Mrs. Delany and her circle

At the age of seventy-two, Mary Delany (1700-1788), embarked upon a series of nearly a thousand botanical collages, or paper mosaics, which would prove to be the crowning achievement of hercreative life. Her delicate hand-cut floral designs, made by a method of her own invention, belong to the finest botanical works of her time. Her craft activities allowed her to negotiate the interconnecting artistic, aristocratic, and scientific networks that surrounded her.