Josephine Margaret Harris (16 February 1931 – 28 September 2020) was a British glass engraver and painter.

Early life

Harris was born on 16 February 1931. Her father (Major Percy Harris) was a

British Army The British Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of the United Kingdom. the British Army comprises 73,847 regular full-time personnel, 4,127 Brigade of Gurkhas, Gurkhas, 25,742 Army Reserve (United Kingdom), volunteer reserve perso ...

officer and the family moved frequently. She was educated mainly by governesses, but she also attended the York School of Art while they lived in the city. After the end of the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, the family settled in

Saltash Saltash () is a town and civil parish in south Cornwall, England. It had a population of 16,184 in 2011 census. Saltash faces the city of Plymouth over the River Tamar and is popularly known as "the Gateway to Cornwall". Saltash’s landmarks ...

, Cornwall, and she attended Moorfield School for Girls, a

private school A private school or independent school is a school not administered or funded by the government, unlike a State school, public school. Private schools are schools that are not dependent upon national or local government to finance their fina ...

Plymouth Plymouth ( ) is a port city status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Devon, South West England. It is located on Devon's south coast between the rivers River Plym, Plym and River Tamar, Tamar, about southwest of Exeter and ...

, from 1946 to 1948.

Artistic career

In 1948, she enrolled at the

Plymouth College of Art Arts University Plymouth is a public university located in Plymouth in South West England. The former Plymouth College of Art was officially granted university status in 2022. In April 2019 the specialist college was awarded taught degree a ...

, where she learnt a careful observation of detail and skilful drawing under William Mann. She then worked at the Plymouth City Art Gallery, where she was involved in educating children about its collections and loaning pictures to local schools. In 1958, she moved to London where she unsuccessfully applied to 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 ...

. Instead, she gained employment as secretary and personal assistant to the Keeper of the

Schools A school is the educational institution (and, in the case of in-person learning, the building) designed to provide learning environments for the teaching of students, usually under the direction of teachers. Most countries have systems of ...

at the

Royal Academy of Arts The Royal Academy of Arts (RA) is an art institution based in Burlington House in Piccadilly London, England. Founded in 1768, it has a unique position as an independent, privately funded institution led by eminent artists and architects. Its ...

; first Sir Henry Rushbury and then his successor Peter Greenham. She continued painting, becoming a member of the

Royal Watercolour Society The Royal Watercolour Society is a British institution of painters working in watercolours. The Society is a centre of excellence for water-based media on paper, which allows for a diverse and interesting range of approaches to the medium of wa ...

in 1967 and exhibiting her work with the Royal Academy. In 1969, Harris attended a glass decorating class by Peter Dreiser at

Morley College Morley College is a specialist adult education and further education college in London, England. The college has three main campuses, one in Waterloo on the South Bank, and two in West London namely in North Kensington and in Chelsea, the ...

. She left her job at the Royal Academy to set up a studio in

Barnes, London Barnes () is a district in South West London, England, part of the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames. It takes up the extreme north-east of the borough, and as such is the closest part of the borough to central London. It is centred west ...

, specialising in glass engraving. She worked with a diamond drill on vessels and larger architectural pieces, mostly to commission. These included memorial doors at

St Mary's Church, Barnes St Mary's Church, Barnes, is the parish church of Barnes, formerly in Surrey Surrey () is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Greater London to the northeast, Kent to the east, East ...

, screen panels commemorating the Punjab Frontier Force in

St Luke's Church, Chelsea The Parish Church of St Luke, Chelsea, is an Church of England, Anglican church (building), church, on Sydney Street, Chelsea, London, Chelsea, London SW3, just off the King's Road. Ecclesiastically it is in the Deanery of Chelsea, part of the D ...

, and a bowl celebrating the 10th anniversary of the

Garden Museum The Garden Museum (formerly known as the Museum of Garden History) in London is Britain's only museum of the art, history and design of gardens. The museum re-opened in 2017 after an 18-month redevelopment project. The building is largely the ...

. She was a founding member of the Guild of Glass Engravers in 1975, and became a "brother" of the

Art Workers' Guild The Art Workers' Guild is an organisation established in 1884 by a group of British painters, sculptors, architects, and designers associated with the ideas of William Morris and the Arts and Crafts movement. The guild promoted the 'unity of al ...

in 1981. She was also a member of the

New English Art Club The New English Art Club (NEAC) is a society for contemporary artists that was founded in London, England, in 1886 as an alternative venue to the Royal Academy. The NEAC holds an annual exhibition of paintings and drawings at the Mall Galleries ...

. She was elected Master of the Art Workers' Guild for 1997.

Personal life

Harris never married nor had any children. She had an accident at home in 1986, and spent a long period in a convalescent home in

Hartley, Plymouth Hartley is a suburb of Plymouth in the county of Devon, England. It is built on higher ground offering views south towards the sea, east into the South Hams, north over Dartmoor and west to Cornwall. It is bisected by the Tavistock Road which al ...

. In 1996, she had a brain cyst removed. Harris died on 28 September 2020, aged 89, having become frail in later life.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Harris, Josephine 1931 births 2020 deaths 20th-century British women painters 21st-century British women artists Alumni of the Plymouth College of Art British watercolourists Glass engravers People from Saltash Masters of the Art Worker's Guild British glass artists