Fiona MacCarthy (23 January 1940 – 29 February 2020) was a British biographer and

cultural historian Cultural history combines the approaches of anthropology and history to examine popular cultural traditions and cultural interpretations of historical experience. It examines the records and narrative descriptions of past matter, encompassing the ...

best known for her studies of 19th- and 20th-century art and design.

Early life and education

Fiona MacCarthy was born in Sutton, Surrey into an upper-class background, from which she spent much of her life escaping. Her father, Gerald MacCarthy, was an officer in the

Royal Artillery The Royal Regiment of Artillery, commonly referred to as the Royal Artillery (RA) and colloquially known as "The Gunners", is one of two regiments that make up the artillery arm of the British Army. The Royal Regiment of Artillery comprises t ...

and was killed in action in North Africa during the Second World War in 1943. Fiona MacCarthy, her sister and mother, Yolande, lived in London and then Scotland before returning to London. Her grandmother, the Baroness de Belabre, was a daughter of

Sir Robert McAlpine, 1st Baronet Sir Robert McAlpine, 1st Baronet (13 February 1847 – 3 November 1934) was a Scottish businessman who founded the British construction firm which is now known as Sir Robert McAlpine. Career He left school at the age of 10 to work in a co ...

, who built and owned the

Dorchester Hotel The Dorchester is a five-star luxury hotel on Park Lane and Deanery Street in London, to the east of Hyde Park. It is one of the world's most prestigious and expensive hotels. The Dorchester opened on 18 April 1931, and it still retains its ...

, and much of her childhood was spent in the hotel. Supposedly safe from bombing raids, her family took refuge there during

The Blitz The Blitz was a German bombing campaign against the United Kingdom in 1940 and 1941, during the Second World War. The term was first used by the British press and originated from the term , the German word meaning 'lightning war'. The Germa ...

. MacCarthy was educated at

Wycombe Abbey School , motto_translation = Go in faith , established = 1896 , type = Independent boarding school , religion = Church of England , head_label = Headmistress , head = J. Duncan , chair_label = Chair ...

. In 1958, after a spell in Paris, she was a

debutante A debutante, also spelled débutante, ( ; from french: débutante , "female beginner") or deb is a young woman of aristocratic or upper-class family background who has reached maturity and, as a new adult, is presented to society at a formal " ...

being presented to the Queen at

Queen Charlotte's Ball The Queen Charlotte's Ball is an annual British debutante ball. The ball was founded in 1780 by George III as a birthday celebration in honour of his wife, Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, for whom the ball is named. The Queen Charlotte's Ball ...

in the final year of the 200-year-old ritual, an experience MacCarthy recounted in her memoir, ''Last Curtsey: the End of the Debutantes'' (2007). She was one of only four of that year's debutantes to go on to university, in her case studying for a degree in

English literature English literature is literature written in the English language from United Kingdom, its crown dependencies, the Republic of Ireland, the United States, and the countries of the former British Empire. ''The Encyclopaedia Britannica'' defines E ...

Lady Margaret Hall, Oxford Lady Margaret Hall (LMH) is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England, located on the banks of the River Cherwell at Norham Gardens in north Oxford and adjacent to the University Parks. The college is more formall ...

Career

After graduation, MacCarthy's first job was as a merchandise editor and then journalist on '' House & Garden'' magazine. MacCarthy joined ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

'' in 1963 initially as an assistant to the women's editor

Mary Stott Mary Stott (born Charlotte Mary Waddington) (18 July 1907 – 16 September 2002) was a British feminist and journalist. She was editor of ''The Guardian'' newspaper's women's page between 1957 and 1972.'' Charlotte Mary Waddington was born in Lei ...

. She was then appointed the newspaper's design correspondent, working as a features writer and columnist, sometimes using a pseudonymous byline to avoid two articles appearing in the same issue. In this role, she interviewed

David Hockney David Hockney (born 9 July 1937) is an English painter, draftsman, printmaker, stage designer, and photographer. As an important contributor to the pop art movement of the 1960s, he is considered one of the most influential British artists o ...

Betty Friedan Betty Friedan ( February 4, 1921 – February 4, 2006) was an American feminist writer and activist. A leading figure in the women's movement in the United States, her 1963 book ''The Feminine Mystique'' is often credited with sparking the se ...

and

John Lennon John Winston Ono Lennon (born John Winston Lennon; 9 October 19408 December 1980) was an English singer, songwriter, musician and peace activist who achieved worldwide fame as founder, co-songwriter, co-lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist of ...

among others. She left ''The Guardian'' in 1969, briefly becoming women's editor of the London ''

Evening Standard The ''Evening Standard'', formerly ''The Standard'' (1827–1904), also known as the ''London Evening Standard'', is a local free daily newspaper in London, England, published Monday to Friday in tabloid format. In October 2009, after be ...

'', before settling in Sheffield. In Sheffield, MacCarthy became a biographer and critic. After writing a biography of the arts and crafts designer

C. R. Ashbee Charles Robert Ashbee (17 May 1863 – 23 May 1942) was an English architect and designer who was a prime mover of the Arts and Crafts movement, which took its craft ethic from the works of John Ruskin and its co-operative structure from the soci ...

, she came to wider attention as a biographer with a once-controversial study of the

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

craftsman and sculptor

Eric Gill Arthur Eric Rowton Gill, (22 February 1882 – 17 November 1940) was an English sculptor, letter cutter, typeface designer, and printmaker. Although the ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' describes Gill as ″the greatest artist-cra ...

, first published in 1989. Subsequent biographies of

Stanley Spencer Sir Stanley Spencer, CBE RA (30 June 1891 – 14 December 1959) was an English painter. Shortly after leaving the Slade School of Art, Spencer became well known for his paintings depicting Biblical scenes occurring as if in Cookham, the small ...

in 1997 and of

Byron George Gordon Byron, 6th Baron Byron (22 January 1788 – 19 April 1824), known simply as Lord Byron, was an English romantic poet and Peerage of the United Kingdom, peer. He was one of the leading figures of the Romantic movement, and h ...

in 2002 enhanced her reputation for undertaking detailed research into her subjects. MacCarthy was also known for her arts essays and reviews, which appeared in ''The Guardian'', ''

The Times Literary Supplement ''The Times Literary Supplement'' (''TLS'') is a weekly literary review published in London by News UK, a subsidiary of News Corp. History The ''TLS'' first appeared in 1902 as a supplement to ''The Times'' but became a separate publication i ...

'' and ''

The New York Review of Books ''The New York Review of Books'' (or ''NYREV'' or ''NYRB'') is a semi-monthly magazine with articles on literature, culture, economics, science and current affairs. Published in New York City, it is inspired by the idea that the discussion of i ...

''. She contributed to TV and radio arts programmes.

Awards and honours

Fiona MacCarthy was a

Fellow A fellow is a concept whose exact meaning depends on context. In learned or professional societies, it refers to a privileged member who is specially elected in recognition of their work and achievements. Within the context of higher education ...

of the

Royal Society of Literature The Royal Society of Literature (RSL) is a learned society founded in 1820, by George IV of the United Kingdom, King George IV, to "reward literary merit and excite literary talent". A charity that represents the voice of literature in the UK, th ...

(1997), an Honorary Fellow of Lady Margaret Hall, Oxford, and a Senior Fellow of 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 ...

. She was appointed an

Officer of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

(OBE) for services to literature in the

2009 Birthday Honours The Queen's Birthday Honours 2009 were appointments by some of the 16 Commonwealth realms of Queen Elizabeth II to various orders and honours to recognise and reward good works by citizens of those countries. The Birthday Honours are awarded as pa ...

. She was awarded honorary doctorates by the

University of Sheffield , mottoeng = To discover the causes of things , established = – University of SheffieldPredecessor institutions: – Sheffield Medical School – Firth College – Sheffield Technical School – University College of Sheffield , type = Pu ...

and

Sheffield Hallam University Sheffield Hallam University (SHU) is a public research university in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. The university is based on two sites; the City Campus is located in the city centre near Sheffield railway station, while the Collegiate Cr ...

and was awarded the Bicentenary Medal of the Royal Society of Arts. Her biography ''William Morris: A Life for our Time'' (1994) was winner of the

Wolfson History Prize The Wolfson History Prizes are literary awards given annually in the United Kingdom to promote and encourage standards of excellence in the writing of history for the general public. Prizes are given annually for two or three exceptional works ...

and the Writers' Guild Non-fiction Award. ''The Last Pre-Raphaelite: Edward Burne-Jones and the Victorian Imagination'' won the 2012 James Tait Black prize for Biography. Her life of

Walter Gropius Walter Adolph Georg Gropius (18 May 1883 – 5 July 1969) was a German-American architect An architect is a person who plans, designs and oversees the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to provide services in conne ...

, founder of the

Bauhaus The Staatliches Bauhaus (), commonly known as the Bauhaus (), was a German art school operational from 1919 to 1933 that combined crafts and the fine arts.Oxford Dictionary of Art and Artists (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 4th edn., 200 ...

, was published in March 2019.

Personal life

Her first marriage to Ian White-Thompson ended in divorce. In 1966, she married the Sheffield-based silversmith and cutlery designer

David Mellor David John Mellor (born 12 March 1949) is a British broadcaster, barrister, and former politician. As a member of the Conservative Party, he served in the Cabinet of Prime Minister John Major as Chief Secretary to the Treasury (1990–92) and ...

. She first met him when she went to interview him for ''The Guardian'' in 1964. They had two children,

Corin Corin is a given name in English deriving from the Latin Quirinus, a Roman god. The meaning is unclear but is probably associated with "spear". The name is that of a character in William Shakespeare's ''As You Like It''. It is also used as a famil ...

and Clare, both of whom have now become designers. After suffering from dementia for some years, Mellor died in May 2009. Fiona MacCarthy died on 29 February 2020, aged 80.

Works

*1972 ''All Things Bright and Beautiful: British Design 1830 to Today'' *1981 ''The Simple Life:

in the Cotswolds'' *1984 ''The

Omega Workshops The Omega Workshops Ltd. was a design enterprise founded by members of the Bloomsbury Group and established in July 1913. Shone, Richard. (1999) ''The Art of Bloomsbury: Roger Fry, Vanessa Bell and Duncan Grant''. Princeton: Princeton University ...

: Decorative Arts of Bloomsbury'' *1989 ''

'' () *1994 ''

William Morris William Morris (24 March 1834 – 3 October 1896) was a British textile designer, poet, artist, novelist, architectural conservationist, printer, translator and socialist activist associated with the British Arts and Crafts Movement. He ...

: A Life for our Time'' () *1997 ''

: An English Vision'' () *2002 ''

: Life and Legend'' () *2007 ''Last Curtsey: The End of the Debutantes'' () *2011 ''The Last Pre-Raphaelite:

Edward Burne-Jones Sir Edward Coley Burne-Jones, 1st Baronet, (; 28 August, 183317 June, 1898) was a British painter and designer associated with the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood which included Dante Gabriel Rossetti, John Millais, Ford Madox Brown and Holman Hun ...

and the Victorian Imagination'' () *2019 '' Walter Gropius: Visionary Founder of the Bauhaus '' ()

Exhibitions

She curated the following exhibitions: *''Homespun to Highspeed: British Design 1860 to 1960'' for

Sheffield Museums and Art Galleries Sheffield is a city in South Yorkshire, England, whose name derives from the River Sheaf which runs through it. The city serves as the administrative centre of the City of Sheffield. It is historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire and ...

, 1979 *''The Omega Workshops: Decorative Arts of Bloomsbury'' for the

Crafts Council The Crafts Council is the national development agency for contemporary craft in the United Kingdom, and is funded by Arts Council England. History The Crafts Advisory Committee was formed in 1971 to advise the Minister for the Arts, David Eccles ...

, 1984 *''Eye for Industry: retrospective of the Royal Designers'' for the

Victoria and Albert Museum The Victoria and Albert Museum (often abbreviated as the V&A) in London is the world's largest museum of applied arts, decorative arts and design, housing a permanent collection of over 2.27 million objects. It was founded in 1852 and nam ...

, 1986 *''Byron'' for the National Portrait Gallery, 2002 *''Anarchy and Beauty, William Morris and his Legacy'' for the National Portrait Gallery, 2014

References

External links

Official site at Lady Margaret Hall
{{DEFAULTSORT:Maccarthy, Fiona 1940 births 2020 deaths British debutantes Writers from London People educated at Wycombe Abbey English biographers Officers of the Order of the British Empire Alumni of Lady Margaret Hall, Oxford Fellows of Lady Margaret Hall, Oxford Fellows of the Royal Society of Literature James Tait Black Memorial Prize recipients People from the London Borough of Sutton People from Hathersage The Guardian people