Ursula St. George

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Ursula St. George
A young smiling white woman, standing, wearing a light-colored dress with buttons down the front of the bodice and a ruffled neckline.
Ursula St. George, in an autographed photo from 1912.
Born
Ursula Edith Kate Mackarness

October 22, 1895
Staten Island, New York, US
Other namesUrsula Mackarness Cull, U. E. K. Cull (after marriage in 1913)
Occupation(s)Actress, art collector
SpouseAnders Eric Knös Cull (d. 1968)
RelativesJames Planché (great-grandfather); Matilda Anne Mackarness (grandmother); George Bellew (son-in-law)

Ursula St. George (October 22, 1895 – after 1971), born Ursula Edith Kate Mackarness, was an American actress as a teenager. Later in life, known as U. E. K. Cull, she collected art and ancient Chinese artifacts with her banker husband in London.

Early life[edit]

Ursula Edith Kate Mackarness was born on Staten Island. Her English-born father Charles Mackarness[1] was a grandson of dramatist James Planché and son of novelist Matilda Anne Mackarness; he was a magazine editor, sculptor, and dog breeder.[2][3] Her mother was an actress, and toured with young Ursula as a chaperone.[4][5] John Mackarness and George Mackarness, both bishops, were her father's uncles; politician Frederick Coleridge Mackarness and sportsman Charles Coleridge Mackarness were his cousins.

Career[edit]

St. George appeared in The Blue Bird (1911),[6] and was best known in the title role in Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm, which she performed across the United States and Canada in a Klaw and Erlanger production, 1911 and 1912.[7][8][9] She was sixteen years old for much of the run of the show.[10] "Miss St. George holds her audience in the delicious spell of her girlishness and ingenuous beauty," raved a Texas critic.[11]

She and her husband were art collectors, and had a particularly valuable collection of ancient Chinese artifacts. In 1927, Australian artist James Peter Quinn painted her portrait.[12] In 1972, she donated a pair of ancient Chinese bronze vessels to the British Museum, with enough money to build a case for them.[13][14] Other Cull collection items were auctioned by Sotheby's in the 1960s,[15] and she sold seven paintings by James Peter Quinn in 1975.[16] Further objects from their collection were bequeathed to the British Museum in 1979.[17]

Personal life[edit]

Ursula Mackarness married London banker Anders Eric Knos Cull in 1913, in London.[1][18] They had six children and lived at Warfield House in Bracknell, Berkshire.[19] The Culls' grandson Eric Brodnax was a member of the equestrian team representing the U.S. Virgin Islands at the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul.[20]

Ursula Mackarness Cull was widowed in 1968,[21] and still alive in 1972.[13]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b "New York Girl to Wed Dog Fancier". The Alaska Daily Empire. 1913-09-17. p. 1. Retrieved 2020-09-06 – via Newspapers.com.
  2. ^ Anthony, Walter (1912-03-03). "Give the Children a Chance Says Little Ursula St. George". The San Francisco Call. p. 47. Retrieved 2020-09-06 – via Newspapers.com.
  3. ^ "Purely Personal". Fourth Estate: 7. September 1, 1900.
  4. ^ "Rebecca". The Daily Missoulian. May 6, 1912. p. 3. Retrieved September 5, 2020 – via Chronicling America.
  5. ^ "Ursula St. George". San Antonio Light. January 7, 1912. p. 26. Retrieved September 6, 2020 – via NewspaperArchive.com.
  6. ^ Hines, Dixie; Hanaford, Harry Prescott (1914). Who's who in Music and Drama. H.P. Hanaford. p. 399.
  7. ^ Eberle, Frank; Denmark, Harry Van (December 1911). "Rebecca is Coming". The Texas Magazine. 5: 58.
  8. ^ "A Scene from "Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm"". Seattle Theatre History. Retrieved 2020-09-06.
  9. ^ "'Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm', a Great Play, is Here Tonight". Bakersfield Californian. March 20, 1912. Retrieved September 5, 2020 – via NewspaperArchive.com.
  10. ^ "This Leading Lady is 16". Tacoma Times. April 26, 1912. p. 1. Retrieved September 6, 2020 – via NewspaperArchive.com.
  11. ^ "Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm at the Prince". The Houston Post. 1912-01-09. p. 5. Retrieved 2020-09-06 – via Newspapers.com.
  12. ^ "Art in London". Telegraph (Brisbane, Qld. : 1872 - 1947). 1927-06-18. p. 10. Retrieved 2020-09-06 – via Trove.
  13. ^ a b "Rare Urns for Museum". The Guardian. 1972-08-16. p. 6. Retrieved 2020-09-06 – via Newspapers.com.
  14. ^ Rawson, Jessica (1972). "Two Chinese Bronze Ritual Vessels (British Museum)". The Burlington Magazine. 114 (837): 870–873. ISSN 0007-6287. JSTOR 877157.
  15. ^ "Front Matter: May Sales". The Burlington Magazine. 106 (734): xii. 1964. ISSN 0007-6287. JSTOR 874206.
  16. ^ "AUSTRALIAN ROYAL PORTRAIT PAINTER'S CAREER ENDS WITH WAXWORKS IMAGE". Australian Financial Review. 1989-07-27. Retrieved 2020-09-06.
  17. ^ "Mrs. U. E. K. Cull; 14 Related Objects". British Museum. Retrieved 2020-09-06.
  18. ^ "Miss U. E. K. Mackarness to Wed". The New York Times. September 4, 1913. p. 4. Retrieved September 6, 2020 – via NewspaperArchive.com.
  19. ^ "Weds in July Rites". The Daily Mail (Hagerstown, Maryland). 1959-07-18. p. 6. Retrieved 2020-09-06 – via Newspapers.com.
  20. ^ "Leigh Culver, Eric Brodnax". The New York Times. 1997-05-11. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2020-09-06.
  21. ^ "Deaths". The Times. May 7, 1968. p. 18. Retrieved September 6, 2020.
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