Georgie Gaskin

{{Infobox person | name = Georgie Gaskin | image = Portrait of Georgie Cave Gaskin by William Smedley Aston, 1890-95.jpg | caption = Portrait of Gaskin by William Smedley-Aston | birth_name = Georgina Evelyn Cave France | birth_date = {{Birth date|1866|12|08|df=y}} | birth_place = Shrewsbury, Shropshire, England | death_date = {{Death date and age|1934|10|29|1866|12|08|df=y}} | death_place = West Malling, Kent, England | alma_mater = Birmingham School of Art | occupation = Designer | spouse = {{Marriage|Arthur Gaskin|1894-03-21|1928-06-04|end=d.}} | children = 2 }}

'''Georgina Evelyn Cave Gaskin''' (née '''France''') (8 December 1866 – 29 October 1934), known as '''Georgie Gaskin''', was an English jewellery and metalwork designer, as well as an illustrator.

[[File:Plaquette Portrait of Georgie Gaskin, 1913 - Arthur Joseph Gaskin - 1990M35.jpg|thumb|upright|Plaquette portrait of Georgie Gaskin (1913), by her husband Arthur Gaskin, now in the collection of Birmingham Museums Trust ]]

With her husband Arthur Gaskin, Georgie was one of the original members of the Birmingham Group of Artist-Craftsmen which formed around Joseph Southall in the 1890s, and reflected the influence of the Arts and Crafts movement at the Birmingham School of Art under the headmastership of Edward R. Taylor.<ref name="dnb">{{Cite ODNB||last=Crawford|first=Alan|date=2013-10-03|id=66046|doi=10.1093/ref:odnb/66046|title=Gaskin [née France], Georgie Evelyn Cave (1866–1934)}}</ref>

thumb|''ABC an Alphabet'' (1895) by "Mrs Arthur Gaskin"

Georgie France was born in Shrewsbury, the elder daughter of William Hanmer France and Frances Emily Cave-Brown-Cave.<ref name="dnb" /> She studied at the Birmingham School of Art, while there she met Arthur Gaskin, who also studied, as well as taught, there. They married on 21 March 1894.<ref name="agge">{{cite web |publisher=Birmingham Assay Office |url=https://theassayoffice.co.uk/news/6649/arthur-and-georgie-gaskin-exhibition-opening |title=Arthur and Georgie Gaskin Exhibition Opening |accessdate=8 March 2017}}</ref> and had two daughters, Joscelyne (b. 1903) and Margaret (b. 1907).<ref name="dnb" /> Arthur and Georgie Gaskin began their married life living in Acocks Green, Birmingham, before moving to Olton, Solihull.<ref>{{cite web | website=Mapping the Practice and Profession of Sculpture in Britain and Ireland 1851-1951 | url=http://sculpture.gla.ac.uk/view/person.php?id=msib4_1203430963 | title=Arthur Joseph Gaskin | access-date=8 March 2017 | archive-date=24 October 2016 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161024023044/http://sculpture.gla.ac.uk/view/person.php?id=msib4_1203430963 | url-status=dead }}</ref> Another move, in 1924, took them to the High Street in Chipping Campden. A few years after Arthur's death in 1928, Georgie moved to West Malling, Kent where she died in 1934.<ref name="dnb" /> They are buried together, in the churchyard of St James's Church in Chipping Campden.

The Gaskins were leading jewellers of the Arts and Crafts movement,<ref>{{Cite journal |first=Elizabeth S |last=Goring |jstor=41809327 |title=Suffragette Jewellery in Britain |journal=The Journal of the Decorative Arts Society 1850 - the Present |number=26 |year=2002 |pages=84–99 }}</ref> mostly in the Birmingham area. In 1899 the Gaskins started producing jewellery together, under the name of Mr and Mrs Arthur Gaskin. Despite having no technical expertise initially, they learnt many skills and employed others where necessary.<ref name="dnb" /> Georgie designed all of the jewellery that they made together,<ref name="dnb" /> though both were involved in making it.<ref name="agge"/> They produced silver and enamel work, book illustrations and jewellery both independently and in partnership. Georgie's jewellery was initially quite simple, consisting of silver wirework set with coloured stones and enamel, as time went on it became more ornate, often being set with gems by the time of the First World War. She continued to design jewellery until shortly before her death.<ref name="dnb" />

The Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery holds the largest collection of the Gaskins' work in all media.<ref name="dnb" /> thumb|right|Necklace with pendant designed by Georgie Gaskin

==References== {{reflist}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gaskin, Georgie}} Category:1866 births Category:1934 deaths Category:Arts and Crafts movement artists Category:British jewellery designers Category:English jewellers Category:English designers Category:19th-century English people Category:Alumni of the Birmingham School of Art Category:British women jewellers `