National Trust's Beningbrough Hall near York opens The Botanical World of Mary Delany with British Museum

Her work is now featured in The Botanical World of Mary Delany exhibition, which opened on Tuesday in the Reddihough Galleries on the first floor of the National Trust’s Beningbrough Hall near York. It is the first UK venue to host this international touring exhibition, celebrating the creativity and scientific accuracy of the eighteenth-century artist, presented in partnership with the British Museum.

Layered throughout the galleries will be historical and contemporary works honouring creative women, including a specially commissioned sculpture by Rebecca Stevenson.

The display, which is on at Beningbrough until March 23, 2025, is part of the British Museum Unseen touring exhibition series, comprised primarily of digital photography and focusing on the lesser known, and “at times invisible”, stories from within it archives.

The photographic display offers visitors a chance to explore Delany’s extraordinary ‘paper mosaiks’. Created by delicately painting, cutting and layering paper, these botanical artworks and their intricate detail are “considered as both artistic masterpieces and scientifically accurate specimens”, says Beningborough Hall.

Laura Turner, creative producer, said: “We are delighted to collaborate with the British Museum in bringing the remarkable work of Mary Delany to new audiences at Beningbrough Hall. Her intricate botanical creations, celebrated for their artistic beauty and scientific accuracy, continue to inspire and captivate people today.”

The works Delany completed from her early 70s have previously remained largely unseen due to their fragile nature and existence within bound books, cared for by the British Museum.

For the first time, visitors will have the opportunity to see a more extensive selection of her collages and will be able to look closely at stunning details of the ‘mosaiks’ she created through her painstakingly precise techniques. The exhibition will showcase over 30 of these artworks through high-quality photographs.

The Great Hall will house newsculptures by acclaimed artist Rebecca Stevenson. Commissioned for the exhibition, her striking works ‘Mary, Maria, Marianne’ responds to three women artists who are part of the exhibition. There is also a curated display featuring a selection of intriguing objects from the National Trust’s collections, created by women artists.

These items, soon to be included in an upcoming National Trust publication by senior curator Rachel Conway, spotlight innovative art and craft techniques while also showcasing bold scientific discoveries.

Opening days and times vary. Visit www.nationaltrust.org.uk/visit/yorkshire/beningbrough or call 01904 472027.