Janetta Susan Gillespie (1 May 1876– 10 October 1956) was a Scottish artist. Her still-life paintings were exhibited in Scotland and at the Walker gallery in Liverpool.

Biography

Gillespie was born in

Bonnybridge Bonnybridge (; ) is a village in the Falkirk (council area), Falkirk council area of Scotland. It is west of Falkirk, north-east of Cumbernauld and south-southwest of Stirling. The village is situated near the Bonny Water which runs through t ...

Stirlingshire Stirlingshire or the County of Stirling ( ) is a Shires of Scotland, historic county and registration county of Scotland. Its county town is Stirling.Registers of Scotland. Publications, leaflets, Land Register Counties. It borders Perthshir ...

into a family of artists. Both her brother, Alexander Gillespie and her younger sister Floris were also artists and the three would sometimes exhibit together. Gillespie attended 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 ...

in 1913 and then again from 1915 to 1917. She taught for a time at Bonnybridge School and lived in the town throughout her life. She mostly painted flowers and still life pieces in an often bold and dashing style with a highly accomplished use of

chiaroscuro In art, chiaroscuro ( , ; ) is the use of strong contrasts between light and dark, usually bold contrasts affecting a whole composition. It is also a technical term used by artists and art historians for the use of contrasts of light to ach ...

. A still life, ''Moon Pennies'', received good reviews when shown at the

Royal Scottish Watercolour Society The Royal Scottish Society of Painters in Watercolour (RSW) is a Scottish art society established in 1878. The current patron is Charles III. It is a registered charity based in Glasgow and holds an annual exhibition. The first preliminary meeting ...

in 1952. Gillespie exhibited with, and joined, the Glasgow Society of Women Artists, winning their Lauder Award in 1934. She also exhibited with the

Royal Scottish Academy The Royal Scottish Academy (RSA) is the country's national academy of art. It promotes contemporary art, contemporary Scottish art. The Academy was founded in 1826 by eleven artists meeting in Edinburgh. Originally named the Scottish Academy ...

, the

Glasgow Institute of the Fine Arts The Royal Glasgow Institute of the Fine Arts (RGI) is an independent organisation in Glasgow, founded in 1861, which promotes contemporary art and artists in Scotland. The institute organizes the largest and most prestigious annual art exhibiti ...

, at the

Walker Art Gallery The Walker Art Gallery is an art gallery in Liverpool, which houses one of the largest art collections in England outside London. It is part of the National Museums Liverpool group. History The Walker Art Gallery's collection dates from 1819 ...

in Liverpool and with the

Aberdeen Artists Society The Aberdeen Artists Society was founded in 1827 and aims to raise awareness of contemporary visual arts in Aberdeen and the North of Scotland. History The Aberdeen Artists' Society was founded in 1827 by local artists associated with Scottish p ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gillespie, Floris Mary 1876 births 1956 deaths 20th-century Scottish painters 20th-century Scottish women artists Alumni of the Glasgow School of Art People from Stirling (council area) Sibling artists 20th-century Scottish women painters