Sunday, May 15, 2011

"A New Madness"

In her 2010 article about an exhibition at the Sir John Soane's Museum in London, Anna Pavord recorded that Mary Delany wrote to her sister about her "new madness." As of an hour ago, I too have "new madness," thanks to a review of Molly Peacock's new biography The Paper Garden: An Artist (Begins Her Life Work) at 72.

Why didn't I know about Mary Delany's luminous "paper mosaiks"? I've been to The British Museum. I read The New York Times every day. How did I miss the review of the Yale show?

Until I can acquire Peacock's book, I shall feast on British Museum images and dream of cut flowers, cut paper, and milles-fleurs fancywork.

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