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Mary Farmer
UK based weaver of tapestries and rugs From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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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.
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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[1] and the other two commissioned works in this series, Buzz on II[3] and Buzz On III[4] moved to the British Embassy in Rome, Italy in 2023. An early rug,[5] together with a contemporary tapestry[6] are in the collection of the V&A.
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Early life
Mary Farmer was born Mary Quinton Farmer on 6 August 1940 in Newbury, Berkshire, to Edith Anona Jane Farmer (née Quinton) and Seldon Charles Forrester Farmer.[7]
Farmer's family relocated to Beckenham, Kent in 1948/9, where she was educated at Sydenham High School.[8] and Beckenham School of Art (1958-1961).[9]
She moved to Digswell House, Welwyn Garden City, Hertfordshire in 1964 and to Guildford, Surrey in 1967, combining home life and work studio from this point forward.[10]
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Career
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Farmer's career in the arts began at Beckenham School of Art (1958–61) where she initially focused on painting. She 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 was a multi-segment rug (2.75m x 2.75m) for the 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 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.[9][30] Her work has been selected to adorn the catalogues of Sotheby's,[31] Christie's[32] and most recently Lyon & Turnbull.[33]
Memberships
- Contemporary Applied Arts previously British Crafts Centre and Crafts Centre of Great Britain[34]
- Council of Management Contemporary Applied Arts
- Crafts Council[35]
- Grants & Loans Committee
- Index Selection Committee
- Exhibition Committee
- Bursary Selection Committee
- Appointed Member of Council Education Committee in 1988
- Lambeth Palace Chapel & Crypt Restoration Programme[36]
- Consultant Member of Chapel Advisory Group
- Fibre arts
- Red Rose Guild[37]
- Guild of Weavers, Spinners and Dyers
- Member of Editorial Committee of Quarterly Journal of the Guild of Weavers, Spinners and Dyers from 1964 - 1966[38]
- Society of Designer Craftsmen[39]
- Southern Arts Association
- Committee Member
Major exhibitions and shows
Details of the majority of exhibitions can be found on the ArtFacts.Net website.[9]
Mary Farmer exhibition timeline
Timeline[40] created in association with the 2024 exhibition Mary Farmer: A life in Tapestry[41]
Major award nominations and awards
External examiner
- Middlesex Polytechnic: BA (Hons) Tapestry
- Liverpool Polytechnic: BA (Hons) Fine Art (Painting)
- West Dean College: Advanced Diploma Course in Tapestry
Later career and legacy
In 1990 Farmer suffered a severe shoulder injury which significantly curtailed her weaving career.[82][83]
The MA Tapestry Course at the Royal College of Art closed in 1995 and Farmer went into retirement after over a decade of the challenging situation with the course's sustainability.[84]
Ann Sutton made a number of pieces of her collection available in the Modern Made auction[85] in 2023, including a significant piece, the tapestry, Float 1[86]) by Farmer. Interest in the work and contribution that Farmer made to art in the late 20th century.[87][88]
A reception was held in November 2023 at the Government Art Collection adjacent to Admiralty Arch as a memorial to Farmer, featuring the Tapestry Buzz On which has been in their collection since 1977.[89] Whilst exposure of these pieces is normally limited to government, diplomats and their staff, with a piece currently at Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office, Whitehall, London and the other two at the British Embassy in Rome, Italy. However, their viewing was restricted to GCHQ, Cheltenham staff from 2011-2019[90][91][92] and whilst viewing may have been restricted, their presence did not escape The Times, although they attributed them to the wrong Mary Farmer.[93]
The Warehouse at 50 High Street, Boston, Lincolnshire and the contribution of Farmer and Terry Moores to their respective fields as designer craftspeople has been recognised by the Boston Preservation Trust's Blue Plaque scheme.[94]
Works in public collections
- Brighton and Hove Museums, Sussex, three tapestries on long term display at Hove Museum of Creativity
- Contemporary Art Society, London, England[15]
- Tapestry In the Blue[98]
- Rug Hover (The Wilson (Cheltenham))[99]
- Tapestry Tip-Off (Portsmouth Museum and Art Gallery)[100]
- Crafts Council Collection, London[101]
- Crafts Study Centre, Farnham, Surrey
- Tapestry Penumbra[105]
- Miniature Tapestry Flash Back 3[106]
- Tapestry Blue Heaven
- Tapestry Silent Night[107]
- Kneeler sample and design from the Rugs for Churches commission for Liverpool Cathedral
- The late HRH Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh[15]
Works in corporate collections
- Channel 4 Television Company Ltd[116]
- National Bank of America, City of London[117]
- British Oxygen Company[120]
- Pace Petroleum
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Later personal life and death
Her husband, Terry Moores, died in 2014.
Mary Farmer remained largely independent into later life; however, she suffered acute illness during the COVID-19 pandemic and died on 1 February 2021 in Boston, Lincolnshire.
References
External links
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