This is the story of an artist who didn’t begin her art till after her husband passed and she had free time on her hands. She was 71 and created Paper Mosaik botanical specimens: Mary Delany.

At the age of 72, English artist, Mary Delany (1700-1788), began producing a series of 985 extraordinarily detailed floral collages after she noticed the similarity between a geranium and a piece of red paper that was on her bedside table. The realisation prompted her to pick up a pair of scissors and imitate the petals in paper. By cutting minute pieces of paper and sticking them to a solid black background, Delany could build up each part of a specimen, sometimes using around 200 paper petals per flower. She used smaller pieces layered over larger ones to create shading and depth, and sometimes enhanced parts with watercolours. So accurate was the finished result that when her friend Margaret Bentinck, Duchess of Portland, saw Delany’s paper artwork, she mistook it for a real flower. This spurred Delany on to make more collage creations and hone her craft. In the autumn of 1772, she wrote to her niece, modestly stating: "I have invented a new way of imitating flowers." Her stunning works, carefully constructed paper collages, or "mosaicks" as she called them, are a remarkable combination of art and science, often mistaken for watercolours. This is her Pancratium Maritinum, Hexandria Monogynia, Sea Daffodil (1778) Collage of coloured papers, with bodycolour and watercolour, on black ink background Via Kitt McKenna MetaFilter's julen put together a post on the wonderful Mary Delany, an artist in the late 1700's, who created collages, incredibly intimate images of flowers, beautiful and true with a botanist's eye for detail. Click the images for larger viewing. From Wikipedia: Mary Delany (nee Granville) (14 May 1700 – 15 April 1788) was an English Bluestocking, artist, and writer; most famous for her "paper-mosaicks...As a widow, Mary Delany spent a lot of time with the Dowager Duchess of Portland, a close friend. The two shared a kinship in botany, often going out to look for specific specimens. It was during her stay with the Duchess that Mary became acquainted with two well-known botanists of the time Joseph Banks and Daniel Solander. This contact with the botanists only encouraged Mary's interest in botany and also created knowledge for which many of her flower paper-cuttings are based on... Continued from Wikipedia: Mary had always been an avid artist, but it was during her marriage to Dr Delany that she finally had the time to hone her skills. She was an avid gardener, something that she shared with Dr Delany, and was also good at needlework, drawing, painting, and cutting paper. Mary is most known for her paper-cutting, "For these 'mosaicks' are coloured paper representing not only conspicuous details but also contrasting colours or shades of the same colour so that every effect of light is caught"[9] In 1771, Mary began to create cut out paper artworks (decoupage) as was the fashion for ladies of the court. Her works were exceptionally detailed and botanically accurate depictions of plants. She used tissue paper and hand colouration to produce these pieces. She created 1,700 of these works, calling them her "Paper Mosaiks [sic]",[10] from the age of 71 to 88 when her eyesight failed her. During this time, Mary made nearly 1,000 of the paper flowers.[11] Continued from Wikipedia: "With the plant specimen set before her she cut minute particles of coloured paper to represent the petals, stamens, clayx, leaves, veins, stalk and other parts of the plant, and, using lighter and darker paper to form the shading, she stuck them on a black background. By placing one piece of paper upon another she sometimes built up several layers and in a complete picture there might be hundreds of pieces to form one plant. It is thought she first dissected each plant so that she might examine it carefully for accurate portrayal..."[12] Mary took great care to make sure that each of her flowers were correct, in number of stamens and petals. She also became so well-known that many donors began to send her flowers to cut.[13] They can still be seen in the Enlightenment Gallery at the British Museum today. Upon her death, "The ten volumes of Mrs. Delany's Flora were inherited by Lady Llanover, the daughter of Georgina Mary Ann Port. Lady Llanover, who died in 1896 at the age of ninety-four, bequeathed these volumes to the British Museum..."[14] When the Dowager Duchess died, George and Charlotte gave her a small house at Windsor and a pension of 300 pounds a year. Mary had become familiar with the Queen Charlotte during her time paper-cutting, and while living in the house at Windsor, became an important part within the King and Queen's lives.[3] The King and Queen were great supporters of Mary's paper-cutting, "The King and Queen...always desired that any curious or beautiful plants should be transmitted to Mrs. Delany when in blossom."[15] Frances Burney (Madame D'Arblay) was introduced to her in 1783, and frequently visited her at her London home and at Windsor, and owed to her friendship her court appointment. Delany, in her eighties at this time, had a reputation for cutting out and making the intricate paper mosaics (collages) now in the British Museum. She had known many of the luminaries of her day, had corresponded with Jonathan Swift, Sir Joseph Banks, and Young, and left a detailed picture of polite English society of the 18th century in her six volumes of Autobiography and Letters (ed. Lady Llanover, 1861–1862). Burke calls her "a real fine lady, the model of an accomplished woman of former times". In the year 1980, a descendant of Mary Delany's sister Anne, Ruth Hayden, published a book on Delany's work: Mrs. Delany and Her Flower Collages, which was reissued in 2000 as Mrs. Delany: Her Life and Her Flowers (British Museum Press)."

A delicately beautiful, rather unusual climber, bearing pretty pointed buds which open to medium-sized, loosely double, light pink flowers. Produced in large open sprays over a very long season, the flowers are held on slender dark stems and gradually open to expose golden stamens. There is a light-medium Old Rose scent with hints of fruit. It is healthy and almost thornless with relatively small, dark green leaves.

Los collages botánicos de Mary Delany consistían en diminutos fragmentos de papel coloreados a mano, con los que componía bellos motivos florales

At age 17, Mary Granville Delany was married off to a ogre who died and left her penniless seven years later. Yet at 43, she completely reinvented her life.

This is the story of an artist who didn’t begin her art till after her husband passed and she had free time on her hands. She was 71 and created Paper Mosaik botanical specimens: Mary Delany.

Los collages botánicos de Mary Delany consistían en diminutos fragmentos de papel coloreados a mano, con los que componía bellos motivos florales

At the age of 72, English artist, Mary Delany (1700-1788), began producing a series of 985 extraordinarily detailed floral collages after she noticed the similarity between a geranium and a piece of red paper that was on her bedside table. The realisation prompted her to pick up a pair of scissors and imitate the petals in paper. By cutting minute pieces of paper and sticking them to a solid black background, Delany could build up each part of a specimen, sometimes using around 200 paper petals per flower. She used smaller pieces layered over larger ones to create shading and depth, and sometimes enhanced parts with watercolours. So accurate was the finished result that when her friend Margaret Bentinck, Duchess of Portland, saw Delany’s paper artwork, she mistook it for a real flower. This spurred Delany on to make more collage creations and hone her craft. In the autumn of 1772, she wrote to her niece, modestly stating: "I have invented a new way of imitating flowers." Her stunning works, carefully constructed paper collages, or "mosaicks" as she called them, are a remarkable combination of art and science, often mistaken for watercolours. This is her Pancratium Maritinum, Hexandria Monogynia, Sea Daffodil (1778) Collage of coloured papers, with bodycolour and watercolour, on black ink background Via Kitt McKenna MetaFilter's julen put together a post on the wonderful Mary Delany, an artist in the late 1700's, who created collages, incredibly intimate images of flowers, beautiful and true with a botanist's eye for detail. Click the images for larger viewing. From Wikipedia: Mary Delany (nee Granville) (14 May 1700 – 15 April 1788) was an English Bluestocking, artist, and writer; most famous for her "paper-mosaicks...As a widow, Mary Delany spent a lot of time with the Dowager Duchess of Portland, a close friend. The two shared a kinship in botany, often going out to look for specific specimens. It was during her stay with the Duchess that Mary became acquainted with two well-known botanists of the time Joseph Banks and Daniel Solander. This contact with the botanists only encouraged Mary's interest in botany and also created knowledge for which many of her flower paper-cuttings are based on... Continued from Wikipedia: Mary had always been an avid artist, but it was during her marriage to Dr Delany that she finally had the time to hone her skills. She was an avid gardener, something that she shared with Dr Delany, and was also good at needlework, drawing, painting, and cutting paper. Mary is most known for her paper-cutting, "For these 'mosaicks' are coloured paper representing not only conspicuous details but also contrasting colours or shades of the same colour so that every effect of light is caught"[9] In 1771, Mary began to create cut out paper artworks (decoupage) as was the fashion for ladies of the court. Her works were exceptionally detailed and botanically accurate depictions of plants. She used tissue paper and hand colouration to produce these pieces. She created 1,700 of these works, calling them her "Paper Mosaiks [sic]",[10] from the age of 71 to 88 when her eyesight failed her. During this time, Mary made nearly 1,000 of the paper flowers.[11] Continued from Wikipedia: "With the plant specimen set before her she cut minute particles of coloured paper to represent the petals, stamens, clayx, leaves, veins, stalk and other parts of the plant, and, using lighter and darker paper to form the shading, she stuck them on a black background. By placing one piece of paper upon another she sometimes built up several layers and in a complete picture there might be hundreds of pieces to form one plant. It is thought she first dissected each plant so that she might examine it carefully for accurate portrayal..."[12] Mary took great care to make sure that each of her flowers were correct, in number of stamens and petals. She also became so well-known that many donors began to send her flowers to cut.[13] They can still be seen in the Enlightenment Gallery at the British Museum today. Upon her death, "The ten volumes of Mrs. Delany's Flora were inherited by Lady Llanover, the daughter of Georgina Mary Ann Port. Lady Llanover, who died in 1896 at the age of ninety-four, bequeathed these volumes to the British Museum..."[14] When the Dowager Duchess died, George and Charlotte gave her a small house at Windsor and a pension of 300 pounds a year. Mary had become familiar with the Queen Charlotte during her time paper-cutting, and while living in the house at Windsor, became an important part within the King and Queen's lives.[3] The King and Queen were great supporters of Mary's paper-cutting, "The King and Queen...always desired that any curious or beautiful plants should be transmitted to Mrs. Delany when in blossom."[15] Frances Burney (Madame D'Arblay) was introduced to her in 1783, and frequently visited her at her London home and at Windsor, and owed to her friendship her court appointment. Delany, in her eighties at this time, had a reputation for cutting out and making the intricate paper mosaics (collages) now in the British Museum. She had known many of the luminaries of her day, had corresponded with Jonathan Swift, Sir Joseph Banks, and Young, and left a detailed picture of polite English society of the 18th century in her six volumes of Autobiography and Letters (ed. Lady Llanover, 1861–1862). Burke calls her "a real fine lady, the model of an accomplished woman of former times". In the year 1980, a descendant of Mary Delany's sister Anne, Ruth Hayden, published a book on Delany's work: Mrs. Delany and Her Flower Collages, which was reissued in 2000 as Mrs. Delany: Her Life and Her Flowers (British Museum Press)."

At the age of 72, English artist, Mary Delany (1700-1788), began producing a series of 985 extraordinarily detailed floral collages after she noticed the similarity between a geranium and a piece of red paper that was on her bedside table. The realisation prompted her to pick up a pair of scissors and imitate the petals in paper. By cutting minute pieces of paper and sticking them to a solid black background, Delany could build up each part of a specimen, sometimes using around 200 paper petals per flower. She used smaller pieces layered over larger ones to create shading and depth, and sometimes enhanced parts with watercolours. So accurate was the finished result that when her friend Margaret Bentinck, Duchess of Portland, saw Delany’s paper artwork, she mistook it for a real flower. This spurred Delany on to make more collage creations and hone her craft. In the autumn of 1772, she wrote to her niece, modestly stating: "I have invented a new way of imitating flowers." Her stunning works, carefully constructed paper collages, or "mosaicks" as she called them, are a remarkable combination of art and science, often mistaken for watercolours. This is her Pancratium Maritinum, Hexandria Monogynia, Sea Daffodil (1778) Collage of coloured papers, with bodycolour and watercolour, on black ink background Via Kitt McKenna MetaFilter's julen put together a post on the wonderful Mary Delany, an artist in the late 1700's, who created collages, incredibly intimate images of flowers, beautiful and true with a botanist's eye for detail. Click the images for larger viewing. From Wikipedia: Mary Delany (nee Granville) (14 May 1700 – 15 April 1788) was an English Bluestocking, artist, and writer; most famous for her "paper-mosaicks...As a widow, Mary Delany spent a lot of time with the Dowager Duchess of Portland, a close friend. The two shared a kinship in botany, often going out to look for specific specimens. It was during her stay with the Duchess that Mary became acquainted with two well-known botanists of the time Joseph Banks and Daniel Solander. This contact with the botanists only encouraged Mary's interest in botany and also created knowledge for which many of her flower paper-cuttings are based on... Continued from Wikipedia: Mary had always been an avid artist, but it was during her marriage to Dr Delany that she finally had the time to hone her skills. She was an avid gardener, something that she shared with Dr Delany, and was also good at needlework, drawing, painting, and cutting paper. Mary is most known for her paper-cutting, "For these 'mosaicks' are coloured paper representing not only conspicuous details but also contrasting colours or shades of the same colour so that every effect of light is caught"[9] In 1771, Mary began to create cut out paper artworks (decoupage) as was the fashion for ladies of the court. Her works were exceptionally detailed and botanically accurate depictions of plants. She used tissue paper and hand colouration to produce these pieces. She created 1,700 of these works, calling them her "Paper Mosaiks [sic]",[10] from the age of 71 to 88 when her eyesight failed her. During this time, Mary made nearly 1,000 of the paper flowers.[11] Continued from Wikipedia: "With the plant specimen set before her she cut minute particles of coloured paper to represent the petals, stamens, clayx, leaves, veins, stalk and other parts of the plant, and, using lighter and darker paper to form the shading, she stuck them on a black background. By placing one piece of paper upon another she sometimes built up several layers and in a complete picture there might be hundreds of pieces to form one plant. It is thought she first dissected each plant so that she might examine it carefully for accurate portrayal..."[12] Mary took great care to make sure that each of her flowers were correct, in number of stamens and petals. She also became so well-known that many donors began to send her flowers to cut.[13] They can still be seen in the Enlightenment Gallery at the British Museum today. Upon her death, "The ten volumes of Mrs. Delany's Flora were inherited by Lady Llanover, the daughter of Georgina Mary Ann Port. Lady Llanover, who died in 1896 at the age of ninety-four, bequeathed these volumes to the British Museum..."[14] When the Dowager Duchess died, George and Charlotte gave her a small house at Windsor and a pension of 300 pounds a year. Mary had become familiar with the Queen Charlotte during her time paper-cutting, and while living in the house at Windsor, became an important part within the King and Queen's lives.[3] The King and Queen were great supporters of Mary's paper-cutting, "The King and Queen...always desired that any curious or beautiful plants should be transmitted to Mrs. Delany when in blossom."[15] Frances Burney (Madame D'Arblay) was introduced to her in 1783, and frequently visited her at her London home and at Windsor, and owed to her friendship her court appointment. Delany, in her eighties at this time, had a reputation for cutting out and making the intricate paper mosaics (collages) now in the British Museum. She had known many of the luminaries of her day, had corresponded with Jonathan Swift, Sir Joseph Banks, and Young, and left a detailed picture of polite English society of the 18th century in her six volumes of Autobiography and Letters (ed. Lady Llanover, 1861–1862). Burke calls her "a real fine lady, the model of an accomplished woman of former times". In the year 1980, a descendant of Mary Delany's sister Anne, Ruth Hayden, published a book on Delany's work: Mrs. Delany and Her Flower Collages, which was reissued in 2000 as Mrs. Delany: Her Life and Her Flowers (British Museum Press)."

This is the story of an artist who didn’t begin her art till after her husband passed and she had free time on her hands. She was 71 and created Paper Mosaik botanical specimens: Mary Delany.

Mary Delany found her 'flower mosaic' technique by accident at age 72 and went on to create nearly 1000 wondrous collages... A role model for all of us late bloomers.

Los collages botánicos de Mary Delany consistían en diminutos fragmentos de papel coloreados a mano, con los que componía bellos motivos florales

Mary Delany was an English artist, letter-writer, and bluestocking, known for her "paper-mosaicks" and botanic drawing, needlework and her lively correspondence.

About The Artwork Mary A Delany (14 May 1700 – 15 April 1788) was an English artist, letter-writer, and Bluestocking, equally famous for her "paper-mosaicks" and her lively correspondence. Original Created:2020 Subjects:Floral Materials:Paper Styles:Realism Mediums:PaperMosaic Details & Dimensions Print:Giclee on Fine Art Paper Size:9 W x 12 H x 0.1 D in Size with Frame:14.25 W x 17.25 H x 1.2 D in Frame:White Ready to Hang:Yes Packaging:Ships in a Box Shipping & Returns Delivery Time:Typically 5-7 business days for domestic shipments, 10-14 business days for international shipments. Handling:Ships in a box. Art prints are packaged and shipped by our printing partner. Ships From:Printing facility in California. Have additional questions? Please visit our help section or contact us.

Los collages botánicos de Mary Delany consistían en diminutos fragmentos de papel coloreados a mano, con los que componía bellos motivos florales

Mary Delany, Galanthus Nivalis, Single Snowdrop, 1777 (source).

Whether you're planning a flower garden, a vegetable garden, or working on your lawn, you're sure to get inspired by these gardening ideas and tips.

Mary Delany, Iris Pseudacorus, Yellow Iris collage, 1777 (via).

At the age of 72, English artist, Mary Delany (1700-1788), began producing a series of 985 extraordinarily detailed floral collages after she noticed the similarity between a geranium and a piece of red paper that was on her bedside table. The realisation prompted her to pick up a pair of scissors and imitate the petals in paper. By cutting minute pieces of paper and sticking them to a solid black background, Delany could build up each part of a specimen, sometimes using around 200 paper petals per flower. She used smaller pieces layered over larger ones to create shading and depth, and sometimes enhanced parts with watercolours. So accurate was the finished result that when her friend Margaret Bentinck, Duchess of Portland, saw Delany’s paper artwork, she mistook it for a real flower. This spurred Delany on to make more collage creations and hone her craft. In the autumn of 1772, she wrote to her niece, modestly stating: "I have invented a new way of imitating flowers." Her stunning works, carefully constructed paper collages, or "mosaicks" as she called them, are a remarkable combination of art and science, often mistaken for watercolours. This is her Pancratium Maritinum, Hexandria Monogynia, Sea Daffodil (1778) Collage of coloured papers, with bodycolour and watercolour, on black ink background Via Kitt McKenna MetaFilter's julen put together a post on the wonderful Mary Delany, an artist in the late 1700's, who created collages, incredibly intimate images of flowers, beautiful and true with a botanist's eye for detail. Click the images for larger viewing. From Wikipedia: Mary Delany (nee Granville) (14 May 1700 – 15 April 1788) was an English Bluestocking, artist, and writer; most famous for her "paper-mosaicks...As a widow, Mary Delany spent a lot of time with the Dowager Duchess of Portland, a close friend. The two shared a kinship in botany, often going out to look for specific specimens. It was during her stay with the Duchess that Mary became acquainted with two well-known botanists of the time Joseph Banks and Daniel Solander. This contact with the botanists only encouraged Mary's interest in botany and also created knowledge for which many of her flower paper-cuttings are based on... Continued from Wikipedia: Mary had always been an avid artist, but it was during her marriage to Dr Delany that she finally had the time to hone her skills. She was an avid gardener, something that she shared with Dr Delany, and was also good at needlework, drawing, painting, and cutting paper. Mary is most known for her paper-cutting, "For these 'mosaicks' are coloured paper representing not only conspicuous details but also contrasting colours or shades of the same colour so that every effect of light is caught"[9] In 1771, Mary began to create cut out paper artworks (decoupage) as was the fashion for ladies of the court. Her works were exceptionally detailed and botanically accurate depictions of plants. She used tissue paper and hand colouration to produce these pieces. She created 1,700 of these works, calling them her "Paper Mosaiks [sic]",[10] from the age of 71 to 88 when her eyesight failed her. During this time, Mary made nearly 1,000 of the paper flowers.[11] Continued from Wikipedia: "With the plant specimen set before her she cut minute particles of coloured paper to represent the petals, stamens, clayx, leaves, veins, stalk and other parts of the plant, and, using lighter and darker paper to form the shading, she stuck them on a black background. By placing one piece of paper upon another she sometimes built up several layers and in a complete picture there might be hundreds of pieces to form one plant. It is thought she first dissected each plant so that she might examine it carefully for accurate portrayal..."[12] Mary took great care to make sure that each of her flowers were correct, in number of stamens and petals. She also became so well-known that many donors began to send her flowers to cut.[13] They can still be seen in the Enlightenment Gallery at the British Museum today. Upon her death, "The ten volumes of Mrs. Delany's Flora were inherited by Lady Llanover, the daughter of Georgina Mary Ann Port. Lady Llanover, who died in 1896 at the age of ninety-four, bequeathed these volumes to the British Museum..."[14] When the Dowager Duchess died, George and Charlotte gave her a small house at Windsor and a pension of 300 pounds a year. Mary had become familiar with the Queen Charlotte during her time paper-cutting, and while living in the house at Windsor, became an important part within the King and Queen's lives.[3] The King and Queen were great supporters of Mary's paper-cutting, "The King and Queen...always desired that any curious or beautiful plants should be transmitted to Mrs. Delany when in blossom."[15] Frances Burney (Madame D'Arblay) was introduced to her in 1783, and frequently visited her at her London home and at Windsor, and owed to her friendship her court appointment. Delany, in her eighties at this time, had a reputation for cutting out and making the intricate paper mosaics (collages) now in the British Museum. She had known many of the luminaries of her day, had corresponded with Jonathan Swift, Sir Joseph Banks, and Young, and left a detailed picture of polite English society of the 18th century in her six volumes of Autobiography and Letters (ed. Lady Llanover, 1861–1862). Burke calls her "a real fine lady, the model of an accomplished woman of former times". In the year 1980, a descendant of Mary Delany's sister Anne, Ruth Hayden, published a book on Delany's work: Mrs. Delany and Her Flower Collages, which was reissued in 2000 as Mrs. Delany: Her Life and Her Flowers (British Museum Press)."

Los collages botánicos de Mary Delany consistían en diminutos fragmentos de papel coloreados a mano, con los que componía bellos motivos florales

Explore the British Museum collection and journey through two million years of human history.

At the age of 72, English artist, Mary Delany (1700-1788), began producing a series of 985 extraordinarily detailed floral collages after she noticed the similarity between a geranium and a piece of red paper that was on her bedside table. The realisation prompted her to pick up a pair of scissors and imitate the petals in paper. By cutting minute pieces of paper and sticking them to a solid black background, Delany could build up each part of a specimen, sometimes using around 200 paper petals per flower. She used smaller pieces layered over larger ones to create shading and depth, and sometimes enhanced parts with watercolours. So accurate was the finished result that when her friend Margaret Bentinck, Duchess of Portland, saw Delany’s paper artwork, she mistook it for a real flower. This spurred Delany on to make more collage creations and hone her craft. In the autumn of 1772, she wrote to her niece, modestly stating: "I have invented a new way of imitating flowers." Her stunning works, carefully constructed paper collages, or "mosaicks" as she called them, are a remarkable combination of art and science, often mistaken for watercolours. This is her Pancratium Maritinum, Hexandria Monogynia, Sea Daffodil (1778) Collage of coloured papers, with bodycolour and watercolour, on black ink background Via Kitt McKenna MetaFilter's julen put together a post on the wonderful Mary Delany, an artist in the late 1700's, who created collages, incredibly intimate images of flowers, beautiful and true with a botanist's eye for detail. Click the images for larger viewing. From Wikipedia: Mary Delany (nee Granville) (14 May 1700 – 15 April 1788) was an English Bluestocking, artist, and writer; most famous for her "paper-mosaicks...As a widow, Mary Delany spent a lot of time with the Dowager Duchess of Portland, a close friend. The two shared a kinship in botany, often going out to look for specific specimens. It was during her stay with the Duchess that Mary became acquainted with two well-known botanists of the time Joseph Banks and Daniel Solander. This contact with the botanists only encouraged Mary's interest in botany and also created knowledge for which many of her flower paper-cuttings are based on... Continued from Wikipedia: Mary had always been an avid artist, but it was during her marriage to Dr Delany that she finally had the time to hone her skills. She was an avid gardener, something that she shared with Dr Delany, and was also good at needlework, drawing, painting, and cutting paper. Mary is most known for her paper-cutting, "For these 'mosaicks' are coloured paper representing not only conspicuous details but also contrasting colours or shades of the same colour so that every effect of light is caught"[9] In 1771, Mary began to create cut out paper artworks (decoupage) as was the fashion for ladies of the court. Her works were exceptionally detailed and botanically accurate depictions of plants. She used tissue paper and hand colouration to produce these pieces. She created 1,700 of these works, calling them her "Paper Mosaiks [sic]",[10] from the age of 71 to 88 when her eyesight failed her. During this time, Mary made nearly 1,000 of the paper flowers.[11] Continued from Wikipedia: "With the plant specimen set before her she cut minute particles of coloured paper to represent the petals, stamens, clayx, leaves, veins, stalk and other parts of the plant, and, using lighter and darker paper to form the shading, she stuck them on a black background. By placing one piece of paper upon another she sometimes built up several layers and in a complete picture there might be hundreds of pieces to form one plant. It is thought she first dissected each plant so that she might examine it carefully for accurate portrayal..."[12] Mary took great care to make sure that each of her flowers were correct, in number of stamens and petals. She also became so well-known that many donors began to send her flowers to cut.[13] They can still be seen in the Enlightenment Gallery at the British Museum today. Upon her death, "The ten volumes of Mrs. Delany's Flora were inherited by Lady Llanover, the daughter of Georgina Mary Ann Port. Lady Llanover, who died in 1896 at the age of ninety-four, bequeathed these volumes to the British Museum..."[14] When the Dowager Duchess died, George and Charlotte gave her a small house at Windsor and a pension of 300 pounds a year. Mary had become familiar with the Queen Charlotte during her time paper-cutting, and while living in the house at Windsor, became an important part within the King and Queen's lives.[3] The King and Queen were great supporters of Mary's paper-cutting, "The King and Queen...always desired that any curious or beautiful plants should be transmitted to Mrs. Delany when in blossom."[15] Frances Burney (Madame D'Arblay) was introduced to her in 1783, and frequently visited her at her London home and at Windsor, and owed to her friendship her court appointment. Delany, in her eighties at this time, had a reputation for cutting out and making the intricate paper mosaics (collages) now in the British Museum. She had known many of the luminaries of her day, had corresponded with Jonathan Swift, Sir Joseph Banks, and Young, and left a detailed picture of polite English society of the 18th century in her six volumes of Autobiography and Letters (ed. Lady Llanover, 1861–1862). Burke calls her "a real fine lady, the model of an accomplished woman of former times". In the year 1980, a descendant of Mary Delany's sister Anne, Ruth Hayden, published a book on Delany's work: Mrs. Delany and Her Flower Collages, which was reissued in 2000 as Mrs. Delany: Her Life and Her Flowers (British Museum Press)."

Los collages botánicos de Mary Delany consistían en diminutos fragmentos de papel coloreados a mano, con los que componía bellos motivos florales

At the age of 72, English artist, Mary Delany (1700-1788), began producing a series of 985 extraordinarily detailed floral collages after she noticed the similarity between a geranium and a piece of red paper that was on her bedside table. The realisation prompted her to pick up a pair of scissors and imitate the petals in paper. By cutting minute pieces of paper and sticking them to a solid black background, Delany could build up each part of a specimen, sometimes using around 200 paper petals per flower. She used smaller pieces layered over larger ones to create shading and depth, and sometimes enhanced parts with watercolours. So accurate was the finished result that when her friend Margaret Bentinck, Duchess of Portland, saw Delany’s paper artwork, she mistook it for a real flower. This spurred Delany on to make more collage creations and hone her craft. In the autumn of 1772, she wrote to her niece, modestly stating: "I have invented a new way of imitating flowers." Her stunning works, carefully constructed paper collages, or "mosaicks" as she called them, are a remarkable combination of art and science, often mistaken for watercolours. This is her Pancratium Maritinum, Hexandria Monogynia, Sea Daffodil (1778) Collage of coloured papers, with bodycolour and watercolour, on black ink background Via Kitt McKenna MetaFilter's julen put together a post on the wonderful Mary Delany, an artist in the late 1700's, who created collages, incredibly intimate images of flowers, beautiful and true with a botanist's eye for detail. Click the images for larger viewing. From Wikipedia: Mary Delany (nee Granville) (14 May 1700 – 15 April 1788) was an English Bluestocking, artist, and writer; most famous for her "paper-mosaicks...As a widow, Mary Delany spent a lot of time with the Dowager Duchess of Portland, a close friend. The two shared a kinship in botany, often going out to look for specific specimens. It was during her stay with the Duchess that Mary became acquainted with two well-known botanists of the time Joseph Banks and Daniel Solander. This contact with the botanists only encouraged Mary's interest in botany and also created knowledge for which many of her flower paper-cuttings are based on... Continued from Wikipedia: Mary had always been an avid artist, but it was during her marriage to Dr Delany that she finally had the time to hone her skills. She was an avid gardener, something that she shared with Dr Delany, and was also good at needlework, drawing, painting, and cutting paper. Mary is most known for her paper-cutting, "For these 'mosaicks' are coloured paper representing not only conspicuous details but also contrasting colours or shades of the same colour so that every effect of light is caught"[9] In 1771, Mary began to create cut out paper artworks (decoupage) as was the fashion for ladies of the court. Her works were exceptionally detailed and botanically accurate depictions of plants. She used tissue paper and hand colouration to produce these pieces. She created 1,700 of these works, calling them her "Paper Mosaiks [sic]",[10] from the age of 71 to 88 when her eyesight failed her. During this time, Mary made nearly 1,000 of the paper flowers.[11] Continued from Wikipedia: "With the plant specimen set before her she cut minute particles of coloured paper to represent the petals, stamens, clayx, leaves, veins, stalk and other parts of the plant, and, using lighter and darker paper to form the shading, she stuck them on a black background. By placing one piece of paper upon another she sometimes built up several layers and in a complete picture there might be hundreds of pieces to form one plant. It is thought she first dissected each plant so that she might examine it carefully for accurate portrayal..."[12] Mary took great care to make sure that each of her flowers were correct, in number of stamens and petals. She also became so well-known that many donors began to send her flowers to cut.[13] They can still be seen in the Enlightenment Gallery at the British Museum today. Upon her death, "The ten volumes of Mrs. Delany's Flora were inherited by Lady Llanover, the daughter of Georgina Mary Ann Port. Lady Llanover, who died in 1896 at the age of ninety-four, bequeathed these volumes to the British Museum..."[14] When the Dowager Duchess died, George and Charlotte gave her a small house at Windsor and a pension of 300 pounds a year. Mary had become familiar with the Queen Charlotte during her time paper-cutting, and while living in the house at Windsor, became an important part within the King and Queen's lives.[3] The King and Queen were great supporters of Mary's paper-cutting, "The King and Queen...always desired that any curious or beautiful plants should be transmitted to Mrs. Delany when in blossom."[15] Frances Burney (Madame D'Arblay) was introduced to her in 1783, and frequently visited her at her London home and at Windsor, and owed to her friendship her court appointment. Delany, in her eighties at this time, had a reputation for cutting out and making the intricate paper mosaics (collages) now in the British Museum. She had known many of the luminaries of her day, had corresponded with Jonathan Swift, Sir Joseph Banks, and Young, and left a detailed picture of polite English society of the 18th century in her six volumes of Autobiography and Letters (ed. Lady Llanover, 1861–1862). Burke calls her "a real fine lady, the model of an accomplished woman of former times". In the year 1980, a descendant of Mary Delany's sister Anne, Ruth Hayden, published a book on Delany's work: Mrs. Delany and Her Flower Collages, which was reissued in 2000 as Mrs. Delany: Her Life and Her Flowers (British Museum Press)."

This is the story of an artist who didn’t begin her art till after her husband passed and she had free time on her hands. She was 71 and created Paper Mosaik botanical specimens: Mary Delany.

In 1771, at age 71, Mrs. Mary Delany (above) began to create cut out paper artworks (decoupage) as was the fashion for ladies of the court. ...

Another month ticks over and we have another member promotion delivering free goodies! The first twenty people to take out a membership in November will receive a FREE copy of The Paper Garden: Mrs Delany begins her life's work at 72 It’s a rollicking good read and tells the Mary Granville Pendarves Delany (1700–1788) who picked up the scissors and ran with it at the at the ripe old age of 72 to create a whole new artform of mixed media collage. Here's our exclusive interview with the author of The Paper Garden, Molly Peacock. How did you come across the story of Mary Granville Pendarves Delany? It's a long journey. I first saw her work in 1986 at the Morgan Library in New York City, and I swooned over it, but I couldn't afford the pricey imported book that came with it (I was a seventh grade teacher at a private Quaker school in New York), so I went off into my life. Then, in 2003, I saw them again. My husband and I had just been guest lecturers at Oxford, and we came into London briefly on our way back to North America, stopping at the British Museum. My husband had to make a phone call, so I wandered into the gift shop. It was a Looooooong phone call, so I made my way through the whole shop, and on the last table at the very end was the book I couldn't afford seventeen years earlier. Now I could afford it! I bought it and we left and got on a plane. As I read it and looked at the amazing images I reconnected. The book was by Mrs. Delany's great-great-great-great-great-great niece, Ruth Hayden. I didn't realize at the time that Delany's collages were right there in the Museum. It was only when I went back to London the following year that I saw them in person. In what ways did she create a template for contemporary craft practices? Mrs. Delany was ALWAYS busy with her hands. She believed with her whole heart that keeping occupied with the hands soothes the mind. She played the harpsichord, she designed embroidery patterns and sewed, she did shellwork (collecting shells and plastering them into patterns on ceilings, lintels, frames and mirrors), she did japanning (shellacking boxes to imitate Asian lacquerware), she designed her own clothes, and she famously, at 72, began her miraculous cut-paper floral collages on dramatic black backgrounds. Mrs. Delany believing in attempting, in plunging in, even when the goal was overwhelming. She also did all of these crafts WITH HER FRIENDS. This wasn't a solo activity for her. It was communal. This sets the template for us, for attempting crafts even without experience, and for doing it in company. For her it was fun. And it can be fun for us, too. If you were going to take this book on a holiday where would you go? I'd go from North America to Australia and New Zealand, of course! I'd take it anywhere there was a garden or a flower to look at. For your chance to win a copy, make sure you take out a membership!

At the age of 72, English artist, Mary Delany (1700-1788), began producing a series of 985 extraordinarily detailed floral collages after she noticed the similarity between a geranium and a piece of red paper that was on her bedside table. The realisation prompted her to pick up a pair of scissors and imitate the petals in paper. By cutting minute pieces of paper and sticking them to a solid black background, Delany could build up each part of a specimen, sometimes using around 200 paper petals per flower. She used smaller pieces layered over larger ones to create shading and depth, and sometimes enhanced parts with watercolours. So accurate was the finished result that when her friend Margaret Bentinck, Duchess of Portland, saw Delany’s paper artwork, she mistook it for a real flower. This spurred Delany on to make more collage creations and hone her craft. In the autumn of 1772, she wrote to her niece, modestly stating: "I have invented a new way of imitating flowers." Her stunning works, carefully constructed paper collages, or "mosaicks" as she called them, are a remarkable combination of art and science, often mistaken for watercolours. This is her Pancratium Maritinum, Hexandria Monogynia, Sea Daffodil (1778) Collage of coloured papers, with bodycolour and watercolour, on black ink background Via Kitt McKenna MetaFilter's julen put together a post on the wonderful Mary Delany, an artist in the late 1700's, who created collages, incredibly intimate images of flowers, beautiful and true with a botanist's eye for detail. Click the images for larger viewing. From Wikipedia: Mary Delany (nee Granville) (14 May 1700 – 15 April 1788) was an English Bluestocking, artist, and writer; most famous for her "paper-mosaicks...As a widow, Mary Delany spent a lot of time with the Dowager Duchess of Portland, a close friend. The two shared a kinship in botany, often going out to look for specific specimens. It was during her stay with the Duchess that Mary became acquainted with two well-known botanists of the time Joseph Banks and Daniel Solander. This contact with the botanists only encouraged Mary's interest in botany and also created knowledge for which many of her flower paper-cuttings are based on... Continued from Wikipedia: Mary had always been an avid artist, but it was during her marriage to Dr Delany that she finally had the time to hone her skills. She was an avid gardener, something that she shared with Dr Delany, and was also good at needlework, drawing, painting, and cutting paper. Mary is most known for her paper-cutting, "For these 'mosaicks' are coloured paper representing not only conspicuous details but also contrasting colours or shades of the same colour so that every effect of light is caught"[9] In 1771, Mary began to create cut out paper artworks (decoupage) as was the fashion for ladies of the court. Her works were exceptionally detailed and botanically accurate depictions of plants. She used tissue paper and hand colouration to produce these pieces. She created 1,700 of these works, calling them her "Paper Mosaiks [sic]",[10] from the age of 71 to 88 when her eyesight failed her. During this time, Mary made nearly 1,000 of the paper flowers.[11] Continued from Wikipedia: "With the plant specimen set before her she cut minute particles of coloured paper to represent the petals, stamens, clayx, leaves, veins, stalk and other parts of the plant, and, using lighter and darker paper to form the shading, she stuck them on a black background. By placing one piece of paper upon another she sometimes built up several layers and in a complete picture there might be hundreds of pieces to form one plant. It is thought she first dissected each plant so that she might examine it carefully for accurate portrayal..."[12] Mary took great care to make sure that each of her flowers were correct, in number of stamens and petals. She also became so well-known that many donors began to send her flowers to cut.[13] They can still be seen in the Enlightenment Gallery at the British Museum today. Upon her death, "The ten volumes of Mrs. Delany's Flora were inherited by Lady Llanover, the daughter of Georgina Mary Ann Port. Lady Llanover, who died in 1896 at the age of ninety-four, bequeathed these volumes to the British Museum..."[14] When the Dowager Duchess died, George and Charlotte gave her a small house at Windsor and a pension of 300 pounds a year. Mary had become familiar with the Queen Charlotte during her time paper-cutting, and while living in the house at Windsor, became an important part within the King and Queen's lives.[3] The King and Queen were great supporters of Mary's paper-cutting, "The King and Queen...always desired that any curious or beautiful plants should be transmitted to Mrs. Delany when in blossom."[15] Frances Burney (Madame D'Arblay) was introduced to her in 1783, and frequently visited her at her London home and at Windsor, and owed to her friendship her court appointment. Delany, in her eighties at this time, had a reputation for cutting out and making the intricate paper mosaics (collages) now in the British Museum. She had known many of the luminaries of her day, had corresponded with Jonathan Swift, Sir Joseph Banks, and Young, and left a detailed picture of polite English society of the 18th century in her six volumes of Autobiography and Letters (ed. Lady Llanover, 1861–1862). Burke calls her "a real fine lady, the model of an accomplished woman of former times". In the year 1980, a descendant of Mary Delany's sister Anne, Ruth Hayden, published a book on Delany's work: Mrs. Delany and Her Flower Collages, which was reissued in 2000 as Mrs. Delany: Her Life and Her Flowers (British Museum Press)."

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This is the story of an artist who didn’t begin her art till after her husband passed and she had free time on her hands. She was 71 and created Paper Mosaik botanical specimens: Mary Delany.

Explore the British Museum collection and journey through two million years of human history.

Mary Delany, Monarda Fistulosa collage, 1777 (source).

At the age of 72, English artist, Mary Delany (1700-1788), began producing a series of 985 extraordinarily detailed floral collages after she noticed the similarity between a geranium and a piece of red paper that was on her bedside table. The realisation prompted her to pick up a pair of scissors and imitate the petals in paper. By cutting minute pieces of paper and sticking them to a solid black background, Delany could build up each part of a specimen, sometimes using around 200 paper petals per flower. She used smaller pieces layered over larger ones to create shading and depth, and sometimes enhanced parts with watercolours. So accurate was the finished result that when her friend Margaret Bentinck, Duchess of Portland, saw Delany’s paper artwork, she mistook it for a real flower. This spurred Delany on to make more collage creations and hone her craft. In the autumn of 1772, she wrote to her niece, modestly stating: "I have invented a new way of imitating flowers." Her stunning works, carefully constructed paper collages, or "mosaicks" as she called them, are a remarkable combination of art and science, often mistaken for watercolours. This is her Pancratium Maritinum, Hexandria Monogynia, Sea Daffodil (1778) Collage of coloured papers, with bodycolour and watercolour, on black ink background Via Kitt McKenna MetaFilter's julen put together a post on the wonderful Mary Delany, an artist in the late 1700's, who created collages, incredibly intimate images of flowers, beautiful and true with a botanist's eye for detail. Click the images for larger viewing. From Wikipedia: Mary Delany (nee Granville) (14 May 1700 – 15 April 1788) was an English Bluestocking, artist, and writer; most famous for her "paper-mosaicks...As a widow, Mary Delany spent a lot of time with the Dowager Duchess of Portland, a close friend. The two shared a kinship in botany, often going out to look for specific specimens. It was during her stay with the Duchess that Mary became acquainted with two well-known botanists of the time Joseph Banks and Daniel Solander. This contact with the botanists only encouraged Mary's interest in botany and also created knowledge for which many of her flower paper-cuttings are based on... Continued from Wikipedia: Mary had always been an avid artist, but it was during her marriage to Dr Delany that she finally had the time to hone her skills. She was an avid gardener, something that she shared with Dr Delany, and was also good at needlework, drawing, painting, and cutting paper. Mary is most known for her paper-cutting, "For these 'mosaicks' are coloured paper representing not only conspicuous details but also contrasting colours or shades of the same colour so that every effect of light is caught"[9] In 1771, Mary began to create cut out paper artworks (decoupage) as was the fashion for ladies of the court. Her works were exceptionally detailed and botanically accurate depictions of plants. She used tissue paper and hand colouration to produce these pieces. She created 1,700 of these works, calling them her "Paper Mosaiks [sic]",[10] from the age of 71 to 88 when her eyesight failed her. During this time, Mary made nearly 1,000 of the paper flowers.[11] Continued from Wikipedia: "With the plant specimen set before her she cut minute particles of coloured paper to represent the petals, stamens, clayx, leaves, veins, stalk and other parts of the plant, and, using lighter and darker paper to form the shading, she stuck them on a black background. By placing one piece of paper upon another she sometimes built up several layers and in a complete picture there might be hundreds of pieces to form one plant. It is thought she first dissected each plant so that she might examine it carefully for accurate portrayal..."[12] Mary took great care to make sure that each of her flowers were correct, in number of stamens and petals. She also became so well-known that many donors began to send her flowers to cut.[13] They can still be seen in the Enlightenment Gallery at the British Museum today. Upon her death, "The ten volumes of Mrs. Delany's Flora were inherited by Lady Llanover, the daughter of Georgina Mary Ann Port. Lady Llanover, who died in 1896 at the age of ninety-four, bequeathed these volumes to the British Museum..."[14] When the Dowager Duchess died, George and Charlotte gave her a small house at Windsor and a pension of 300 pounds a year. Mary had become familiar with the Queen Charlotte during her time paper-cutting, and while living in the house at Windsor, became an important part within the King and Queen's lives.[3] The King and Queen were great supporters of Mary's paper-cutting, "The King and Queen...always desired that any curious or beautiful plants should be transmitted to Mrs. Delany when in blossom."[15] Frances Burney (Madame D'Arblay) was introduced to her in 1783, and frequently visited her at her London home and at Windsor, and owed to her friendship her court appointment. Delany, in her eighties at this time, had a reputation for cutting out and making the intricate paper mosaics (collages) now in the British Museum. She had known many of the luminaries of her day, had corresponded with Jonathan Swift, Sir Joseph Banks, and Young, and left a detailed picture of polite English society of the 18th century in her six volumes of Autobiography and Letters (ed. Lady Llanover, 1861–1862). Burke calls her "a real fine lady, the model of an accomplished woman of former times". In the year 1980, a descendant of Mary Delany's sister Anne, Ruth Hayden, published a book on Delany's work: Mrs. Delany and Her Flower Collages, which was reissued in 2000 as Mrs. Delany: Her Life and Her Flowers (British Museum Press)."

Los collages botánicos de Mary Delany consistían en diminutos fragmentos de papel coloreados a mano, con los que componía bellos motivos florales