Mary Gillick

Mary Gaskell Gillick ( Tutin; 1881 – 27 January 1965) was a sculptor and medallist, best known for her effigy of Elizabeth II used on coinage in the United Kingdom and elsewhere from 1953 to 1970.

Personal life Born Mary Gaskell Tutin in Nottingham, she was the eldest of three children born to Thomas Tutin and Elizabeth Gaskell ( Ardern),

After making her first exhibition at the Royal Academy in 1911, she designed several medals to be used as awards, and several other, larger relief sculptures in stone and bronze including the stone commemorative sculpture, Crosby Hall, Chelsea 1926

In 1905, she married sculptor Ernest Gillick.

Honours She was appointed OBE in the 1953 Coronation Honours.

Effigy of Elizabeth II

In 1952, Gillick's effigy design was selected from a field of seventeen to be used on general-circulation coinage for the new Queen Elizabeth, first issued in 1953. Gillick worked on the portrait between March and October 1952, with one sitting and close supervision by the Duke of Edinburgh.

A cameo of Gillick's effigy of the Queen has been used on British commemorative stamps from 1966 to 9 March 2023; the original effigy was also used for Maundy money until the Queen's death in 2022.