Mary Gillick | |
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| Born | 4 April, 1881 Nottingham, England |
| Died | 27 January, 1965 London, England |
| Nationality | British |
| Education | Nottingham School of Art,Royal College of Art |
Mary Gaskell GillickOBE (née Tutin; 1881 – 27 January 1965)[1] was a sculptor and medallist, best known for hereffigy ofElizabeth II used on coinage in theUnited Kingdom and elsewhere from 1953 to 1970.
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BornMary Gaskell Tutin inNottingham, she was the eldest of three children born to Thomas Tutin and Elizabeth Gaskell (née Ardern),[2] who wed on 25 March 1880 in Knutsford, Cheshire.
She was educated at theNottingham School of Art (1898–1902) and at theRoyal College of Art (1902–1904), where she studied under the sculptorÉdouard Lantéri.[3]
After making her first exhibition at theRoyal Academy in 1911, she designed severalmedals to be used as awards, and several other, larger relief sculptures instone andbronze[citation needed] including the stone commemorative sculpture, Crosby Hall, Chelsea 1926[4]
In 1905, she married sculptorErnest Gillick.
She was appointed OBE in the1953 Coronation Honours.[2]
In 1952, Gillick's effigy design was selected from a field of seventeen to be used on general-circulation coinage for the new Queen Elizabeth, first issued in 1953. Gillick worked on the portrait between March and October 1952, with one sitting and close supervision by theDuke of Edinburgh.[3] Gillick's design was notable for portraying the Queen uncrowned, and was the last to be used on thepre-decimal coinage.
Gillick's die master had insufficient relief, and the striking was too weak. Facial features and the dress folds in the shoulder disappeared. The problem was solved by re-cutting the dies. This remastering was performed byCecil Thomas, an experienced medallist who had already crafted overseas currencies featuring Elizabeth II, but who had initially been turned down for the British coinage in preference to Gillick.[5]
A cameo of Gillick's effigy of the Queen has been used onBritish commemorative stamps from 1966 to 9 March 2023;[6] the original effigy was also used forMaundy money until the Queen's death in 2022.
| Preceded by | Coins of the pound sterling Obverse sculptor 1952 | Succeeded by |
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