The eldest of nine children, Ann Macbeth was born in Bolton in 1875 to Scottish engineer Norman Macbeth and Annie MacNicol. Whilst the family spent some time living in England, Ann followed her family’s artistic roots and moved to Glasgow in 1897 to enroll at the Glasgow School of Art, primarily to study embroidery.
In the late 19th century, an age of rapid change and industrialisation, Glasgow was a prosperous model of pioneering design and manufacturing, especially within the shipbuilding and textile industries. Whilst the School of Art’s main focus was to foster fresh young designers to strengthen city’s key trades, the director Fra Newbery equally believed in the importance of nurturing individuality amongst his students. A hub of exciting creative experimentation, Macbeth immersed herself in this stimulating and progressive environment; a space in which women could actively pursue an artistic career and financial independence.
The Cutting Edge of Craft
Unimaginative, laborious and completely lacking in originality, late 19th century embroideries were reduced to a stereotypical domestic craft of no real artistic merit. With Jessie Newbery at the helm of the School’s Embroidery department, she sought to transform such ideas and teach embroidery as a design subject in a variety of forms, including artistic dress. Arguably Jessie Newbery’s most talented student, Ann Macbeth’s striking embroideries became a regular feature in The Studio Magazine. Skilfully executed, her work typically features young female figures encased within an array of stylised roundels and openwork banding.
After completing her studies, Macbeth worked under Newbery at the School, eventually succeeding her as Head of Department in 1908, where she continued to uphold Jessie Newbery’s creative views and encouraged students to explore women’s fashion and artistic dress. In the years that followed, she also taught bookbinding, metalwork, and ceramic decoration. Believing that art embroidery should be accessible to all classes, Macbeth often encouraged her students to use cheaper materials in their work, such as hessian and less expensive silk threads. A champion of honest and original designs, executed with a good level of craftsmanship, her students’ work was both stylistically distinctive and of very high quality.
Supporting The Suffrage Movement
Ann was also a dedicated member of the Women’s Suffrage movement, designing embroidered banners for marches in Glasgow and Edinburgh. She was also an active member of the Women’s Social & Political Union and engaged in demonstrations which led to her imprisonment in 1912, during which time she was subjected to force feedings. Her health deteriorated and she took several months to recuperate, with support from the School of Art, before returning to work.
Retiring from the school in 1928, Ann moved to Patterdale and for some time lived in the rural village of Hartsop. She continued to produce art, including ceramics and religious panels for locals. Macbeth died in 1948, however her legacy as an inspiring artist, teacher and women’s rights activist, is still very much felt, and her embroideries continue to charm and captivate those who set their eyes upon them. Ann Macbeth died on 23 March 1948.
