Illustrations Art Gallery

Jessie M. King – Illustrations for A House of Pomegranates 1914

Jessie Marion King (March 20, 1875 – August 3, 1949) was a Scottish illustrator mostly of children’s books. She also designed jewellery and fabric, and painted pottery. King was one of the artists known as the Glasgow Girls.

Jessie M. King was made Tutor in Book Decoration and Design at Glasgow School of Art in 1899. Her first published designs, and some people believe her finest, were for the covers of books published by Globus Verlag, Berlin between 1899 and 1902.

Jessie M. King was influenced by the Art Nouveau of the period, and her works correspond in mood with those of The Glasgow Four. Despite the influence of Art Nouveau, she was inspired to create unique designs where she did not literally translate the real world. “I would not copy designs,” she said, “but insisted on drawing out of my head.” During her early period, she created detailed pen and ink illustrations on vellum.

With a bit of time, I’ve re-scanned the book A House of Pomegranates illustrated by Jessie M. King.  A House of Pomegranates is a collection of fairy tales, written by Oscar Wilde. It was published as a second collection for The Happy Prince and Other Tales (1892). Wilde said once that this collection was “intended neither for the British child nor the British public.”

This is one of the most beautiful book illustrated by Jessie M. King. The illustrations are colorful, with less details than her earlier works, but are as wonderful and a great compliment to the fairy tales of Oscar Wilde.

Other Jessie M. King illustrated works available in our gallery: The Defence of Guenevere, The Mummy’s Bedtime Story, The High History of the Holy Graal, Seven Happy Days, Poems of Spenser, Habitation Forcee.

Art Gallery: Jessie M. King – A House of Pomegranates 1914

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