Beryl Dean

MBE Mbe may refer to: * Mbé, a town in the Republic of the Congo * Mbe Mountains Community Forest, in Nigeria * Mbe language, a language of Nigeria * Mbe' language, language of Cameroon * ''mbe'', ISO 639 code for the extinct Molala language Molal ...

(2 August 1911 – 2001) was a British embroiderer. She was known for rejecting the traditional Victorian designs and for creating her own contemporary embroidery designs.

Life

Dean was born in

Bromley Bromley is a large town in Greater London, England, within the London Borough of Bromley. It is south-east of Charing Cross, and had an estimated population of 87,889 as of 2011. Originally part of Kent, Bromley became a market town, char ...

in 1911. Her mother, Marion, was a natural artist and her father was a share dealer. She gained her skills at the

Royal School of Needlework The Royal School of Needlework (RSN) is a hand embroidery school in the United Kingdom, founded in 1872 and based at Hampton Court Palace since 1987. History The RSN began as the School of Art Needlework in 1872, founded by Lady Victoria Welby ...

. She graduated in 1932 and went on to study dress design and leatherwork at

Bromley School of Art Ravensbourne University London (formerly Ravensbourne College of Design and Communication) is a digital media and design university, with vocational courses in fashion, television and broadcasting, interactive product design, architecture an ...

. Her early promise was recognised in 1935 when the

Royal College of Art The Royal College of Art (RCA) is a public research university in London, United Kingdom, with campuses in South Kensington, Battersea and White City. It is the only entirely postgraduate art and design university in the United Kingdom. It offe ...

gave her a Royal Exhibition. In 1946 she left the Eastbourne School of Art, where she was lecturer for seven years, to join

King's College, Newcastle upon Tyne Newcastle University (legally the University of Newcastle upon Tyne) is a UK public university, public research university based in Newcastle upon Tyne, North East England. It has overseas campuses in Singapore and Malaysia. The university is ...

. In response to concern that textile skills were diminishing, Dean helped the Needlework Development Scheme who were trying to re-energise needlework teaching in schools. Dean rejected the traditional Victorian designs used in religious embroidery and sought to create her own contemporary designs. In the 1950s she took on commissions from

Guildford Guildford () is a town in west Surrey, around southwest of central London. As of the 2011 census, the town has a population of about 77,000 and is the seat of the wider Borough of Guildford, which had around inhabitants in . The name "Guildf ...

and

Chelmsford Cathedral Chelmsford Cathedral in the city of Chelmsford, Essex, United Kingdom, is dedicated to St Mary the Virgin, St Peter and St Cedd. It became a cathedral when the Anglican Diocese of Chelmsford was created in 1914 and is the seat of the Bishop o ...

King's Lynn Minster St Margaret's Church, King's Lynn, entitled King's Lynn Minster since 2011, is a Grade I listed parish church in the Church of England in King's Lynn. The building dates from the 12th to 15th centuries, with major restoration of the nave in the ...

, St Martin's Church, Dorking, and St Giles' in

Northbrook, Illinois Northbrook is a suburb of Chicago, located at the northern edge of Cook County, Illinois, United States, on the border of Lake County, Illinois, Lake County. Per the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census, the population was 35,222. When incorpo ...

. In 1958 she published her book "Ecclesiastical Embroidery" and lectures on the subject in Britain and America. In 1968 she established new interest in the subject when she helped curate an exhibition at St Paul's Cathedral, and groups of people interested in contemporary ecclesiastical embroidery formed in Britain. In 1969, with funding that included the descendants of the

Knights of the Garter A knight is a person granted an honorary title of knighthood by a head of state (including the Pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the church or the country, especially in a military capacity. Knighthood finds origins in the Gr ...

, Dean set out on a five-year task to create five embroidered panels to hang in the Rutland chantry of

St George's Chapel at Windsor Castle St George's Chapel at Windsor Castle in England is a castle chapel built in the late-medieval Perpendicular Gothic style. It is both a Royal Peculiar (a church under the direct jurisdiction of the monarch) and the Chapel of the Order of the Gart ...

. The five panels represent the annunciation, the visitation, the adoration of the magi, the temptation of Christ in the wilderness, and the miracle at Cana. Only one of the panels is normally on display to the public. Dean died on 27 March 2001. Her 1984 piece "Head of Christ" is in the Victoria and Albert Museum. The embroidery, which uses a difficult technique, was inspired not by a commission, but by Dean's imperative to give good use to some remaining skeins of Japanese gold thread.

Works include

* Ecclesiastical Embroidery (1958) *Church Needlework (1961) * Ideas for Church Embroidery (1968) * Creative Applique (1970) * Embroidery for Religion and Ceremonial (1981).

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dean, Beryl 1911 births 2001 deaths People from Bromley British textile artists British embroiderers