Mary Delaney

Mrs Mary Delaney achieved unexpected fame at the age of 71 in the court of George III and Queen Charlotte of England thanks to the 18th century decoupage craze.

Moving in the circle of Jonathan Swift and Sir Joseph Banks, and possibly taught art by William Hogarth, she was introduced to George III and Queen Charlotte by Margaret Bentinck, Duchess of Portland, and became a court favourite.

In 1771, she began to create cut out paper artworks (decoupage) as was the fashion for ladies of the court. Her works were exceptionally detailed and botanically accurate depictions of plants. She used tissue paper and hand colouration to produce these pieces. She created 1,700 of these works, calling them her "Paper Mosaiks [sic] ", from the age of 71 to 88 when her eyesight failed her. They can still be seen in the Enlightenment Gallery at the British Museum today.