| Code | NA22683 |
| Activity | Mary Oliver worked as an architectural pattern maker during WWII, making models of landing beaches. After the war she sudied as an evening student until 1947 at Central School of Art, after which she studied full time under Dora Batty. She worked as a freelance designer, producing designs for many leading firms such as Donald Brothers, Edinburgh Weavers, Parker Knoll and Heals. She produced her first design for Donald Brothers in 1947, when still a student, which were London Square and Avignon. In the early 1950s she also produced Granada, Espanol, Hastings, Buckbean, Canasta (a jacquard damask with playing card figures) and Ravenna (printed on linen with Byzantine figures) and a design for the Royal Garden Hotel in Kensington for the firm in the 1950s. She also taught part time at the Royal College of Art, Farnham College and Leicester Polytechnic. In the 1960s the relationship with Donald Brothers took another turn, in that Mary Oliver textiles was set up as a subsidiary, she was the managing director and and the three Donald Brothers directors were chairmen. She produced several designs in this capacity, the aim being to produce something quite different by printing on heavy cotton, linen and glazed cotton. These designs were based on drawings and photographs taken in Lebanon, Syria and Jordan, which were Jeruslalem, Sidon, Palmyra and Jericho. This collection was bought by the V & A. A second collection was not so successful, and they decided to stop production. These designs were Tresco and Mincarlo. A piece of Tresco is held by the St Martins School of Art study collection. |
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