March - Week 1

Written 09/03/2025, Updated 10/03/2025

Portrait of an old white woman wearing a bonnet (Mary Delany)

Who am I studying?

This month, I am studying an artist from the 18th century who had a very late start to her artistic career... Mary Delany!

Short biography

So, she was born in 1700 into a very wealthy family (like, lower aristoctacy - her uncle was a baron) and definitely lived a life of privelege. She had the ability to study multiple languages and to hone her paper cutting skills that she would utilise later in life.

But as a woman she had little choice in her early life of what she could do with her life. When she was only 17 she was married to a 60 year old MP called Alexander Pendarves (certainly not her choice!)

'Luckily' for her he died after a few years, though he neglected to update his will so she was left with nothing (she still had wealthy friends and family lets be clear!) BUT she did gain freedom (being a widow was the most free a woman could be back then, again if you were rich). So she could pursue her scientific and artistic interests - she was very interested in botany and was part of the 'Blue Stockings Society' which was a (wealthy) woman's movement focused on literature, arts and the sciences (another famous member was Mary Wollstenceaft - the mother of Mary Shelley, a lot of Mary's!)

She lived with various friends and relatives and moved to Ireland where she met her eventual second husband Dr. Patrick Delany, a clergyman (thus her social inferior). They were married for 25 years and during her second marriage she REALLY honed her craft with the encouragement of her husband (and having the financial security to do so)

It was during her second widowhood when she was in her seventies, and living with her wealthy friend Margaret Bentwick, Dowager Duchess of Portland, that her "Paper Mosaiks" (as she called them), which were botanically accurate collages of flowers became something highly sought after from many in high society (even the King and Queen! The reason she has a portrait is because King George III arranged for it)

She did almost 1000 "Paper Mosaiks", and only 'retired' in her mid 80s due to failing eyesight and she lived to an impressive 88 years old., dying in 1788. My very abridged biography really covers only a fraction of her long and eventful life.

Why I chose her

Well, about a year ago I was reading ‘The Story of Art Without Men’ by Katy Hessel and there was a section about collage and it had her ‘Sea Daffodil’ piece and I was mindblown! Before that point, collage to me was that thing I did in primary school, seeing the skill that could go into it really changed my perspective on the artform. So when I decided to do this blog I KNEW she would be one of the artists I wanted to study.

Examples of her work

Collage of Sea Daffodils on a black background, in a style that look pressed
It's weirdly mesmerising to look at, more so than actual pressed flower due to the black background and bright colours. I feel like I'm looking like a Lovecraftian creature...
Collage of Passion Flower on a black background, in a style that look pressed
The cuttings of the thin petals is incredible, she must have been so delicate and meticulous with her fingers
Collage of a red poppy on a black background, in a style that look pressed
The folds of the leaves look so three dimensional, interesting how light and colour manage to give that effect
Collage of Rubus Odoratus (pink flower) on a black background, in a style that look pressed
The overalpping stems must have been really tricky to manage (I think the veins of the leaves were painted, based on how delicate and thing they look)

Links to more info about her