Mary "Molly" Gregory (1914-2006) was an American furniture maker and teacher. She is known for teaching at

Black Mountain College Black Mountain College was a Private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Black Mountain, North Carolina. It was founded in 1933 by John Andrew Rice, Theodore Dreier, and several others. The coll ...

and for the furniture she created.

Biography

Gregory was born in 1914 in Framingham, Massachusetts. She grew up in Framingham, Massachusetts. She studied at

Bennington College Bennington College is a private liberal arts college in Bennington, Vermont, United States. Founded as a women’s college in 1932,

, graduating in 1936. She then taught at

The Cambridge School of Weston ''The'' is a grammatical article in English, denoting nouns that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The ...

for several years. In 1941 Gregory relocated to North Carolina where she studied and taught at

(BMC) until 1947. While at BMC Gregory briefly ran the woodshop during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, when may of teaching age men were serving in the military. Gregory also participated in the construction of the Studies Building and supervised the construction of furniture throughout the BMC campus. Gregory left BMC to pursue her career as a furniture maker, returning to New England to create commissioned furniture in Vermont and Massachusetts. She taught woodworking at the

Belmont Day School Belmont is a town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. It is a western suburb of Boston and is part of the Greater Boston metropolitan area. As of the 2020 U.S. census, its population was 27,295, an increase of 10.4% from 2010. H ...

Concord Academy Concord Academy (also known as CA) is a coeducational, Independent school, independent University-preparatory school, college-preparatory school for boarding and day students in Concord, Massachusetts. CA educates approximately 400 students in ...

, and

Shady Hill School Shady Hill School, or SHS, is an independent, co-educational day school in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1915, Shady Hill serves students in pre-kindergarten (called 'Beginners' by the school) through 8th grade. The school has an enrollmen ...

. Gregory was a practicing

Quaker Quakers are people who belong to the Religious Society of Friends, a historically Protestant Christian set of denominations. Members refer to each other as Friends after in the Bible, and originally, others referred to them as Quakers ...

. She died on November 21, 2006, in Hingham, Massachusetts. Her work is included in the collections of the Asheville Art Museum and the

Los Angeles County Museum of Art The Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) is an art museum located on Wilshire Boulevard in the Miracle Mile vicinity of Los Angeles. LACMA is on Museum Row, adjacent to the La Brea Tar Pits (George C. Page Museum). LACMA was founded in 1961 ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gregory, Mary Molly 1914 births 2006 deaths 20th-century American educators 20th-century American artists 20th-century American women educators 20th-century American women artists Black Mountain College faculty American furniture makers Women carpenters American carpenters Women woodworkers 20th-century woodworkers American woodworkers American art educators American Quakers Bennington College alumni