Mary Philadelphia Merrifield
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Mary Philadelphia Merrifield (née Watkins; 15 April 1804 – 4 January 1889) was a British writer on art and fashion. She later became an algologist (an expert on
seaweed Seaweed, or macroalgae, refers to thousands of species of macroscopic, multicellular, marine algae. The term includes some types of ''Rhodophyta'' (red), '' Phaeophyta'' (brown) and ''Chlorophyta'' (green) macroalgae. Seaweed species such as ...
).


Life

She was born Mary Philadelphia Watkins in
Brompton, London Brompton, sometimes called Old Brompton, survives in name as a Wards and electoral divisions of the United Kingdom, ward in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea in London. Until the latter half of the 19th century it was a scattered vill ...
in 1804. Her father, Sir Charles Watkins, was a barrister who specialised in transferring property ownership. In 1826/7, she married John Merrifield and gave birth in 1827 to a son, Charles Watkins Merrifield, and a second son Frederick Merrifield in 1831.Adrian Rice, 'Merrifield, Charles Watkins (1827–1884)', ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'', Oxford University Press, 2004; online edn, Jan 201
accessed 8 Nov 2015
/ref> They later moved to Dorset Gardens, Brighton. Her husband worked as a barrister and she undertook the translation of a book on painting by the 15th-century artist
Cennino Cennini Cennino d'Andrea Cennini (; – before 1427) was an Italian painter influenced by Giotto. He was a student of Agnolo Gaddi in Florence. Gaddi trained under his father, called Taddeo Gaddi, who trained with Giotto. He is remembered mainly f ...
. The book, ''Treatise of Painting'', was published in 1844.Mary Merrifield
, ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'', Retrieved 6 November 2015.
In 1846, she published ''The'' ''Art of Fresco Painting'', which was a commission for the Royal Commission on the Fine Arts, being assisted by her two sons.Mary Merrifield
Brighton Museums, Retrieved 6 November 2015
In 1850, she exhibited her paintings in the first art exhibition held in Brighton's Royal Pavilion. In 1854, she chose a different subject and published ''Dress as a Fine Art'', which supported the more practical improvements of
Amelia Bloomer Amelia Jenks Bloomer (May 27, 1818 – December 30, 1894) was an American newspaper editor, women's rights and temperance advocate. Even though she did not create the women's clothing reform style known as bloomers, her name became associa ...
. Her approach challenged stereotypes, showing that fashion was a subject capable of scientific study. She demonstrated that people who were interested in fashion could aspire to academic interest. In 1857, she was showing her knowledge of local history when she published ''Brighton Past and Present''. In 1857, she was honoured with a
civil list pension Pensions in the United Kingdom, whereby United Kingdom tax payers have some of their wages deducted to save for retirement, can be categorised into three major divisions – state, occupational and personal pensions. The state pension is based o ...
of £100 per year. She used her location at Brighton to research ''A Sketch of the Natural History of Brighton'' which, together with later scientific papers, made her an expert on seaweed. In the 1870s she published more papers on natural history. She was so interested in corresponding with the naturalist
Jacob Georg Agardh Jacob Georg Agardh (8 December 1813 in Lund, Sweden – 17 January 1901 in Lund, Sweden) was a Swedish botanist, phycologist, and taxonomist. Early life and career He was the son of Carl Adolph Agardh, and from 1854 until 1879 was professor of ...
that she learnt Swedish. Agardh returned the compliment by naming an Australian algae, ''Rytiphlaea Merrifieldiae'' (aka Nanopera merrifieldiae), after her. She continued to publish papers in the British scientific journal ''
Nature Nature is an inherent character or constitution, particularly of the Ecosphere (planetary), ecosphere or the universe as a whole. In this general sense nature refers to the Scientific law, laws, elements and phenomenon, phenomena of the physic ...
''. She also worked arranging natural history displays at Brighton Museum and Art Gallery.


Death and legacy

Merrifield died a widow at her daughter's house in Stapleford on 4 January 1889. Her plant collections are now held by the
Natural History Museum A natural history museum or museum of natural history is a scientific institution with natural history scientific collection, collections that include current and historical records of animals, plants, Fungus, fungi, ecosystems, geology, paleo ...
in
London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...
, with some examples in the Booth Museum of Natural History in Brighton. Her son,
Frederick Frederick may refer to: People * Frederick (given name), the name Given name Nobility = Anhalt-Harzgerode = * Frederick, Prince of Anhalt-Harzgerode (1613–1670) = Austria = * Frederick I, Duke of Austria (Babenberg), Duke of Austria fro ...
, was later Chair of Brighton School of Art, while one of granddaughters Margaret Verrall became a classical scholar, and another, Flora Merrifield, was a campaigner for women's suffrage in Sussex. Elizabeth Crawford. (2006) ''The Women’s Suffrage Movement in Britain & Ireland: A Regional Survey'', Oxford & New York: Routledge. p. 205-206. . Mary's work was the subject of a display in Brighton's Booth Museum of Natural History in 2019.


Works

* ''Treatise of Painting'' (translation) - 1844 * ''The Art of Fresco Painting'' - 1846 *''Original Treatises on the Arts of Painting'' - 1849 *''Practical Directions for Portrait Painting in Watercolours'' - 1851 * ''Dress as a Fine Art'' - 1854 *''Handbook of Light and Shade with Reference to Model Drawing'' - 1855 *''Brighton Past and Present'' - 1857 *''A Sketch of the Natural History of Brighton'' - 1864


References


External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Merrifield, Mary 1804 births 1889 deaths Writers from the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea Victorian women writers 19th-century British women writers 19th-century British writers
Mary Mary may refer to: People * Mary (name), a female given name (includes a list of people with the name) Religion * New Testament people named Mary, overview article linking to many of those below * Mary, mother of Jesus, also called the Blesse ...
19th-century British women scientists