Eva McKee

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Eva McKee (28 July 1890 – 1955) was an Irish craftswoman and designer best known for her Celtic-inspired decorative art and her work with the Irish Decorative Art Association (IDAA).

Born in Belfast to James Henry McKee, a builder, and Jane McKee, she studied at the Belfast School of Art and joined the IDAA in the 1910s. After World War I she helped revive the association with Eveline McCloy, working from the IDAA studio at 35 Wellington Place. She exhibited widely in the 1920s, including at the Arts and Crafts Society of Ireland’s 1921 exhibitions in Dublin and Cork, and joined the Guild of Irish Art-Workers in 1925. She won a medal at the 1922 Tailteann exhibition for her decorative leatherwork and pottery.

McKee and McCloy produced a large body of Celtic-inspired work in many media. She often used factory blanks from Belleek Pottery or Wedgwood, decorating them in bright colours with Celtic designs. Her products included jugs, bowls, candlesticks, tiles and brooches, as well as prints like bookmarks, bookplates, greeting cards and calendars featuring Celtic motifs, landscapes, and fairy themes. Some prints were signed Aoife McAoda. She also designed jewellery with interlace and spiral patterns, and crafted decorative leather items such as a book cover exhibited in 1924.

In the 1920s McKee ran a Belfast shop and continued to work into the 1950s with McCloy. They stopped using the IDAA in 1933 and moved their studio to Donegall Place, continuing their partnership into the 1950s. McKee died in Belfast in 1955. A large collection of her work is held by the Linen Hall Library in Belfast and the John J. Burns Library at Boston College, where her work has been exhibited.