Mary Philadelphia Merrifield

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).

Life She was born Mary Philadelphia Watkins in Brompton, London in 1804. Her father, Sir Charles Watkins, was a barrister who specialised in transferring property ownership. In 1826/7, she married John Merrifield Their other children were Henry born 1830, Emily born 1835 and Edward born 1836.

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. The book, Treatise of Painting, was published in 1844.

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. In 1850, she exhibited her paintings in the first art exhibition held in Brighton's Royal Pavilion.

In 1851, Merrifield wrote the essay Harmony of Colours, which was published in The Art-Journal Illustrated Catalogue of the Great Exhibition. The text formed part of the introductory essays accompanying the richly illustrated catalogue of decorative arts objects exhibited at the Great Exhibition in London.

In 1854, she chose a different subject and published Dress as a Fine Art, which supported the more practical improvements of Amelia Bloomer.

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 of £100 per year.

She continued to publish papers in the British scientific journal Nature. She also worked arranging natural history displays at Brighton Museum and Art Gallery. Mary's work was the subject of a display in Brighton's Booth Museum of Natural History in 2019.

Works Source:

Treatise of Painting (translation) - 1844 The Art of Fresco Painting - 1846 Original Treatises on the Arts of Painting in Oil, Miniature, Mosaic, and On Glass; of Gilding, Dyeing, and the Preparation of Colours and Artificial Gems; Preceded by a General Introduction; with Translations, Prefaces, and Notes - 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