Mary Beever
Born1802
Ardwick, Greater Manchester, England
Died31 December 1883 (aged 80–81)
Coniston, Cumbria, England

Mary Beever (1802 – 31 December 1883) was a British artist and botanist. She and her sister were close friends with their neighbour John Ruskin in the Lake District.

Life

Beever was born in Ardwick. Her father, William Beever, was a Manchester businessman and their mother, Nanny, died while she was young.[1]

Birdsgrove House near Ashbourne postcard

They lived in Birdsgrove House near Ashbourne in Derbyshire before moving to The Thwaite in Coniston in Cumbria in 1827.[1] Mary was a keen botanist and her collections are in several museums.[2] She was elected a member of the Botanical Society of London between 1839 and 1841.[3] Her father died in 1831. Her brother John installed water power for a family printing press and a pond was created where he experimented with different fish foods.[4] Her sister Anne died in 1858 and her brother, John, died the following year. She shared the house with her sister Susan after their sister Margaret died in 1874.[1]

Mary and her sister Susanna were skilled botanical artists and they found themselves in John Ruskin's circle after they first met him in 1873.[1] Ruskin lived on the other side of Coniston and he would write them letters although a short walk or a row in a boat would enable a visit. Ruskin was closest to "Susie" and in 1875 he allowed her to create an abridged version of his book Modern Painters.[5]

Beever died at their home in Coniston in 1883.[1]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 Jane Garnett, ‘Women artists in Ruskin's circle (act. 1850s–1900s)’, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004; online edn, October 2005 accessed 19 November 2015
  2. ↑ Ray Desmond (25 February 1994). Dictionary Of British And Irish Botantists And Horticulturalists Including plant collectors, flower painters and garden designers. CRC Press. pp. 61–. ISBN 978-0-85066-843-8.
  3. ↑ D. E. Allen (November 1980). "The Women Members of the Botanical Society of London, 1836–1856". The British Journal for the History of Science. 13 (3): 240–254. doi:10.1017/S0007087400018057. ISSN 0007-0874. JSTOR 4026198. Wikidata Q113958660.
  4. ↑ "Ruskin Linen and Lace". Ruskin Museum. Retrieved 4 July 2023.
  5. ↑ Cook, Edward Tyas (April 2010). The Life of John Ruskin: Volume 2, 1860-1900. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-1-108-00972-0.


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