Marion Richardson

Marion Elaine Richardson (9 October 1892 – 12 November 1946) was a British educator and author of books on penmanship and handwriting.

Biography Marion Richardson was born on 9 October 1892 in Ashford, Kent, the second daughter of Walter Marshall Richardson and his wife, Ellen.

Education

She was the middle of three sisters, and apparently used to entertain the other two with stories after lights out in the bedroom which they shared. She often serialised these over many nights. She joined a story-writing group when still a child – her nom de plume was 'A Mere Girl'.

Richardson was educated at Winchester High School for Girls, Uplands School, and Milham Ford School in Oxford. She trained to be an art teacher at Birmingham Municipal School of Arts and Crafts from 1908 to 1912 where she studied under Robert Catterson Smith who influenced her future work.

Teaching career

During her training she was a pupil teacher at Moseley School of Art, where she also worked as a junior assistant teacher. From 1912 to 1923, Richardson was the art mistress at Dudley Girls High School. She toured Canada in 1934 and in 1935 published Writing and Writing Patterns, a set of hinged cards and booklets for teaching handwriting. In 1938 she organized a large and successful exhibition of children's art at County Hall, London.

Later life She retired in 1942 due to her deteriorating health. In September 1945 she returned to Dudley and died on 12 November 1946. Sir Kenneth Clark wrote in his introduction that "I believe that I recognise the same tone of voice which I hear in the dialogues of St. Catherine of Sienna."

Her influence remained after her death and her Writing and Writing Patterns was still used in schools in the 1980s.

Her grave has been rediscovered by the St John's Church Preservation Group. The grave is now being maintained and a start has been made on forming a Marion Richardson Society.

In 2012 an exhibition at Dudley Museum and Art Gallery celebrated her work.

Publications

Primary sources The personal papers of Marion Richardson are held in the Birmingham City University Art and Design Archives.

Published sources

Holdsworth, Bruce, (2009) 'Marion Richardson (1892–1946)'. Eds. Steve Herne (et al.) Readings in Primary Art Education, (Intellect, Bristol) , pp 161–175. Smith, Chris, (2010) Tales From A Churchyard, St John's Church, Kates Hill, Dudley, Vol. 1, (St John's Church Preservation Group, Dudley). Chapter 3 is devoted to the life of Richardson. Sassoon, Rosemary, (2013) Marion Richardson: Her Life and Contribution to Handwriting,