Mary Delany (1700-1788) was an English artist known for her groundbreaking “paper-mosaicks” of botanical specimens. She took art imitating life to a whole new level by combining paint, paper, and sometimes pieces of real flowers to create extraordinarily accurate, realistic, and beautiful representations of flowers and plant life.
Mary Delany (1700-1788) was an English artist known for her groundbreaking “paper-mosaicks” of botanical specimens. She took art imitating life to a whole new level by combining paint, paper, and sometimes pieces of real flowers to create extraordinarily accurate, realistic, and beautiful representations of flowers and plant life.
Special thanks to Mercedes-Benz, our exclusive sponsor this month! From their early days, Mercedes-Benz has built a legacy championing women to achieve the unexpected. Join us all month long as we celebrate women who have led dynamic lives that have shifted, evolved and bloomed, often later in life, eventually achieving the success for which they were destined from the start.
History classes can get a bad rap, and sometimes for good reason. When we were students, we couldn’t help wondering... where were all the ladies at? Why were so many incredible stories missing from the typical curriculum? Enter, Womanica. On this Wonder Media Network podcast we explore the lives of inspiring women in history you may not know about, but definitely should.
Every weekday, listeners explore the trials, tragedies, and triumphs of groundbreaking women throughout history who have dramatically shaped the world around us. In each 5 minute episode, we’ll dive into the story behind one woman listeners may or may not know–but definitely should. These diverse women from across space and time are grouped into easily accessible and engaging monthly themes like Educators, Villains, Indigenous Storytellers, Activists, and many more. Womanica is hosted by WMN co-founder and award-winning journalist Jenny Kaplan. The bite-sized episodes pack painstakingly researched content into fun, entertaining, and addictive daily adventures.
Womanica was created by Liz Kaplan and Jenny Kaplan, executive produced by Jenny Kaplan, and produced by Liz Smith, Grace Lynch, Maddy Foley, Brittany Martinez, Edie Allard, Lindsey Kratochwill, Adesuwa Agbonile, Carmen Borca-Carrillo, Taylor Williamson, Ale Tejeda, Sara Schleede, and Alex Jhamb Burns. Special thanks to Shira Atkins.
Original theme music composed by Miles Moran.
We are offering free ad space on Wonder Media Network shows to organizations working towards social justice. For more information, please email Jenny at pod@wondermedianetwork.com.
Follow Wonder Media Network:
Hello, from Wonder Media Network I’m Jenny Kaplan and this is Womanica.
This month, we’re highlighting women who’ve led dynamic lives. Ones that have shifted, evolved and bloomed, often later in life.
Today we’re talking about an artist who created an entirely new artform. She took art imitating life to a whole new level. Combining paint, paper, and sometimes pieces of flowers, this woman created masterpieces that were incredibly realistic. Let’s talk about Mary Delany!
Mary Delany was born Mary Granville on May 14, 1700, in Coulston, England. She was born into an upper-class family. Because of her family’s status, Mary was well-educated and trained in art, music, and embroidery.
When Mary was 17, her family arranged for her to marry a Cornish Member of Parliament, Alexander Pendarves. He was decades older than her. Mary was miserable. She spent several years taking care of her elderly husband before he passed.
Now, a 23-year-old widow with a small widow’s stipend to get by on, Mary decided to move to London. She spent her days working as a fashion designer and socializing with England’s high society. During this time, many suitors vied for Mary’s attention and affection. But after such a terrible first marriage, she remained steadfast in her singlehood.
In her early 30s, Mary traveled to Dublin with a close friend. While there, they met a cleric who invited them to stay with him for a few days. His name was Patrick Delany. Although Patrick was engaged, he and Mary became fast friends. They bonded over their love of art and gardening.
She must have left an impression. Ten years after her trip to Dublin, Mary received a letter from Patrick. Patrick was now a widower, and he was asking for Mary’s hand in marriage. Because Mary was a noble, and Patrick was not, she believed she needed her family's blessing. But she didn’t get it.
Patrick persisted, and just before her 43rd birthday, he sent Mary another letter. Not long after, Mary made up her mind, whether her family agreed or not. That June, Mary and Patrick were husband and wife.
Mary returned to Dublin and made a home for herself at Patrick’s estate. She took up artistic pursuits such as needlework, plasterwork, drawing, and painting. One of her bigger projects included decorating the estate’s chapel with religious motifs. Additionally, Patrick and Mary spent much of their time together redesigning his garden.
The couple enjoyed 25 years together before Patrick died around the age of 82. Upon his passing, Mary returned to England. She was 68 years old when she took up residence with her longtime friend and Duchess of Portland, Margaret Cavendish. Margaret was a humanitarian and lover of all things history. Her home was a hub for artists and scientists who helped curate her collections.
On one very unsuspecting day, Mary discovered her life’s work. She was sitting in her room admiring a scarlet geranium when she noticed that it was the exact same color as a piece of paper on her bedside table. Mary was inspired. She began cutting up small pieces of the paper and sticking them together in an attempt to imitate the scarlet petals. When Margaret saw the recreation, she thought it was a real flower.
This was the beginning of Mary’s career as a paper mosaic artist. In 1772, she sent a letter to her niece saying “I have invented a new way of imitating flowers.”
With this newfound skill and passion, Mary created collage after collage – which she called “mosaicks.” She built each image by gluing together hundreds of pieces of thin tissue paper, and sticking them to a black background. Mary was lauded for her accuracy. Even more impressive, was the fact that she didn't pre-plan or draw her cuts before she made them. To increase accuracy, she would layer small pieces on top of larger ones to create depth and occasionally used watercolors to enhance certain parts of the flower.
Mary’s creations were as close to life-like as a piece of art could get. Word of her talent spread. She received flowers from gardeners and botanists, requesting she recreate their specimens to preserve them. Mary also constructed paper mosaics of flowers she received from friends around the world. All of her work included the date and place the collage was created, the name of the specimen's donor, and a collection number. She also added an “MD” monogram on each piece of work.
Unfortunately, Mary’s artistic patron, Margaret died suddenly, leaving Mary without a place to live at the age of 85. But, her notoriety saved her. , She was invited to stay at the cottage of amateur botanists King George III and his wife, Queen Charlotte. Mary resumed her craft at the cottage, but eventually retired due to deteriorating eyesight. She spent ten years combining art and science to create sensational floral imitations. In the end, Mary created 985 paper flowers.
On April 15, 1788, Mary Delany passed away.
She was a pioneer in the mixed media collage space. Her work is still featured at the British Museum, The National Gallery of Ireland in Dublin, and the Lilly Library at Indiana University in Bloomington.
All month, we’re highlighting dynamos. For more information, find us on Facebook and Instagram @womanicapodcast.
Special thanks to Liz Kaplan, my favorite sister and co-creator.
Talk to you tomorrow!