Iris Evelina Margery Brooke, later Iris Giffard (15 January 1905 – 22 June 1981) was a British artist, author and book illustrator who, throughout her career, concentrated on exploring the history of costume.

Biography

Brooke was born at

Ryde Ryde is an English seaside town and civil parish on the north-east coast of the Isle of Wight. The built-up area had a population of 24,096 according to the 2021 Census. Its growth as a seaside resort came after the villages of Upper Ryde and ...

on the

Isle of Wight The Isle of Wight (Help:IPA/English, /waɪt/ Help:Pronunciation respelling key, ''WYTE'') is an island off the south coast of England which, together with its surrounding uninhabited islets and Skerry, skerries, is also a ceremonial county. T ...

in January 1905 and attended Bruntsfield High School on the island. From 1923 to 1926 she studied at the Croydon School of Art and then at the

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

in London until 1929, where her teachers included

Randolph Schwabe Randolph Schwabe (9 May 1885 – 19 September 1948) was a British draughtsman, painter and etcher. He was the Slade Professor of Fine Art at University College London from 1930 until 1948. He served as a war artist in both World Wars, created d ...

. Throughout her subsequent career, Brooke created portraits in both oil and chalk but mainly concentrated on writing and illustrating books on historical costumes and fashion. She also wrote articles for a number of journals and was elected a member of the Women's Press Club. In 1931, Brooke married Patrick Hopegood MacDowell but later divorced. They had a son, Michael. In 1944, she married William Hugh Giffard and the couple settled near

Honiton Honiton () is a market town and civil parish in East Devon, situated close to the River Otter, Devon, River Otter, north east of Exeter in the county of Devon. Honiton has a population estimated at 12,154 (based on 2021 census). History The ...

in Devon.

Books illustrated

* ''English Costume of the Nineteenth Century'', 1929, by

James Laver James Laver, CBE, FRSA (14 March 1899 – 3 June 1975) was an English author, critic, art historian, and museum curator who acted as Keeper of Prints, Drawings and Paintings for the Victoria and Albert Museum between 1938 and 1959. He was also ...

* ''English Costume of the Eighteenth Century'', 1931, by James Laver * ''A Pageant of Kings and Queens'', 1937, by Constance Mary Matthews & Charles Carrington * ''Arpies and Sirens'', 1942, by Susan Knowles.

Books written and illustrated

* ''English Children's Costume Since 1775'', 1930 * ''English Costume in the Age of Elizabeth'', 1933 * ''English Costume of the Seventeenth Century'', 1934 * ''English Costume of the Early Middle Ages'', 1936 * ''A History of English Costume'', 1937 * ''Western Europe costume and its relation to the theatre'', 1939 * ''English Costume 1900–50'', 1951 * ''Four Walls Adorned: Interior Decoration 1485–1820'', 1952 * ''Pleasures of the Past'', 1955 * ''English Costume of the Later Middle Ages'', 1956 * ''Dress and Undress'', 1958 * ''English Children's Costume Since 1775'', 1958 * ''Costume in Greek Classic Drama'', 1962 * ''Western European Costume and Its Relation to the Theatre'', 1963 * ''Medieval Theatre Costume'', 1967.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Brooke, Iris 1905 births 1981 deaths 20th-century English painters 20th-century English women artists 20th-century English women writers Alumni of the Royal College of Art Alumni of Croydon College Artists from the Isle of Wight British women illustrators English illustrators People from Ryde Writers who illustrated their own writing