Iris Brooke

Iris Evelina Margery Brooke, later Iris Giffard (15 January 1905 – 22 June 1981) was a British artist, author and book illustrator who, throughout her career, concentrated on exploring the history of costume.

Biography Brooke was born at Ryde on the Isle of Wight in January 1905 and attended Bruntsfield High School on the island. From 1923 to 1926 she studied at the Croydon School of Art and then at the Royal College of Art in London until 1929, where her teachers included Randolph Schwabe. Throughout her subsequent career, Brooke created portraits in both oil and chalk but mainly concentrated on writing and illustrating books on historical costumes and fashion. She also wrote articles for a number of journals and was elected a member of the Women's Press Club. They had a son, Michael. In 1944, she married William Hugh Giffard and the couple settled near Honiton in Devon.