Agnes Miller Parker
Agnes Miller Parker (1895–1980) was an engraver, illustrator and painter in oil and tempera. Born in Ayrshire, she spent most of her career in London and southern Britain. She is especially known as a twentieth century wood-engraver thanks to her collaboration with H. E. Bates, which resulted in two outstanding wood engraved books: "Through the Woods (1936)" and "Down the River (1937)", published by Victor Gollancz. Biography. Agnes Miller Parker (name on birth certificate Agnes Millar Parker) was born on 3 April 1895 at Irvine, Ayrshire, Scotland. She studied at the Glasgow School of Art from  1911 to 1917, and joined the staff of the School for a short period. In 1918 she married the painter, William McCance; and thereafter passed most of her career in London and southern Britain. In 1955 they separated and Parker moved to Glasgow. They officially divorced in 1963 when she went to live in Lamlash on the Isle of Arran. She died in 1980 at Greenock. Parker's early paintings, as well as those of her husband, reflect the short-lived group of artists known as Vorticists, active in London in the 1920s. The main body of her work consists  of wood-engravings for book illustrations that demonstrate fine draughtsmanship and skilful use of black and white design. She illustrated "The Fables of Aesop" (1931), "Through the Woods" by H. E. Bates (1936), "The Open Air" by Richard Jefferies (edited by Samuel J. Looker, 1949) and her most acclaimed work, "Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard" by Thomas Gray (1938), titles for the Limited Editions Club of New York and editions of the works of Shakespeare and Thomas Hardy.