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Mary Farmer
Farmer around age 20
Born(1940-08-06)6 August 1940
Newbury, Berkshire, England
Died1 February 2021(2021-02-01) (aged 80)
Boston, Lincolnshire, England
NationalityBritish
EducationSydenham High School
SpouseTerry Moores (1949–2014)
WebsiteArtFacts Profile

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.[1]

A 2023 Government Art Collection event featured her work, both with the tapestry Buzz On[2] at the reception by Admiralty Arch, London and a collection of works presented.[3] The Tapestry Buzz On is now (2024) at the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, Whitehall[4] and the other two commissioned works in this series, Buzz on II[5] and Buzz On III[6] moved to the British Embassy in Rome, Italy in 2023. An early rug is in the collection of the V&A.[7]

Early personal life

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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.[1][8]

Farmer's family relocated to Beckenham, Kent, England in 1948 or 1949, where she was educated at Sydenham High School.[9]

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.[10]

Career

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Farmer's career in the arts began with Beckenham School of Art (1958–61) where she initially focused on painting.[1] 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.[1][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

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Major exhibitions and shows

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Mary Farmer Exhibition Timeline

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Date Title Venue(s)
1965 Twelve Artists – Exhibition of Painting, Sculpture, Print making, Stained Glass, Weaving, Ceramics[36] Trade Union Congress Building, Great Russell Street, London
1965 Weaving for Walls[37] Victoria and Albert Museum, London, touring exhibition
1965 Christmas 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
1969–1971 British Designer Craftsmen Organised by UK Crafts Council / World Crafts Council. Patron: HRH Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh Circulated by the Smithsonian Institution
  • Toured to 8 venues in US and Canada
1977 Rugs for Churches Commission of kneelers for Liverpool Cathedral[40] Crafts Advisory Committee Gallery, 12 Waterloo Place, London, England and
1979 Hand-woven Tapestries and Rugs[41][42] Newbury Spring Festival, Newbury, Berkshire, England
1979 Mary Farmer Solo Exhibition[43] Connaught Gallery, Cranleigh School, Cranleigh, Surrey, England
1981 Textiles today[44] selected by Marianne Straub Kettles Yard, Cambridge, England and tour
1981–1982 Contemporary 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
1982 The Maker’s Eye[46][47] Crafts Council Gallery, London, England
1982 Textiles and Pottery[48] Wells Centre, Wells-next-the-Sea, Norfolk, England
1985 Tapestries by Mary Farmer, Ceramics by Terry Moores[49] British Crafts Centre, Earlham Street, London, England
1985 Eight Contemporary Textile Artists from England[50] Organised by Peter Shahbenderian and the Galerie Filambule Galerie Filambule, Lausanne, Switzerland
1987 Wall to Wall – Textiles for Interiors[51] Cornerhouse, Manchester, England
1996–1997 Woven Image[52] 50 artists Barbican Centre, London, England and tour to
2003 - 2024 (remains Ongoing) Contemporary Craft Gallery[54] Hove Museum of Creativity, Hove, England
2021 Maker's Eye: Stories of Craft[55][56] Crafts Council Gallery, London, England
2024 Mary Farmer: A Life in Tapestry[57][58] Crafts Study Centre, University for the Creative Arts, Farnham, Surrey, England
2024 Living 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

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

Later career and legacy

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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]

The Warehouse at 50 High Street, Boston, Lincolnshire and the contribution of Mary Farmer and Terry Moores to their respective fields as Designer Craftspeople has been recognised by the Boston Preservation Trust's Blue Plaque scheme.[73] Plaque #68778 on Open Plaques

Works in public collections

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Later personal life

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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.[1]

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e "Mary Farmer". Contemporary Art Society.
  2. ^ Farmer, Mary. "Buzz on". Government Art Collection.
  3. ^ Knott, Stephen (24 November 2023). "Mary Farmer at the Government Art Collection". Crafts Study Centre. Retrieved 14 February 2024.
  4. ^ Farmer, Mary. "Buzz On". Government Art Collection. Retrieved 23 July 2024.
  5. ^ Farmer, Mary. "Buzz on II". Government Art Collection.
  6. ^ Farmer, Mary. "Buzz on III". Government Art Collection.
  7. ^ Farmer, Mary (1960–1969). "Quadruple and Three". Retrieved 11 February 2024.
  8. ^ Birth Certificate from Register of Births, Deaths and Marriages
  9. ^ Sayama, Wonnie (18 May 2024). "Alumnae Spotlight: Mary Farmer (1940-2021)". Sydenham High School.
  10. ^ "The Guardian from London, Greater London, England". 22 November 1973.
  11. ^ "Obituary: Gwen Mullins". Independent.co.uk. 11 February 1997.
  12. ^ "Peter Collingwood". Digswell Arts Trust. Retrieved 12 February 2024.
  13. ^ Collingwood, Peter; Coper, Hans; Farmer, Mary (22 November 1973). "Bridging the gap". newspapers.com. The Guardian. Retrieved 12 February 2024.
  14. ^ Farmer, Mary. "Mary Farmer – YouTube Channel". YouTube.
  15. ^ Farmer, Mary. "Mary Farmer | CAS". contemporaryartsociety.org. Retrieved 16 February 2024.
  16. ^ "British Crafts Centre | Institution". ArtFacts. Retrieved 14 April 2024.
  17. ^ "Northern Crafts Centre | Institution". ArtFacts. Retrieved 14 April 2024.
  18. ^ "Mary Farmer & Terry Moores". ArtFacts. Retrieved 13 February 2024.
  19. ^ Farmer, Mary; Moores, Terry (21 November 1985). "Old warehouse a home of arts". The Boston Standard.
  20. ^ Farmer, Mary. "Mary Farmer". Government Art Collection. Retrieved 12 February 2024.
  21. ^ Moncur, Jennie. "Jennie Moncur". Jennie Moncur. Retrieved 12 February 2024.
  22. ^ "Mary Farmer (1940 to 2021) Government Art Collection Reception (22 November 2023)". YouTube. 22 November 2023.
  23. ^ "Jeni Ross". American-Tapestry-Alliance.
  24. ^ "Philip Sanderson". West Dean College.
  25. ^ Japanese Ikat Weaving: The Techniques of Kasuri by Jun Tomita, Noriko Tomita
  26. ^ "College Honours". Royal College of Art. Retrieved 12 February 2024.
  27. ^ Moores, Terry. "Collections Online | British Museum". www.britishmuseum.org.
  28. ^ Moores, Terry. "You searched for Terry Moores". Sainsbury Centre. Retrieved 16 February 2024.
  29. ^ Moores, Terry. "Terry Moores | Artist". ArtFacts.
  30. ^ Farmer, Mary. "Mary Farmer | Artist". ArtFacts.
  31. ^ "The Maker's Eye; Crafts Council Collections Online".
  32. ^ "ABOUT US". Contemporary Applied Arts. Retrieved 23 July 2024.
  33. ^ Craftsmen of Quality. London: The Crafts Advisory Committee. 1978. p. 141. ISBN 0903798247.
  34. ^ "Editorial Committee". Quarterly Journal of the Guild of Weavers, Spinners and Dyers. 52–60: 677, 735, 763, 707, 847. 1964–1966.
  35. ^ Craftsmen of Quality. London: The Crafts Advisory Committee. 1978. p. 141. ISBN 0903798247.
  36. ^ "WGC-1965-2 Twelve Artists (Digswell. Exhibition brochure)". Archived from the original on 22 September 2015. Retrieved 17 February 2024.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  37. ^ Farmer, Mary. "Quadruple and Three". Victoria and Albert Museum. Retrieved 12 February 2024.
  38. ^ "Duke's Visit". Belfast Telegraph. 22 December 1965. Retrieved 25 June 2024.
  39. ^ "Rugs for the Duke". Welwyn Times. 18 February 1966.
  40. ^ "Catalogue, Rugs for Churches".
  41. ^ "Newbury Spring Festival". Newbury Spring Festival. Retrieved 14 February 2024.
  42. ^ Farmer, Mary; Moores, Terry. "Newbury Spring Festival | Exhibition". ArtFacts. Retrieved 16 February 2024.
  43. ^ Makers: an illustrated guide to the work of more than 350 artist craftsmen. London: Crafts Council. 1980. p. 77. ISBN 0903798433.
  44. ^ Farmer, Mary. "Textiles Today | Exhibition". ArtFacts. Retrieved 16 February 2024.
  45. ^ "Contemporary British tapestry | Catalog". ArtFacts.
  46. ^ "The Maker's Eye; Crafts Council Collections Online".
  47. ^ "The Maker's Eye | Exhibition". ArtFacts. Retrieved 14 February 2024.
  48. ^ "Textiles and Pottery | Exhibition". ArtFacts. Retrieved 14 February 2024.
  49. ^ Farmer, Mary; Moores, Terry. "Mary Farmer & Terry Moores". ArtFacts. Retrieved 14 February 2024.
  50. ^ "Eight Contemporary Textile Artists from England, Galerie Filambule, Lausanne Switzerland, 24 May – 29 June 1985 | Catalog". ArtFacts. Retrieved 14 February 2024.
  51. ^ "Wall to Wall | Exhibition". ArtFacts. Retrieved 14 February 2024.
  52. ^ "Woven Image: Contemporary British Tapestry | Catalog". ArtFacts. Retrieved 14 February 2024.
  53. ^ "Woven Image – Contemporary British Tapestry | Exhibition". ArtFacts. Retrieved 14 February 2024.
  54. ^ "Contemporary Craft". Brighton and Hove Museums.
  55. ^ https://media.craftscouncil.org.uk/documents/Makers_Eye_exhibition_guide_FINAL.pdf
  56. ^ "Maker's Eye: Stories of Craft | Catalog". ArtFacts.
  57. ^ Farmer, Mary. "Crafts Study Centre: Exhibitions and Events 2024" (PDF). Crafts Study Centre. Retrieved 12 February 2024.
  58. ^ Knott, Stephen (21 May 2024). "Mary Farmer: A Life in Tapestry". Crafts Study Centre. Retrieved 23 July 2024.
  59. ^ "London Design Festival — Living in a Material World". londondesignfestival.com. Retrieved 23 July 2024.
  60. ^ Farmer, Mary. "College Honours (1995)". RCA Website. Retrieved 16 February 2024.
  61. ^ "Tapestry Soft Flight | Artwork". ArtFacts.
  62. ^ "Sotheby's Decorative Arts Award Exhibition 1988 | Catalog". ArtFacts.
  63. ^ "Royal College of Art". Newspapers.com. The Independent at Newspapers.com. 5 July 1988. p. 17. Retrieved 28 July 2024.
  64. ^ Farmer, Mary. "Mary Farmer | CAS". contemporaryartsociety.org. Retrieved 16 February 2024.
  65. ^ Knott, Stephen (31 January 2024). "Donation of the Mary Farmer archive by the artist's estate". Crafts Study Centre. Retrieved 14 February 2024.
  66. ^ Medical Report in Crafts Study Centre Archive
  67. ^ Crafts Magazine No 73 March–April 1985 p8 News: Reprieve for Tapestry
  68. ^ "Modern Made | Auction 28 April 2023 by Lyon & Turnbull – Issuu". 31 March 2023.
  69. ^ "Tapestry Float 1 | Artwork". ArtFacts.
  70. ^ Game, Amanda. "Mary Farmer Neglected Modernist". The Modernist (49): 53–56. Retrieved 14 February 2024.
  71. ^ "Five Craftspeople to Know in 2024". www.lyonandturnbull.com. Retrieved 23 July 2024.
  72. ^ Farmer, Mary. "Buzz On". Government Art Collection. Retrieved 16 February 2024.
  73. ^ "The Warehouse". Boston Preservation Trust. Retrieved 23 October 2024.
  74. ^ Farmer, Mary (1960–1969). "Quadruple and Three". Victoria and Albert Museum. Retrieved 16 February 2024.
  75. ^ Farmer, Mary. "Mary Farmer". Government Art Collection. Retrieved 16 February 2024.
  76. ^ Farmer, Mary. "Mary Farmer | CAS". contemporaryartsociety.org. Retrieved 16 February 2024.
  77. ^ Farmer, Mary. "Mary Farmer | CAS". contemporaryartsociety.org. Retrieved 16 February 2024.
  78. ^ Farmer, Mary. "You searched for Mary Farmer". Sainsbury Centre. Retrieved 16 February 2024.
  79. ^ Farmer, Mary. "Mary Farmer | Crafts Council CollectionsOnline". collections.craftscouncil.org.uk. Retrieved 16 February 2024.
  80. ^ Farmer, Mary. "Penumbra". Crafts Study Centre at VADS. Retrieved 16 February 2024.
  81. ^ Farmer, Mary. "Tapestry - Give the Slip 1 | Artwork". ArtFacts. Retrieved 23 May 2024.
  82. ^ Farmer, Mary. "Tapestry - Give the Slip 2 | Artwork". ArtFacts. Retrieved 23 May 2024.
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