POWERHOUSE COLLECTION

Notes

This brooch was designed and made by Arthur and Georgie Gaskin, probably in Birmingham, England, where they lived and worked at this time, 1900-1920. Arthur and Georgie Gaskin were a English husband and wife team know for their production of Arts and Craft style jewellery. Both Arthur and Georgie were initially illustrators before turning to jewellery making as a second career in 1899, when they were mature artists. They collaborated on pieces of jewellery however it seems Georgie was the dominant jeweller and the majority of the jewellery should be attributed to her. While she designed the pieces, Arthur worked on the enamel and with the help of their assistants, they both worked on the production of the jewellery. Born in Birmingham, England, Arthur Gaskin (1862-1928) was an illustrator, artist, jewellery designer and silversmith, as well as a designer for William Morris's Kelmscott Press. He studied at the Birmingham School of Art, where he met his wife, fellow student Georgie (Georgina) and where he later taught. About 1900 he began designing metalwork and in 1903 he became headmaster of the Birmingham School for Silversmiths and Jewellers, until his retirement in 1924. Arthur was a member of the Birmingham Group of artists, who sought to apply the principles of the Arts and Craft movement across the decorative arts as well as a member of the Royal Birmingham Society of Artists (RBSA). Georgie Gaskin (1868-1934), born Georgina Evelyn Cave France, studied silver smithing at the Birmingham School of Art, England. It was there she met Arthur Gaskin, whom she married on 21 March 1894. References: Breeze, George, 'Arthur & Georgie Gaskin' exhibition catalogue, Birmingham Museums and Art Gallery, 1981 Crawford, Alan. "Gaskin , Georgie Evelyn Cave (1866-1934)." Alan Crawford In Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, online ed., edited by Lawrence Goldman. Oxford: OUP, http://0-www.oxforddnb.com.library.sl.nsw.gov.au/view/article/66046 (accessed March 3, 2013).