Jessie Knight | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1904 Croydon, South London, England, UK |
| Died | 1992 Barry, South Wales, Wales, UK |
| Nationality | British |
| Education | Charlie Bell |
| Known for | Tattoo artist |
Jessie Knight (1904 – 1992) was the first prominent female tattoo artist in the UK.[1]
Personal life
Jessie Knight was born in Croydon in South London, in 1904, one of eight children. Her family worked in circuses and she was involved in sharp-shooting and riding acts. She was married aged 27, but this only lasted eight years.[1] She died in Barry, South Wales, in 1992.
Career as tattoo artist
Knight began as a tattoo artist in 1921 when she was 18,[2] having learnt how to tattoo from her father. She worked in Barry, South Wales.[3] She was later an apprentice with Charlie Bell in Kent. She then moved to her own tattoo shops in Portsmouth and subsequently Aldershot. Many of her clients were women.[4] She returned to Barry in 1968 and continued working into the 1980s.[5]
Her style was to work freehand after drawing the design onto the body.[3]
In 1955 her tattoo of a highland fling won second prize in the Champion Tattoo Artist of All England competition held in London.[1]
Legacy
Her work was included in an exhibition at the National Maritime Museum Cornwall, from March 2017 to January 2018, showing a history of British tattooing.[6] Tatty Devine has made a brooch and a necklace using an original design of Jessie Knight. Skin Digging, an exhibition of work by and owned by Jessie Knight from the collection of Neil Hopkin-Thomas was on display January 18 - February 18, 2018 at the Art Exchange gallery on the University of Essex campus in Colchester.[2] Knight was one of the tattoo artists featured in an exhibition about the history of British tattooing at Chatham Historic Dockyard in 2020. However, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the event was cancelled.[7]
References
- ^ a b c Iqbal, Nosheen (14 March 2017). "Life at the sharp end: Jessie Knight, Britain's first female tattoo artist". The Guardian. Retrieved 14 March 2017.
- ^ a b D'Arcy-Jones, Neil (24 January 2018). "Essex University looking to dig deep into the world of one of the first female tattooists". Essex County Standard. Retrieved 10 May 2021.
- ^ a b DeMello, Margo (2014). Inked: Tattoos and Body Art around the World (First ed.). ABC-CLIO. p. 809. ISBN 978-1610690751.
- ^ "Jessie Knight". YouTube. Pathe News. Retrieved 15 March 2017.
- ^ Mifflin, Margot (2013). Bodies of Subversion: A secret history of women and tattoo (3rd ed.). Powerhouse Books. p. 192. ISBN 978-1576876138.
- ^ "Tattoo: British tattoo art revealed". National Maritime Museum, Cornwall. Retrieved 15 March 2017.
- ^ "New Exhibition at the Historic Dockyard Chatham – Tattoo Art". Chatham Maritime Trust. Retrieved 10 May 2021.