Arthur Joseph Gaskin [commonly known as Arthur J. Gaskin] was born in Birmingham, England on 16 March 1862 and in 1883 enrolled at Birmingham School of Art. Two years into his course he was appointed to a teaching post at the school. Gaskin is known for his bold designs for the new revival of wood engraving, done under the influence of William Morris and his Kelmscott Press, for which Gaskin drew 'The Shepheardes Calendar' by Edmund Spenser (1896). One of his students at Birmingham School of Art was Georgina Evelyn Cave France (later known as Georgie Gaskin), whom he married 1894. The couple worked closely together, often collaborating in the design of jewellery and art metalwork. Both were associated with the informal gathering of local artists known as the Birmingham Guild of Handicraft and the Birmingham Group of Artist-Craftsmen, and both worked on commissions for the Bromsgrove Guild.
In 1903 he was appointed headmaster of the Birmingham Vittoria Street School for Jewellers and Silversmiths, where he remained until 1924 when the couple retired to Chipping Campden in Gloucestershire.
Books illustrated by Arthur Gaskin included 'Stories and Fairytales' by Hans Christian Anderson (London: George Allen, 3 vols, 1893); 'A Book of Pictured Carols' (London: George Allen, 1893); 'Good King Wenceslas' London: George Allen, 1895); and 'The Shepheardes Calender: Conteyning Twelve Aeglogues, Proportionable to the Twelve Monethes by Edmund Spenser' (Hammersmith: Kelmscott Press, 1896). He also contributed illustrations to The English Illustrated Magazine (1893-94); The Yellow Book (1896); and Quarto (1897.
Arthur Gaskin died in Edgbaston, Birmingham, England on 4 June 1928. His address at the time of his death was Little House, Chipping Campden, Gloucestershire.
Text source: Arts + Architecture Profiles from Art History Research net (AHRnet) https://www.arthistoryresearch.net/
