Enfilade

Mary Linwood, Pomeranian Dog, detail, needlework, 68 × 86 cm
(Leicester Museum & Art Gallery)

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Now on view, as noted by Adam Busiakiewicz for the Art History News blog:

Mary Linwood: Art, Stitch, and Life

Leicester Museum & Art Gallery, 13 September 2025 — 22 February 2026

A retrospective of the Leicester textile artist Mary Linwood (1755–1845)

Leicester’s Mary Linwood was a celebrity artist in the early 1800s but has since been largely forgotten. She created detailed embroidered versions of famous British paintings using a technique known as needle painting. Linwood was not only a talented artist but also an innovator and entrepreneur. Alongside running a successful school for young ladies in Leicester, she exhibited her embroidered works in touring exhibitions and established the first gallery in London to be run by a woman. In her lifetime, Linwood was supported by the wealthy and powerful, and was widely respected and well known. Since her death, however, she has been overlooked and undervalued. This exhibition is the first retrospective of Mary Linwood’s work since 1945, featuring 14 embroidered works from the Leicester Museums collections. Alongside these historic pieces are new textile artworks by Ruth Singer, reflecting on Linwood’s life and legacy.

Ruth Singer, Lost Threads: Mary Linwood’s Legacy (2025), 60 pages, £15. Available for purchase here.

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It’s also a fine opportunity to remind readers of Heidi Strobel’s recent book, The Art of Mary Linwood: Embroidery, Installation, and Entrepreneurship in Britain, 1787–1845. –CH