Grace Marcon also known as Frieda Graham (1889–1965) was a

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

Suffragette A suffragette was a member of an activist women's organisation in the early 20th century who, under the banner "Votes for Women", fought for the right to vote in public elections in the United Kingdom. The term refers in particular to members ...

who damaged five paintings in the

National Gallery The National Gallery is an art museum in Trafalgar Square in the City of Westminster, in Central London, England. Founded in 1824, it houses a collection of more than 2,300 paintings dating from the mid-13th century to 1900. The current di ...

including

Giovanni Bellini Giovanni Bellini (; c. 1430 – 29 November 1516) was an Italian Renaissance painter, probably the best known of the Bellini family of Venetian painters. He was raised in the household of Jacopo Bellini, formerly thought to have been his father, ...

's '' The Agony in The Garden'' and Gentile Bellini's ''Portrait of a Mathematician''.

Life

Marcon was born in

Erpingham Erpingham ( ) is a village and civil parish in the English county of Norfolk. Erpingham is located north of Aylsham and north of Norwich, along Scarrow Beck. The parish also includes the nearby village of Calthorpe. History Erpingham's na ...

in 1889. Her mother was named Sarah and her father was Canon Walter Marcon and he was the rector of the parish of Edgefield in Norfolk from 1876. In 1911 she was at home in Norfolk. Marcon would demonstrate in Norwich market for the suffragettes. She became a suffragette and she was released from court with an obligation to keep the peace after she was arrested in 1913. Her arrest arose from a disagreement between the police and protesting suffragettes led by

Sylvia Pankhurst Estelle Sylvia Pankhurst (; 5 May 1882 – 27 September 1960) was an English Feminism, feminist and Socialism, socialist activist and writer. Following encounters with women-led labour activism in the United States, she worked to organise worki ...

. This was in May 1913 and by October she was back in the courts charged with obstruction and assault. Marcon was given a sentence of two months in

Holloway Prison HM Prison Holloway was a British prison security categories, closed category prison for adult women and young offenders in Holloway, London, England, operated by His Majesty's Prison Service. It was the largest women's prison in western Europe, ...

. Marcon was photographed secretly whilst in Holloway prison together with other arrested suffragettes. Photos of these women could then be circulated to the police so that they were aware of the potential damage. By 1914 she was using the name Frieda Graham and it was under that name that she was arrested after she had damaged at least five paintings in the National Gallery on 22 May 1914. She said that she had done the damage in protest because the king had refused to see a deputation of women. She was imprisoned and released again when she was said to have cut off her hair whilst recovering from this hunger strike. Marcon was given a

Hunger Strike Medal The Hunger Strike Medal was a silver medal awarded between August 1909 and 1914 to suffragette prisoners by the leadership of the Women's Social and Political Union (WSPU). During their imprisonment, many went on hunger strike while serving the ...

to commemorate her valour. During the war Marcon worked as Red Cross masseuse and this appears to be how she first met Victor Scholey. Scholey was a press photographer and in 1923 Marcon worked away across Canada to marry him in Quebec. By 1926 she was back in England with a son. She was still in touch with Emmeline Pankhurst and all women did not get the vote until 1928. Marcon died in Oxford in 1965 and was buried in Edgefield.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Marcon, Grace 1889 births 1965 deaths People from Erpingham British suffragettes Hunger Strike Medal recipients