Described in her lifetime as “the cleverest of all our decorative painters”– in what might now be seen as the golden age of decorative painting – this publication seeks to reinstate Mary Adshead as a significant figure in 20th-century British art. Rarely is she credited with producing more decorative mural cycles than any other 20th-century figure, a feat worthy of acknowledgement in its own right.
This publication also celebrates her innate, playful sense of design – a style instantly recognisable as her own. Her work evolved in step with the aesthetic cross-currents of the 20th century, ensuring that pieces from all periods sustain a sense of vitality and engagement.
Brangwyn once described his own life as “a mission to decorate life.” The same epithet might apply to Adshead. She turned her hand to anything, working adeptly across a huge range of media and on scales ranging from postage stamps to huge murals, painted furnishings and glass, illustrated books, prints, commercial art, stage sets, screens, and mosaics.
Only one dedicated publication exists – Earthly Delights: Mary Adshead, 1904-1995 (edited by Ann Compton and Matthew H. Clough, Liverpool University Press, 2004), now sadly out of print. We are grateful to Ann Compton, Melanie Unwin, and Alan Powers for allowing us to reuse their texts. We have taken the opportunity to include more colour and previously unseen designs.
The book is divided into the following main chapters: Ann Compton’s essay considers Mary Adshead’s contribution to public art; the author’s essay, A Portrait of Mary Adshead, provides a biographical account of her life as it relates to her art; Alan Powers’ and Melanie Unwin’s essays describe her mural painting before and after the war; and the final section examines her work as a designer in other fields – books, stamps, posters, screens, and especially collage, in which she excelled.
The Hunterian Art Gallery in Glasgow holds the Mary Adshead Archive, which will ensure her work is brought back to light for future generations.
We are delighted to be holding an exhibition to coincide with this publication, and to be again working in partnership with Persephone Books.
