# Mary Farmer

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

## Early life

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.
Farmer's family relocated to Beckenham, Kent, England in 1948/9, where she was educated at Sydenham High School. and Beckenham School of Art (1958-1961)
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.

## Career

Farmer's career in the arts began with Beckenham School of Art (1958–61) where she initially focused on painting. she was trained in rug weaving with Gwen and Barbara Mullins at Graffham Weavers 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. and artist potter Hans Coper.
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.
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.
Farmer regularly showed works at the British Crafts Centre and Northern Crafts Centre, including with the Red Rose Guild.
Following her marriage to ceramicist Terry Moores they established a joint workshop and home in Boston, Lincolnshire.
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. Several of her students went on to have illustrious careers of their own including Jennie Moncur, Jeni Ross, Philip Sanderson, and Jun Tomita (specifically known for Japanese Kasuri weaving).
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.
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 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. Her work has been selected to adorn the catalogues of Sotheby's, Christie's and most recently Lyon & Turnbull.

### Memberships

* Contemporary Applied Arts previously British Crafts Centre and Crafts Centre of Great Britain
** Council of Management Contemporary Applied Arts
* Crafts Council
** Grants & Loans Committee
** Index Selection Committee
** Exhibition Committee
** Bursary Selection Committee
** Appointed Member of Council Education Committee in 1988
* Fibre Arts
* Red Rose Guild
* Guild of Weavers, Spinners and Dyers
** Member of Editorial Committee of Quarterly Journal of the Guild of Weavers, Spinners and Dyers from 1964 - 1966
* Society of Designer Craftsmen
* Southern Arts Association
** Committee Member

### Major exhibitions and shows

Details of the majority of exhibitions can be found on the ArtFacts.Net website at Mary Farmer profile

#### Mary Farmer Exhibition Timeline

Created in association with the 2024 exhibition Mary Farmer: A life in Tapestry
| Date | Title | Venue(s) |
| 1965 | Twelve Artists – Exhibition of Painting, Sculpture, Print making, Stained Glass, Weaving, Ceramics | Trade Union Congress Building, Great Russell Street, London |
| 1965 - 1967 | Weaving for Walls | Victoria and Albert Museum, London, touring exhibition |
| 1965 | Christmas Exhibition and visit by HRH Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh and sale of 2 rugs to the Duke | 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 Opening at Arts and Industries Building (AIB), Washington DC then tour to multiple venues across the US and Canada |
| 1977 | Rugs for Churches Commission of kneelers for Liverpool Cathedral | Crafts Advisory Committee Gallery, 12 Waterloo Place, London, England and The National Theatre Foyers, South Bank, London, England |
| 1979 | Hand-woven Tapestries and Rugs | Newbury Spring Festival, Newbury, Berkshire, England |
| 1979 | Mary Farmer Solo Exhibition | Connaught Gallery, Cranleigh School, Cranleigh, Surrey, England |
| 22 September - 21 October 1979 | Mary Farmer: Tapestries, Rugs, Carpets Solo Exhibition | South Hill Park Arts Centre, Bracknell, Berkshire, England |
| 1981 | Textiles today selected by Marianne Straub | Kettles Yard, Cambridge, England and tour Castle Museum and Art Gallery, Nottingham, England Stafford County Museum, Shugborough, Staffordshire, England West Surrey College of Art and Design, Farnham, Surrey, England Gateshead, England Victoria Art Gallery, Bath, England |
| 1981–1982 | Contemporary British Tapestry | 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 | Crafts Council Gallery, London, England |
| 1982 | Textiles and Pottery | Wells Centre, Wells-next-the-Sea, Norfolk, England |
| 1983-5 | A closer look at rugs | Crafts Council Gallery, London, England and tour |
| 1985 | Tapestries by Mary Farmer, Ceramics by Terry Moores | British Crafts Centre, Earlham Street, London, England |
| 1985 | A Collection in the Making | Crafts Council, London, England |
| 1985 | Eight Contemporary Textile Artists from England Organised by Peter Shahbenderian and the Galerie Filambule | Galerie Filambule, Lausanne, Switzerland |
| 1987 | Wall to Wall – Textiles for Interiors | Cornerhouse, Manchester, England |
| 1996–1997 | Woven Image 50 artists | Barbican Centre, London, England and tour to Cartwright Hall Art Gallery, Bradford, Yorkshire, England Mappin Art Gallery, Sheffield, Yorkshire, England Newport Museum and Art Gallery, Newport, Wales Aberdeen Art Gallery, Aberdeen, Scotland |
| 2003 - 2024 (remains Ongoing) | Contemporary Craft Gallery | Hove Museum of Creativity, Hove, England |
| 27 Aug 2019 - 15 Aug 2020 | Moving forward: the Crafts Study Centre at 50 | Crafts Study Centre, Farnham, Surrey, England |
| 09 Nov 2020 - 28 Aug 2021 | The Crafts Study Centre at 50 - Remix | Crafts Study Centre, Farnham, Surrey, England |
| 1 Feb 2021 | Death | Following exhibitions posthumous |
| 2021 | Maker's Eye: Stories of Craft | Crafts Council Gallery, London, England |
| 2024 | Mary Farmer: A Life in Tapestry | Crafts Study Centre, University for the Creative Arts, Farnham, Surrey, England |
| 2024 | Living in a Material World | Lyon & Turnbull, 22 Connaught Street, London, W2 2AF in collaboration with the Crafts Study Centre, Farnham, Surrey, England |
| 2024 | The Warehouse, Boston, Lincolnshire, and Beyond | Fydell House, Boston, Lincolnshire, England |
| 2024 (remains Ongoing) | Contemporary Craft Gallery, all Mary Farmer Collection artworks now displayed | Hove Museum of Creativity, Hove, England |

### Major award nominations and awards

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

### 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 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.
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.
Ann Sutton made a number of pieces of her collection available in the Modern Made auction in 2023, including a significant piece (Tapestry – Float 1) by Mary Farmer. Interest in the work and contribution that Mary Farmer made to Art in the late 20th Century.
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.
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. Plaque #68778 on Open Plaques

### Works in public collections

* Brighton and Hove Museums, Sussex, England, three tapestries on long term display at Hove Museum of Creativity
** Tapestries Give the Slip 1 and Give the Slip 2
** Tapestry Red Letter
* Contemporary Art Society, London, England
** Tapestry In the Blue
** Rug Hover (The Wilson (Cheltenham))
** Tapestry Tip-Off (Portsmouth Museum and Art Gallery)
* Crafts Council Collection, London, England
** Tapestry Bright Side
** Tapestry Black Mass
** Rug 5H
* Crafts Study Centre, Farnham, Surrey,England
** Tapestry Penumbra
** 'Miniature Tapestry 'Flash Back 3
** Tapestries Blue Heaven
** Silent Night
* Government Art Collection, London, England
** Tapestry Buzz On
** Tapestry Buzz On II
** Tapestry Buzz On III
* The late HRH Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh
* Sainsbury Centre, Norwich, England
** Tapestry Deep Heat
** Tapestry Turn Up
* Victoria and Albert Museum, London, England
** Rug Quadruple and Three'
** Tapestry Soft Flight

### Works in Corporate collections

* Channel 4 Television Company Ltd
* National Bank of America, City of London
** Tapestry Void
** Tapestry Volume
* British Oxygen Company

## 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 1 February 2021 in Boston, Lincolnshire, England.