Press release -
Historic hairwork embroidery now on show in Bury
Ten hairwork embroideries dating back to the 18th Century are now on display at Bury Art Museum.
These specialist needlework samplers were presented by Joan Hurst through the Art Fund, and help to illustrate the lives of 'genteel' ladies of the time.
The pieces are an example of a special style of embroidery popular in the last quarter of the 18th Century when ladies would skilfully reproduce engravings of the most popular paintings of the day. The embroideries were often worked with human hair in a palette of black and dark ground stitches of various sizes onto silk.
In the collection already is a sketchbook and one hundred watercolours done by Mary Harper, and a sketchbook by the Hutchinson sisters, whose brother John was engaged in the cotton spinning industry in Bury.
The hairwork embroideries complement the museum’s displays of crafts and pastimes, gender issues, and provide a link to the social process of mourning.
Bury Art Museum is open Tuesday to Friday (10am to 5pm) and on Saturday (10am to 4.30pm).
ENDS
Press release issued: 8 March 2013.
Picture attached: One of the hairworks in the exhibition.
Note to editors:
The Art Fundis the national fundraising charity, helping museums to buy and show great art for everyone.
Over the past 5 years we’ve given £24m to help over 200 museums and galleries acquire works of art for their collections, from ancient sculpture and treasure hoards to Old Master paintings and contemporary commissions. We also support a range of programmes which promote museums and their collections to wider audiences, including the national tour of the ARTIST ROOMS collection, the Art Fund Prize which rewards and celebrates Museum of the Year, and our Art Guide, a pioneering smartphone app offering the most comprehensive guide to seeing art across the UK. We are independently funded, the majority of our income coming from 95,000 members who, through the National Art Pass, enjoy free entry to over 200 hundred museums, galleries and historic houses across the UK, as well as 50% off entry to major exhibitions.
