Catherine Gardiner

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Catherine Gardiner (1900–1982), also known as Kitty Jagger, was a British stage actress, artists’ model, amateur golfer and artist. She was born on 27 April 1900 in Chelsea, London. In 1921 she married painter David Jagger and later changed the spelling of her first name to Katherine. They had a son, Brian, born in November 1921; after his birth she stopped acting on stage. Kitty Jagger appears in many of David Jagger’s portraits, often under a pseudonym. Three large portraits—The Jade Necklace (1923), Eve (1925) and Mrs. David Jagger (1929)—were shown at the Royal Academy between 1923 and 1929. Eight more canvases were shown at the Walker Art Gallery in Liverpool (1921–1928), with Kathleen (1922) and Needlework (1921; also listed as Sewing) later acquired by public galleries. Her photogenic look made her a familiar figure in London society magazines, notably Tatler, and she was often compared with American actress Tallulah Bankhead. She enjoyed golf on major courses in England, Scotland, France and Ireland, and she was a talented amateur artist who liked antique furniture. In 1935 she helped organise a memorial exhibition for Charles Sargeant Jagger. Two portraits appeared in her husband’s London solo exhibition that year. She survived the London Blitz in 1940 when a nearby building was destroyed. She died in Kingston upon Thames in 1982.