Wray, Mary, Mrs

Introduction:

Mrs Mary Wray appears to have been one of the earliest English silhouette artists, producing cut work in the 1760s. Her work shows members of her family and circle of friends, as well as more well-known contemporaries, and is notable for its detailed depiction of 1760s dress.

Mrs Wray (nee. Darrell) was the eldest daughter of the well-established Darrell family from Richmond, Surrey. She married Daniel Wray, son of Sir Daniel Wray the soap manufacturer, in 1758. They were both heavily involved in the art world – Daniel was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society and Royal Academy. Mrs Wray outlived her husband and died in 1803 a relatively wealthy woman. It seems likely that Mary Wray was either a semi-professional artist or gifted amateur; women of her social standing were unlikely to pursue silhouette work as a full-time career. She worked in the 1760s, a very early period for cut silhouettes, and produced family group silhouettes as well as profiles of well-known people. These included the poet Thomas Gray, taken in 1772, Sir Joseph Banks the scientist, David Hume, and the African explorer James Bruce. Unsurprisingly no trade labels are known, but her signature is recorded.

Mrs Wray was a gifted freehand cutter. All known work is full-length and there is no evidence that she produced bust-length work. Composition is generally good. Some family groups show a looped curtain decorated with tassels at the top of the right hand side. Most show a projecting bracket with an ornament on the left. The figures are set on a plain, black, shallow base. The furniture and dress of these groups is notable, being typical of the 1760s. In particular, bag-wigs, round caps and Pulteney caps can all be seen, and children are sometimes shown wearing leading strings. These aspects seem to be typical of all Mrs Wray’s known work, and could be used to identify unsigned pieces in the future.