Kathleen Whyte
Encyclopedia
Helen Kathleen Ramsay Whyte MBE
(1909–1996) was a Scottish
embroiderer and teacher of textile arts
.
, on the east coast of Scotland, in 1909. From 1911 to 1913, and 1920 to 1923, she and her family joined her father who was working in India. The move to Jamshedpur had a huge impact on the young Kathleen. In particular the rich variety of textiles and brilliant colours made vivid impressions on her. On their return from India, Kathleen attended Arbroath High School. When at school in Arbroath she followed the curriculum derived from the system published by Anne Macbeth and Margaret Swanson published in their book Educational Needlecraft in 1911. In her final year she embroidered a huge panel of Saint Elizabeth of Bohemia.
On leaving school Kathleen went to Gray's School of Art
in Aberdeen
to follow a Diploma Course in General Design from 1928 to 1932. Amongst other things she studied embroidery
and was strongly influenced by her teacher Dorothy Angus who inspired her with what she later described as, “the vast potential of stitchery”. She was a particularly successful student, winning the Founder’s Prize as the best student in the second year of the general course, the Alexander Barker Prize as a result of the competition for third year students, and in the fourth year won the Former Students Association Prize for her entry The Fish Wife. In 1932 she was awarded a Diploma in Design and Decorative Art with distinction.
. On leaving Frederick Street in 1940 she taught briefly at the Central Secondary School and then went on the Aberdeen High School for Girls. As well as teaching children she taught adults in evening classes at the Art School. Later, during the war, she taught service men and women to do leather work.
Kathleen had been making her own clothes since the mid 1920s and in the early 1940s, because of the wartime restrictions, she began weaving
fabric, not only for herself but for her mother, sisters and friends too. Despite the scarcity of material and the clothing coupon limitations she always seemed able to lay her hands on plenty of yarn.
In 1948, on the advice of Mr. D. M. Southerland, Head of Gray's School of Art, and supported by Dorothy Angus, Kathleen successfully applied for the post of embroidery and weaving lecturer at Glasgow School of Art
.
This was the time of an embroidery revival in Glasgow
. As Kathleen was making improvements at Glasgow School of Art, the Needlework
Development Scheme was becoming more active and was beginning to make an impact on the wider public. In particular, modern stylish examples of Scandinavia
n embroidery and weaving were hugely influential. Over some years Kathleen travelled in Scandinavia, visiting weaving and craft centres and developing relationships with leading needle workers and weavers. There were frequent exhibitions of Scandinavian designs throughout Britain, including Glasgow School of Art whose staff and students also visited Denmark.
The Glasgow School of Art design courses were constantly being improved in response to commercial demands. Kathleen visited several English art schools to asses and evaluate the new Diploma in Art and Design courses they were teaching and was later invited to serve on the Dip AD visiting panel as the embroidery expert. She continued to be extremely influential in the development of higher education courses and became an Art Adviser to the Scottish Education Department, planning new examinations. Three of her former students became heads of the Embroidery Departments at Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art and Design
, Gray's School of Art and Glasgow School of Art. In 1969 she was awarded the MBE
for services to Scottish Art Education.
, depicting simple, elegantly stylised religious imagery.
However, her commissions were not limited to those for the church. In 1966 she was commissioned, by the Tay Road Bridge Joint Board, through the Scottish Craft Centre, to embroider a stole as a gift for Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother
. The stole was to be presented to the Queen Mother to commemorate her opening the Tay Road Bridge
. This inspired Kathleen to create a design incorporating pearls from the River Tay. These were supplied by a jeweller in Perth
, pierced for sewing, and ranging in size from tiny seeds to 9.5 mm in diameter. The Tay Bridge Stole was worn by Her Majesty and was exhibited at the "Skill" exhibition staged by the Institute of Directors
, The Craft Centre of Great Britain and the Scottish Craft Centre in 1968. It was shown again in 1987 in a retrospective exhibition of her work, organized by the Scottish Branch of the Embroiders’ Guild and held in the Edinburgh College of Art
.
Kathleen's book Design in Embroidery was published in 1982 and Kathleen Whyte Embroiderer, her biography written by Liz Arthur, was published in 1989.
The work of Kathleen Whyte was featured in "A Scottish Celebration", a touring exhibition of contemporary textiles to mark the centenary of the foundation of the Embroiderers' Guild, which opened at Aberdeen Art Gallery
in October 2006. Examples of her work can be found in the Royal Scottish Museum, the Victoria and Albert Museum
, many churches, and in other public and private collections.
Order of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...
(1909–1996) was a Scottish
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
embroiderer and teacher of textile arts
Textile arts
Textile arts are those arts and crafts that use plant, animal, or synthetic fibers to construct practical or decorative objects.Textiles have been a fundamental part of human life since the beginning of civilization, and the methods and materials used to make them have expanded enormously, while...
.
Early life
Kathleen Whyte was born in ArbroathArbroath
Arbroath or Aberbrothock is a former royal burgh and the largest town in the council area of Angus in Scotland, and has a population of 22,785...
, on the east coast of Scotland, in 1909. From 1911 to 1913, and 1920 to 1923, she and her family joined her father who was working in India. The move to Jamshedpur had a huge impact on the young Kathleen. In particular the rich variety of textiles and brilliant colours made vivid impressions on her. On their return from India, Kathleen attended Arbroath High School. When at school in Arbroath she followed the curriculum derived from the system published by Anne Macbeth and Margaret Swanson published in their book Educational Needlecraft in 1911. In her final year she embroidered a huge panel of Saint Elizabeth of Bohemia.
On leaving school Kathleen went to Gray's School of Art
Gray's School of Art
Gray's School of Art is an integral part of the Robert Gordon University in Aberdeen that is one of the oldest established fine art institutions in Scotland...
in Aberdeen
Aberdeen
Aberdeen is Scotland's third most populous city, one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas and the United Kingdom's 25th most populous city, with an official population estimate of ....
to follow a Diploma Course in General Design from 1928 to 1932. Amongst other things she studied embroidery
Embroidery
Embroidery is the art or handicraft of decorating fabric or other materials with needle and thread or yarn. Embroidery may also incorporate other materials such as metal strips, pearls, beads, quills, and sequins....
and was strongly influenced by her teacher Dorothy Angus who inspired her with what she later described as, “the vast potential of stitchery”. She was a particularly successful student, winning the Founder’s Prize as the best student in the second year of the general course, the Alexander Barker Prize as a result of the competition for third year students, and in the fourth year won the Former Students Association Prize for her entry The Fish Wife. In 1932 she was awarded a Diploma in Design and Decorative Art with distinction.
Teaching
After a year at Aberdeen Teacher Training College Kathleen became assistant art teacher at Frederick Street School in the East End of AberdeenAberdeen
Aberdeen is Scotland's third most populous city, one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas and the United Kingdom's 25th most populous city, with an official population estimate of ....
. On leaving Frederick Street in 1940 she taught briefly at the Central Secondary School and then went on the Aberdeen High School for Girls. As well as teaching children she taught adults in evening classes at the Art School. Later, during the war, she taught service men and women to do leather work.
Kathleen had been making her own clothes since the mid 1920s and in the early 1940s, because of the wartime restrictions, she began weaving
Weaving
Weaving is a method of fabric production in which two distinct sets of yarns or threads are interlaced at right angles to form a fabric or cloth. The other methods are knitting, lace making and felting. The longitudinal threads are called the warp and the lateral threads are the weft or filling...
fabric, not only for herself but for her mother, sisters and friends too. Despite the scarcity of material and the clothing coupon limitations she always seemed able to lay her hands on plenty of yarn.
In 1948, on the advice of Mr. D. M. Southerland, Head of Gray's School of Art, and supported by Dorothy Angus, Kathleen successfully applied for the post of embroidery and weaving lecturer at Glasgow School of Art
Glasgow School of Art
Glasgow School of Art is one of only two independent art schools in Scotland, situated in the Garnethill area of Glasgow.-History:It was founded in 1845 as the Glasgow Government School of Design. In 1853, it changed its name to The Glasgow School of Art. Initially it was located at 12 Ingram...
.
This was the time of an embroidery revival in Glasgow
Glasgow
Glasgow is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands...
. As Kathleen was making improvements at Glasgow School of Art, the Needlework
Needlework
Needlework is a broad term for the handicrafts of decorative sewing and textile arts. Anything that uses a needle for construction can be called needlework...
Development Scheme was becoming more active and was beginning to make an impact on the wider public. In particular, modern stylish examples of Scandinavia
Scandinavia
Scandinavia is a cultural, historical and ethno-linguistic region in northern Europe that includes the three kingdoms of Denmark, Norway and Sweden, characterized by their common ethno-cultural heritage and language. Modern Norway and Sweden proper are situated on the Scandinavian Peninsula,...
n embroidery and weaving were hugely influential. Over some years Kathleen travelled in Scandinavia, visiting weaving and craft centres and developing relationships with leading needle workers and weavers. There were frequent exhibitions of Scandinavian designs throughout Britain, including Glasgow School of Art whose staff and students also visited Denmark.
The Glasgow School of Art design courses were constantly being improved in response to commercial demands. Kathleen visited several English art schools to asses and evaluate the new Diploma in Art and Design courses they were teaching and was later invited to serve on the Dip AD visiting panel as the embroidery expert. She continued to be extremely influential in the development of higher education courses and became an Art Adviser to the Scottish Education Department, planning new examinations. Three of her former students became heads of the Embroidery Departments at Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art and Design
Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art and Design
Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art and Design is an integral part of the University of Dundee in Dundee, Scotland. It is ranked as one of the top schools of art and design in the United Kingdom and has an outstanding reputation in both practice and research.-History:Attempts were made to...
, Gray's School of Art and Glasgow School of Art. In 1969 she was awarded the MBE
Order of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...
for services to Scottish Art Education.
Commissioned work
Although honoured for her contribution to education, it is her own distinctive work for which she is best known. Throughout her career she has had many prestigious commissions, including her very well known ecclesiastical work. Many of these were pulpit falls and communion cloths undertaken for the Church of ScotlandChurch of Scotland
The Church of Scotland, known informally by its Scots language name, the Kirk, is a Presbyterian church, decisively shaped by the Scottish Reformation....
, depicting simple, elegantly stylised religious imagery.
However, her commissions were not limited to those for the church. In 1966 she was commissioned, by the Tay Road Bridge Joint Board, through the Scottish Craft Centre, to embroider a stole as a gift for Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother
Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon
Elizabeth Angela Marguerite Bowes-Lyon was the queen consort of King George VI from 1936 until her husband's death in 1952, after which she was known as Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother, to avoid confusion with her daughter, Queen Elizabeth II...
. The stole was to be presented to the Queen Mother to commemorate her opening the Tay Road Bridge
Tay Road Bridge
The Tay Road Bridge is a bridge across the Firth of Tay from Newport-on-Tay in Fife to Dundee in Scotland. At around , it is one of the longest road bridges in Europe, and slopes gradually downward towards Dundee...
. This inspired Kathleen to create a design incorporating pearls from the River Tay. These were supplied by a jeweller in Perth
Perth, Scotland
Perth is a town and former city and royal burgh in central Scotland. Located on the banks of the River Tay, it is the administrative centre of Perth and Kinross council area and the historic county town of Perthshire...
, pierced for sewing, and ranging in size from tiny seeds to 9.5 mm in diameter. The Tay Bridge Stole was worn by Her Majesty and was exhibited at the "Skill" exhibition staged by the Institute of Directors
Institute of Directors
The Institute of Directors is a UK-based organisation, established in 1903 and incorporated by royal charter in 1906 to support, represent and set standards for company directors...
, The Craft Centre of Great Britain and the Scottish Craft Centre in 1968. It was shown again in 1987 in a retrospective exhibition of her work, organized by the Scottish Branch of the Embroiders’ Guild and held in the Edinburgh College of Art
Edinburgh College of Art
Edinburgh College of Art is an art school in Edinburgh, Scotland, providing tertiary education in art and design disciplines for over two thousand students....
.
Kathleen's book Design in Embroidery was published in 1982 and Kathleen Whyte Embroiderer, her biography written by Liz Arthur, was published in 1989.
The work of Kathleen Whyte was featured in "A Scottish Celebration", a touring exhibition of contemporary textiles to mark the centenary of the foundation of the Embroiderers' Guild, which opened at Aberdeen Art Gallery
Aberdeen Art Gallery
Aberdeen Art Gallery is the main visual arts exhibition space in the city of Aberdeen in Scotland. It opened in 1885, in a building designed by Alexander Marshall Mackenzie....
in October 2006. Examples of her work can be found in the Royal Scottish Museum, the Victoria and Albert Museum
Victoria and Albert Museum
The Victoria and Albert Museum , set in the Brompton district of The Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, London, England, is the world's largest museum of decorative arts and design, housing a permanent collection of over 4.5 million objects...
, many churches, and in other public and private collections.