A convention-breaking Victorian woman from Barrow is to have her story exhibited in her home town.
Mary Pratt, known as Minnie, had her art and adventures come to light during lockdown, after a Facebook group helped to uncover her inspiring life.
Minnie travelled the world often alone, which was very rare for a woman in the Victorian era, supported by her progressive family. She painted works of art based on the places she visited including the areas she lived.
Following a year and a half of research, her story and artwork is now set to be shared for the first time at an exhibition at The Dock Museum.
The story began when Cumbrian resident Gary Johnson, a 65-year-old retired TV producer, went to an auction in Carlisle looking for a chair for his mother. His eye was drawn to Minnie’s scrapbook, which was filled with postcards from all over the world and watercolour paintings.
Gary set up a Facebook group, called Minnie’s Scrapbook, in the hope of finding out more information. The group quickly grew and now has over one thousand members worldwide.
Gary said: “It’s like it was meant to be. I saw this book at the auction house and it’s not something that usually would have caught my eye, but I just had a feeling about it. And that’s what started me on this journey.
“From the community we have built online, I have been in touch with some of Minnie’s distant relatives. It’s been a wonderful experience, and I’m now writing a book about my experience.
“I’m really pleased that Minnie’s story and her artwork has been rediscovered and can be shared with her hometown. So many people have engaged with her story and have enjoyed helping me to find more of her art and the mystery behind who she was.
“I want to thank everyone who has engaged with me and helped out, especially the Facebook group which has grown into this amazing community who are all so invested in Minnie. Without them this wouldn’t have been possible.”
Minnie moved to Barrow as a very young child in the early 1880’s and died in Ulverston in 1980. She was an art teacher for a number of years and never married or had children.
Charlotte Hawley, collections and exhibitions manager at The Dock Museum, said: “Minnie’s story has really connected people from all over the world online. It’s wonderful to show her art and tell her story for the first time ever.
“We hope that it will draw interest from all over the world as it’s such an incredible story about this independent, amazing woman. It’s fair to say that whilst there were other women of her class taking similar paths, she was certainly unique in following her independence. And her art gives us an insight into local history too.
Councillor Tony Callister, Barrow Borough Council’s Lead Member for Arts, Culture and Leisure, added: “This piece of local history is such an incredible find and we are honoured to be able to exhibit the items at the Dock Museum in Barrow, a town that Minnie lived in for most of her life and that she so clearly loved.”
The exhibition opens to the public on Saturday November 5 with a preview held on the evening of Friday November 4. It will run until February 17 2023.
