Mary Farmer Explained

Birth Date:6 August 1940
Birth Place:Newbury, Berkshire, England
Death Place:Boston, Lincolnshire, England
Nationality:British
Spouse:Terry Moores (1949–2014)
Education:Sydenham High School

Mary Farmer (6 August 1940 – 1 February 2021) was a UK-based weaver of tapestries and rugs, she led developments in tapestry in the late 20th century with a number of roles across higher education culminating in Course Director at the Royal College of Art. Her client list included royalty, government departments, major corporations, museum collections and private collectors.

A 2023 Government Art Collection event featured her work, both with the tapestry Buzz On[1] at the reception by Admiralty Arch, London and a collection of works presented.[2] The Tapestry Buzz On is now (2024) at the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, Whitehall[3] and the other two commissioned works in this series, Buzz on II[4] and Buzz On III[5] moved to the British Embassy in Rome, Italy in 2023. An early rug is in the collection of the V&A.[6]

Early personal life

Mary Farmer was born Mary Quinton Farmer on 6 August 1940 in Newbury, Berkshire, England to Edith Anona Jane Farmer (née Quinton) and Seldon Charles Forrester Farmer.[7]

Farmer's family relocated to Beckenham, Kent, England in 1948 or 1949, where she was educated at Sydenham High School.[8]

She moved to Digswell House, Welwyn Garden City, Hertfordshire, England in 1964 and to Guildford, Surrey, England in 1967, combining home life and work studio from this point forward.[9]

Career

Farmer's career in the arts began with Beckenham School of Art (1958–61) where she initially focused on painting.[10] she was trained in rug weaving with Gwen and Barbara Mullins at Graffham Weavers[11] combined with part-time study at Farnham and Reigate Art Schools.

Farmer was awarded a Digswell Arts Trust Fellowship (1964–1967), a residency programme established in Hertfordshire by Henry Morris.[12] and artist potter Hans Coper.[13]

One of her first major commissions a multi-segment rug (2.75m x 2.75m) for Ambassador’s residence at the British Embassy in Paris, France in 1966. The cine film recording that production process was digitally transferred from the original silent Super 8 film.[14]

From the late 1960s through to around 1981, she taught at an undergraduate level, predominantly at West Surrey College of Art and Design, Farnham, Surrey, but also Ravensbourne College of Art and Design, Bromley, Kent and Liverpool Art School, Liverpool, England amongst others.[15]

Farmer regularly showed works at the British Crafts Centre[16] and Northern Crafts Centre,[17] including with the Red Rose Guild.

Following her marriage to ceramicist Terry Moores they established a joint workshop and home in Boston, Lincolnshire.[18] [19]

Farmer was appointed Tutor in Textiles at the Royal College of Art in 1981, later being promoted to Course Leader, Tapestry. She oversaw the move into School of Fine Art in 1985, and later as Course Director of MA Tapestry until 1995.[20] Several of her students went on to have illustrious careers of their own including Jennie Moncur,[21] [22] Jeni Ross,[23] Philip Sanderson,[24] and Jun Tomita (specifically known for Japanese Kasuri weaving).[25]

She was made a Honorary Fellow of the Royal College of Art in 1995, at the point of her retirement and the tapestry course closure.[26]

Throughout her academic career she was active in the art and craft of weaving rugs, tapestries and tapestry woven rugs. Many of these were shown around the world. Solo show, show with her partner ceramicist Terry Moores[27] [28] [29] whose later works reached towards abstract sculptures, and group shows with or selected by many of the leading lights in the world of arts and crafts.[30] [31]

Memberships

Major exhibitions and shows

Mary Farmer Exhibition Timeline

Date Title Venue(s)
1965Twelve Artists – Exhibition of Painting, Sculpture, Print making, Stained Glass, Weaving, Ceramics[36] Trade Union Congress Building, Great Russell Street, London
1965Weaving for Walls[37] Victoria and Albert Museum, London, touring exhibition
1965Christmas Exhibition and visit by HRH Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh[38] and sale of 2 rugs to the Duke[39] Crafts Centre of Great Britain, London
1969–1971British Designer Craftsmen Organised by UK Crafts Council / World Crafts Council. Patron: HRH Prince Philip, Duke of EdinburghCirculated by the Smithsonian Institution
  • Toured to 8 venues in US and Canada
1977Rugs for Churches Commission of kneelers for Liverpool Cathedral[40] Crafts Advisory Committee Gallery, 12 Waterloo Place, London, England and
1979Hand-woven Tapestries and Rugs[41] [42] Newbury Spring Festival, Newbury, Berkshire, England
1979Mary Farmer Solo Exhibition[43] Connaught Gallery, Cranleigh School, Cranleigh, Surrey, England
1981Textiles today[44] selected by Marianne StraubKettles Yard, Cambridge, England and tour
  • Castle Museum and Art Gallery, Nottingham, England
  • Stafford County Museum, Shugborough, Staffordshire, England
  • West Surrey College of Art and Design, Farnham, Surrey, England
  • Gateshead, England
  • Victoria Art Gallery, Bath, England
1981–1982Contemporary British Tapestry[45] Sainsbury Centre for Visual Arts, University of East Anglia, Norwich, Norfolk, England and tour
  • Walsall Museum and Art Gallery, England
  • Crawford Centre for the Arts, University of St Andrews, Scotland
  • Talbot Rice Gallery, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, Lothian, Scotland
  • Bluecoat Gallery, Liverpool, England
1982The Maker’s Eye[46] [47] Crafts Council Gallery, London, England
1982Textiles and Pottery[48] Wells Centre, Wells-next-the-Sea, Norfolk, England
1985Tapestries by Mary Farmer, Ceramics by Terry Moores[49] British Crafts Centre, Earlham Street, London, England
1985Eight Contemporary Textile Artists from England[50] Organised by Peter Shahbenderian and the Galerie FilambuleGalerie Filambule, Lausanne, Switzerland
1987Wall to Wall – Textiles for Interiors[51] Cornerhouse, Manchester, England
1996–1997Woven Image[52] 50 artistsBarbican Centre, London, England and tour to
2003 - 2024 (remains Ongoing) Contemporary Craft Gallery[54] Hove Museum of Creativity, Hove, England
2021Maker's Eye: Stories of Craft[55] [56] Crafts Council Gallery, London, England
2024Mary Farmer: A Life in Tapestry[57] [58] Crafts Study Centre, University for the Creative Arts, Farnham, Surrey, England
2024Living in a Material World[59] Lyon & Turnbull, 22 Connaught Street, London, W2 2AF in collaboration with the Crafts Study Centre, Farnham, Surrey, England

Major award nominations and awards

Date Title Venue(s)
1995Honorary Fellowship award[60] Royal College of Art, London, England
1988Sotheby's Decorative Arts award nomination The catalogue features Tapestry – Soft Flight[61] on the front cover[62] Sotheby’s, London
1988Fellowship of Royal College or Art (FRCA)[63] Royal College of Art, London, England
1964Digswell Arts Trust Fellowship award[64] Digswell House, Welwyn Garden City, Hertfordshire, England

Later career and legacy

In 1990 Mary Farmer suffered a severe shoulder injury which whilst her career continued to some extent, resulted in curtailment of her weaving career to a large extent.[65] [66]

The MA Tapestry Course at the Royal College of Art finally closed in 1995 and Mary Farmer went into retirement after over a decade of the challenging situation with the course's sustainability.[67]

Ann Sutton made a number of pieces of her collection available in the Modern Made auction[68] in 2023, including a significant piece (Tapestry – Float 1[69]) by Mary Farmer. Interest in the work and contribution that Mary Farmer made to Art in the late 20th Century.[70] [71]

A Reception was held in November 2023 at the Government Art Collection adjacent to Admiralty Arch as a memorial to Mary Farmer, featuring the Tapestry Buzz On which has been in their collection since 1977.[72]

Works in public collections

Later personal life

Her husband, Terry Moores, died in 2014. Whilst Mary Farmer remained largely independent into later life, she suffered acute illness during the COVID-19 pandemic and died 1 February 2021 in Boston, Lincolnshire, England.

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Farmer. Mary. Government Art Collection. Buzz on .
  2. Web site: Knott . Stephen . 24 November 2023 . Mary Farmer at the Government Art Collection . 14 February 2024 . Crafts Study Centre .
  3. Web site: Farmer . Mary . Buzz On . Government Art Collection . 23 July 2024.
  4. Web site: Farmer. Mary. Government Art Collection. Buzz on II .
  5. Web site: Farmer. Mary. Government Art Collection. Buzz on III .
  6. Web site: Farmer . Mary . 1960–1969 . Quadruple and Three . 11 February 2024.
  7. Birth Certificate from Register of Births, Deaths and Marriages
  8. Web site: Sayama . Wonnie . Alumnae Spotlight: Mary Farmer (1940-2021) . Sydenham High School . 18 May 2024.
  9. Web site: The Guardian from London, Greater London, England . 22 November 1973 .
  10. Web site: Mary Farmer . Contemporary Art Society.
  11. Web site: Obituary: Gwen Mullins . . 11 February 1997 .
  12. Web site: Peter Collingwood . 12 February 2024 . Digswell Arts Trust.
  13. Web site: Collingwood . Peter . Coper . Hans . Farmer . Mary . Bridging the gap . newspapers.com . 22 November 1973 . The Guardian . 12 February 2024 . 22 November 1973.
  14. Web site: Farmer. Mary. Mary Farmer – YouTube Channel . .
  15. Web site: Farmer . Mary . Mary Farmer CAS . contemporaryartsociety.org . 16 February 2024 . en.
  16. Web site: British Crafts Centre Institution . ArtFacts . 14 April 2024 . en.
  17. Web site: Northern Crafts Centre Institution . ArtFacts . 14 April 2024 . en.
  18. Web site: Mary Farmer & Terry Moores . 13 February 2024 . ArtFacts.
  19. News: Farmer . Mary . Moores . Terry . 21 November 1985 . Old warehouse a home of arts . The Boston Standard .
  20. Web site: Farmer. Mary . Mary Farmer . Government Art Collection . 12 February 2024.
  21. Web site: Moncur. Jennie . Jennie Moncur. Jennie Moncur . 12 February 2024.
  22. Web site: Mary Farmer (1940 to 2021) Government Art Collection Reception (22 November 2023) . YouTube. 22 November 2023.
  23. Web site: Jeni Ross . American-Tapestry-Alliance.
  24. Web site: Philip Sanderson . West Dean College.
  25. Japanese Ikat Weaving: The Techniques of Kasuri by Jun Tomita, Noriko Tomita
  26. Web site: Royal College of Art. College Honours. 12 February 2024 .
  27. Web site: Moores . Terry . Collections Online British Museum . www.britishmuseum.org.
  28. Web site: Moores . Terry . You searched for Terry Moores . Sainsbury Centre . 16 February 2024.
  29. Web site: Moores . Terry . Terry Moores Artist . ArtFacts . en.
  30. Web site: Farmer . Mary . Mary Farmer Artist . ArtFacts . en.
  31. Web site: The Maker's Eye; Crafts Council Collections Online .
  32. Web site: ABOUT US . Contemporary Applied Arts . 23 July 2024 . en.
  33. Book: Craftsmen of Quality . 1978 . The Crafts Advisory Committee . London . 0903798247 . 141.
  34. Quarterly Journal of the Guild of Weavers, Spinners and Dyers . Editorial Committee . 1964–1966 . 52-60 . 677, 735, 763, 707, 847.
  35. Book: Craftsmen of Quality . 1978 . The Crafts Advisory Committee . London . 0903798247 . 141.
  36. Web site: WGC-1965-2 Twelve Artists (Digswell. Exhibition brochure) . 17 February 2024 . 22 September 2015 . https://web.archive.org/web/20150922015606/https://cashewnut.me.uk/WGCbooks/web-WGC-books-1965-2.php . bot: unknown .
  37. Web site: Farmer. Mary. Victoria and Albert Museum. Quadruple and Three . 12 February 2024 .
  38. News: Duke's Visit . 25 June 2024 . Belfast Telegraph . 22 Dec 1965.
  39. News: Rugs for the Duke. Welwyn Times . 18 February 1966.
  40. Web site: Catalogue, Rugs for Churches .
  41. Web site: Newbury Spring Festival. Newbury Spring Festival . 14 February 2024.
  42. Web site: Farmer . Mary . Moores . Terry . Newbury Spring Festival Exhibition . ArtFacts . 16 February 2024 . en.
  43. Book: Makers: an illustrated guide to the work of more than 350 artist craftsmen . 1980 . Crafts Council . London . 0903798433 . 77.
  44. Web site: Farmer . Mary . Textiles Today Exhibition . ArtFacts . 16 February 2024 . en.
  45. Web site: Contemporary British tapestry Catalog . ArtFacts . en.
  46. Web site: The Maker's Eye; Crafts Council Collections Online .
  47. Web site: The Maker's Eye Exhibition . ArtFacts . 14 February 2024 .
  48. Web site: Textiles and Pottery Exhibition . ArtFacts . 14 February 2024 .
  49. Web site: Farmer . Mary . Moores . Terry . Mary Farmer & Terry Moores . ArtFacts . 14 February 2024.
  50. Web site: Eight Contemporary Textile Artists from England, Galerie Filambule, Lausanne Switzerland, 24 May – 29 June 1985 Catalog . ArtFacts . 14 February 2024 .
  51. Web site: Wall to Wall | Exhibition . ArtFacts . 14 February 2024 .
  52. Web site: Woven Image: Contemporary British Tapestry Catalog . ArtFacts . 14 February 2024.
  53. Web site: Woven Image – Contemporary British Tapestry | Exhibition . ArtFacts . 14 February 2024 .
  54. Web site: Contemporary Craft . Brighton and Hove Museums.
  55. https://media.craftscouncil.org.uk/documents/Makers_Eye_exhibition_guide_FINAL.pdf
  56. Web site: Maker's Eye: Stories of Craft Catalog . ArtFacts .
  57. Web site: Farmer. Mary. Crafts Study Centre: Exhibitions and Events 2024 . Crafts Study Centre . 12 February 2024.
  58. Web site: Knott . Stephen . Mary Farmer: A Life in Tapestry . Crafts Study Centre . 23 July 2024 . 21 May 2024.
  59. Web site: London Design Festival — Living in a Material World . londondesignfestival.com . 23 July 2024 . en.
  60. Web site: Farmer . Mary . College Honours (1995) . RCA Website . 16 February 2024.
  61. Web site: Tapestry Soft Flight Artwork . ArtFacts . en.
  62. Web site: Sotheby's Decorative Arts Award Exhibition 1988 Catalog . ArtFacts .
  63. News: Royal College of Art . 28 July 2024 . Newspapers.com . The Independent at Newspapers.com . 5 July 1988 . 17 . en.
  64. Web site: Farmer . Mary . Mary Farmer CAS . contemporaryartsociety.org . 16 February 2024 . en.
  65. Web site: Knott . Stephen . 31 January 2024 . Donation of the Mary Farmer archive by the artist's estate . 14 February 2024 . Crafts Study Centre .
  66. Medical Report in Crafts Study Centre Archive
  67. Crafts Magazine No 73 March–April 1985 p8 News: Reprieve for Tapestry
  68. Web site: Modern Made | Auction 28 April 2023 by Lyon & Turnbull – Issuu . 31 March 2023 .
  69. Web site: Tapestry Float 1 Artwork . ArtFacts . en.
  70. Game . Amanda . Mary Farmer Neglected Modernist . The Modernist . 49 . 53–56 . 14 February 2024.
  71. Web site: Five Craftspeople to Know in 2024 . www.lyonandturnbull.com . 23 July 2024 . en.
  72. Web site: Farmer . Mary . Buzz On . Government Art Collection . 16 February 2024.
  73. Web site: Farmer . Mary . Quadruple and Three . Victoria and Albert Museum . 1960–1969. 16 February 2024.
  74. Web site: Farmer . Mary . Mary Farmer . Government Art Collection . 16 February 2024.
  75. Web site: Farmer . Mary . Mary Farmer CAS . contemporaryartsociety.org . 16 February 2024 . en.
  76. Web site: Farmer . Mary . Mary Farmer CAS . contemporaryartsociety.org . 16 February 2024 . en.
  77. Web site: Farmer . Mary . You searched for Mary Farmer . Sainsbury Centre . 16 February 2024.
  78. Web site: Farmer . Mary . Mary Farmer Crafts Council CollectionsOnline . collections.craftscouncil.org.uk . 16 February 2024.
  79. Web site: Farmer . Mary . Penumbra . Crafts Study Centre at VADS . 16 February 2024.
  80. Web site: Farmer . Mary . Tapestry - Give the Slip 1 Artwork . ArtFacts . 23 May 2024 . en.
  81. Web site: Farmer . Mary . Tapestry - Give the Slip 2 Artwork . ArtFacts . 23 May 2024 . en.

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