Dr Karen Mailley has an MA Joint (Hons) and an MLitt in Decorative Arts & Design History from the University of Glasgow. She was a Scottish Graduate School of Arts and Humanities ARCS funded PhD Researcher at the University of Glasgow and the Glasgow School of Art completing her studies in 2021.
Her thesis The Glasgow Society of Lady Artists (1882-1942): A Feminist Sanctum of Visibility, Opportunity and Community? provides a comprehensive overview of the members of the society and women related to the club house.
The research investigates:
- Women’s artistic & architectural production.
- Impact and growth of networks within a local, national and international context.
- Investigation of the relationship between gender, space, class and the Glasgow built environment during this period.
Karen has been published in various journals and online platforms including The Scottish Society for Art History, The Decorative Arts Society Journal, Decorating Dissidence and Historic Environment Scotland.
Areas of interest:
- 19th & 20th Century British History
- Gendered spaces
- History of social/professional clubs
- Gender in relation to the built environment
- Protest & activism since 1880
- Scottish feminist networks & connectivity
- Artistic communities & teaching
- Feminist art and artists
Book Reviews
Review of Female Philanthropy in the Interwar World: Between Self and Other by Eve Colpus in Archives: The Journal of the British Records Association, Volume 56.1
Publications
Academic writing:
Mailley-Watt, Karen ‘The Glasgow Society of Lady Artists (1882-1942): a feminist sanctum of opportunity, visibility and community?’ PhD thesis, University of Glasgow, (2021).
‘A school is not a product of any one person or of any one mind’: The Impact of Charles H Scott and other Scottish Artists on the Vancouver School of Applied Art and Design’, The Scottish Society for Art History Journal, Volume 25, (2019-2020).
‘Creating Connections: The Cross-Cultural Influence of the Glasgow Designer Grace Wilson Melvin (1892-1977)’, The Decorative Arts Journal, Volume 43, (2019).
‘Women’s Work Praised: The Glasgow Society of Lady Artists (1882-1938)’, The Scottish Society for Art History Journal, Volume 23, (2018-19).
Other writing:
‘Memory Encapsulated in a Building: Lansdowne Church, Alf Webster, and Memorialisation‘, EPOCH Magazine, September 2025.
‘The Maroon Mile, More than Football: Wikithons, women’s stories and weaving’, blog post Women’s History Scotland, August 2025.
‘A whirlwind history of the Glasgow Athenaeum since its establishment’, blog post for Glasgow City Heritage Trust Gallus Glasgow Project, January 2022.
‘A roomful of radicals? The Glasgow Society of Lady Artists’, blog post for Glasgow City Heritage Trust Gallus Glasgow Project, October 2021.
‘The Marvellous Mary Burton will see you in court’, commissioned online article for Historic Environment Scotland’s Blue Plaque Scheme, co-authored with Dr R. Purse, March 2022.
‘Women And The Scottish Press – The Curious Case Of Jessie M. King(S)’, The Bottle Imp, Issue 28. Scotland in the Papers, co-authored with Charlotte Lauder (2021).
‘Wrapped up in a fairytale: Jessie M.King & the production of wearable Batik designs’, Decorating Dissidence, Wearable Art, Issue 13, (2021).
‘Women, War & The West End’, educational booklet as part of a travelling exhibition, (2018).
‘Fivers, Footnotes and Frivolous Language: Women and Scottish History’, co-authored with Dr R. Purse, The Drouth, (2017).
‘Women and the Scottish past and present – how do we properly pay homage and why?’, co-authored with Dr R. Purse, Bella Caledonia, (2016).
Podcasts: The History Girls Frae Scotland, with Dr R. Purse featured on The Braw & Brave podcast (2019).
Radio: ‘History Hacks’, The Morning Show with Stephen Jardine, BBC Radio Scotland, Friday’s from 10am.
Karen Mailley 