Mrs. Delany and Her Circle

Aren't they breathtaking? And their story is even more so...

• There are 1,000 of them made by the same woman.
• Her name was Mrs. Mary Delany and she made them over a decade, beginning her task at the age of 72
• They are paper collages using paper and gouache paint for effect, called "paper mosaicks" by their creator, all glued onto a painted black ground.
  
• They are all housed in the British Museum and they have made the images of them available online at this link.

I first heard of Mary Delany and Her Circle from this post on Needleprint blog (which I love!) where she mentions an upcoming exhibit at Sir John Soane's Museum in London 19 February - 01 May 2010.

I quickly became enamored with the life of Mary Delany (born Mary Granville), an aristocratic gentlewoman, married and widowed twice who lived from 1700-1788. During the course of her long, accomplished life, this dignitary of domestic life befriended poets and philosophers; excelled at gardening, painting, needlework, shellwork, you name it! She was a trusted friend of the royal family and, because she was a prolific letter writer, there is much known not only about Mrs. Delany herself but the social circle in which she traveled and the time in which she lived.


I want to meet Mrs. Delany. I know, I can't. She's dead.

But the closest thing I can do is go see her needlework, her collages, her paintings and the like. But I can't make it to the UK...

After some research, I found that the Yale Center for British Art is currently showing this exhibition 24 Sept 2009 - 3 January 2010 and will be the only U.S. venue for our Mrs. Delany.

Road trip! I've already cleared it with Jimmy and I think we'll be driving up sometime over the Christmas holiday...

So I just had to tell you about it in case you get the opportunity to travel to New Haven, Connecticut.

If not, I can honestly attest that the 275-page book from the exhibition is outstanding,



Though it doesn't show all 1,000 of the paper collages, there are many included. Not to mention sections on Mrs. Delany's needlework...

From the back cover of the book

which is absolutely exquisite.

I have not digested the entire book, but one thing I'll share which I thought was fascinating. They believe that black was not a very popular color to wear to court during the time;

Therefore, they believe that these black pieces of needlework were parts of the slip of the gowns that covered the whale-bone hoops...with coordinating, paler colors over top. So, it was the coats, mantuas, stomachers and bodices that would have been in pinks, blues and greens to coordinate. Wouldn't that have been beautiful?

Here's a link to the New York Times Review of the exhibit. And don't forget to forage through the 1,000 collage pictures on the British Museum website (click to enlarge!)...they are wonderfully inspiring for quilting and needlework.


My hat is off, my knee is bent and my head is bowed in honor of you, Mrs. Delany.

Wow.