Josephine Kermode (Cushag), Author and Poet
Date made: 1932
Artist: Lightowler, Frank
Description: Josephine Kermode (1852-1937) was a sister of Philip Kermode (the first Director of the Manx Museum). Josephine was known affectionately within the family as 'Cushag', the Manx Gaelic word for ragwort, the unofficial Manx national flower. This 'nickname' became her nom de plume when she began to publish her Manx dialect poetry, short stories and plays. Her work was seen as a record in verse of a distillation of the spirit and beliefs of the Manx crofters in their scattered hamlets and lonely farmhouses.
Josephine Kermode produced a number of works during the First World War including 'What a Manx Boy Did', 'Our Tommy' (September 1914) and in 1917 'The Blue Cross' which reflected her concern for horses which had been injured in the conflict.
Measurements: overall: 66 cm x 30 cm x 20 cm
Materials: paint: other, plaster, stone: marble
Object name: bust
Collection: Art Collection
ID number: 2009-0171