge University, being a fellow first of Peterhouse then of Pembroke College, Cambridge, Pembroke College. He is widely ...

(1938), titles for the Limited Editions Club of New York and editions of the works of

Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 23 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's natio ...

and

Thomas Hardy Thomas Hardy (2 June 1840 – 11 January 1928) was an English novelist and poet. A Literary realism, Victorian realist in the tradition of George Eliot, he was influenced both in his novels and in his poetry by Romanticism, including the poetry ...

Books illustrated

Rhoda Power Rhoda Dolores Le Poer Power (29 May 1890 in Altrincham, Cheshire – 9 March 1957 in London), was a pioneer English broadcaster and children's writer. The highly regarded set of stories that make up ''Redcap Runs Away'' (1952) are set in the Mid ...

– ''How It Happened: Myths & Folk Tales'' (CUP, 1930) *

– ''

The Fables of Esope Aesop's Fables, or the Aesopica, is a collection of fables credited to Aesop, a slave and storyteller who lived in ancient Greece between 620 and 564 BCE. Of varied and unclear origins, the stories associated with his name have descended to mo ...

'' ( Gregynog Press, 1933) * Rhys Davies et al. – ''Daisy Matthews and Three Other Tales'' (GCP, 1932) * John Sampson – ''XXI Welsh Gypsy Tales'' (Gregynog Press, 1933) *

– ''The House with The Apricot'' (GCP, 1933) * Adrien Le Corbeau – '' The Forest Giant'' (Cape, 1935) * H. E. Bates – ''Through The Woods'' (Gollancz, 1936) * H. E. Bates – ''Down The River'' (Gollancz, 1937) * Thomas Gray – ''Elegy Written In A Country Churchyard'' (NY: Limited Editions Club, 1940) *

A.E. Housman Alfred Edward Housman (; 26 March 1859 – 30 April 1936) was an English classical scholar and poet. He showed early promise as a student at the University of Oxford, but he failed his final examination in '' literae humaniores'' and took emplo ...

– ''

A Shropshire Lad ''A Shropshire Lad'' is a collection of 63 poems by the English poet Alfred Edward Housman, published in 1896. Selling slowly at first, it then rapidly grew in popularity, particularly among young readers. Composers began setting the poems to ...

'' (Harrap, 1940) *

William Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 23 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...

– ''

Richard II Richard II (6 January 1367 – ), also known as Richard of Bordeaux, was King of England from 1377 until he was deposed in 1399. He was the son of Edward, Prince of Wales (later known as the Black Prince), and Joan, Countess of Kent. R ...

'' (NY: Limited Editions Club, 1940) * Thomas Hardy – ''The Return Of The Native'' (NY: Limited Editions Club, 1942) * Herbert Furst – ''Essays In Russet'' (Muller, 1944) *

– ''Spring Of The Year'' (Lutterworth, 1946) * Richard Jefferies – ''Life Of The Fields'' (Lutterworth, 1947) * Richard Jefferies – ''The Old House At Coate'' (Lutterworth, 1948) * Richard Jefferies – ''Field and Hedgerow'' (Lutterworth, 1948) * Andrew McCormick – ''The Gold Torque: A Story of Galloway in Early Christian Times'' (Glasgow: McLellan, 1951) * Aloysius Roche – ''Animals Under The Rainbow'' (Welwyn: Broad Water press, 1952) *

Edmund Spenser Edmund Spenser (; – 13 January 1599 Old Style and New Style dates, O.S.) was an English poet best known for ''The Faerie Queene'', an epic poem and fantastical allegory celebrating the House of Tudor, Tudor dynasty and Elizabeth I. He is re ...

– '' The Faerie Queen'' (NY: Limited Editions Club, 1953) * Eiluned Lewis – ''Honey Pots and Brandy Bottles'' (Country Life, 1954) *

John Cowper Powys John Cowper Powys ( ; 8 October 187217 June 1963) was an English novelist, philosopher, lecturer, critic and poet born in Shirley, Derbyshire, where his father was vicar of the parish church in 1871–1879. Powys appeared with a volume of verse ...

– ''Lucifer'' (MacDonald, 1956) * Thomas Hardy – ''

Tess of the d'Urbervilles ''Tess of the d'Urbervilles: A Pure Woman'' is the twelfth published novel by English author Thomas Hardy. It initially appeared in a Book censorship, censored and Serialized novel, serialised version, published by the British illustrated newsp ...

'' (NY: Limited Editions Club, 1956) * Thomas Hardy – '' Far From The Madding Crowd'' (NY: Limited Editions Club, 1958) * William Shakespeare – '' The Tragedies'' (NY: Limited Editions Club, 1959) * Thomas Hardy – ''

The Mayor of Casterbridge ''The Mayor of Casterbridge: The Life and Death of a Man of Character'' is an 1886 novel by the English author Thomas Hardy. One of Thomas Hardy's Wessex, Hardy's Wessex novels, it is set in a fictional rural England with Casterbridge standing ...

'' (NY: Limited Editions Club, 1967) * William Shakespeare – ''Poems'' (NY: Limited Editions Club, 1967) * Thomas Hardy – ''

Jude The Obscure ''Jude the Obscure'' is a novel by Thomas Hardy which began as a magazine serial in December 1894 and was first published in book form in 1895 (though the title page says 1896). The protagonist, Jude Fawley, is a working-class young man; he i ...

'' (NY: Limited Editions Club, 1969)

References

External links

Agnes Miller Parker images
on Invaluable {{DEFAULTSORT:Miller Parker, Agnes 1895 births 1980 deaths 20th-century Scottish women artists Artists from the Isle of Arran British illustrators Scottish wood engravers Scottish illustrators People from Irvine, North Ayrshire Alumni of the Glasgow School of Art British women engravers 20th-century British engravers

Biography

Books illustrated

References

Further reading

External links