The Crafts Study Centre is excited to announce the acquisition of Blue Heaven (1978) and Silent Night (1991) by the radical textile artist Mary Farmer. The acquisitions were made possible with the generous support of the Patricia Baines Trust.

The two tapestries bookend a period of remarkable productivity for Farmer, where she explored her fascination with colour with rigour, a clear sense of design, and a in-depth knowledge of tapestry techniques. These acquisitions in December 2024 mark the culmination of a year-long focus on Farmer at the Crafts Study Centre: in January the archive of Mary Farmer was donated to the Centre by the Farmer family estate; from May to September Mary Farmer: A Life in Tapestry was displayed in the Centre’s first floor gallery; and there have been associated collaborative events with West Dean College and Lyon & Turnbull. The works will expand the Crafts Study Centre’s existing holdings (Penumbra from the 1980s and the miniature tapestry Flashback 3, 1979), and along with the archive constitutes a significant resource for future research into Farmer’s career and work and late twentieth century textile art more generally.

For a full press release click here.

Images above: Mary Farmer, Blue Heaven, 1978. Cotton warp, wool/viscose weft, 49x49cm. Crafts Study Centre, 2024.92.1. Mary Farmer, Silent Night, 1991. Cotton warp, wool weft, 85x108cm. Photography by Simon Warner. Crafts Study Centre, 2024.92.2.