# Mary Beever

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**Mary Beever** (1802 – 31 December 1883) was a British artist and botanist. She and her sister were close friends with their neighbour [John Ruskin](/source/John_Ruskin) in the Lake District. Plants collected by Beever are in several museum collections. She was an elected member of the [Botanical Society of London](/source/Botanical_Society_of_London).

## Life

Beever was born in [Ardwick](/source/Ardwick), in Manchester. Her father, William Beever, was a Manchester businessman and their mother, Nanny, died while she was young.[1]

They lived in [Birdsgrove](/source/Birdsgrove) House near Ashbourne in Derbyshire before moving to The Thwaite in [Coniston](/source/Coniston,_Cumbria) in Cumbria in 1827.[1] Mary was a keen botanist and her collections are in several museums, including collections in Edinburgh, at the [Hancock Museum](/source/Great_North_Museum:_Hancock) in Newcastle, and at Oxford.[2] She corresponded with botanist [John Gilbert Baker](/source/John_Gilbert_Baker), and sent *[Gentiana pneumonanthe](/source/Gentiana_pneumonanthe)* specimens to [William Baxter](/source/William_Baxter_(Oxford_Botanic_Garden_curator)), curator at [Oxford Botanic Garden](/source/University_of_Oxford_Botanic_Garden).[2] She was elected a member of the [Botanical Society of London](/source/Botanical_Society_of_London) between 1839 and 1841.[3] Her father died in 1831. Her brother John installed water power for a family printing press and a pond was created where he experimented with different fish foods.[4] Her sister Anne died in 1858 and her brother, John, died the following year. She shared the house with her sister [Susan](/source/Susan_Beever) after their sister Margaret died in 1874.[1]

Mary and her sister [Susanna](/source/Susan_Beever) were skilled [botanical artists](/source/Botanical_artist) and they found themselves in [John Ruskin](/source/John_Ruskin)'s circle after they first met him in 1873.[1] Ruskin lived on the other side of Coniston and he would write them letters although a short walk or a row in a boat would enable a visit. Ruskin was closest to "Susie" and in 1875 he allowed her to create an abridged version of his book *Modern Painters*.[5]

Beever died at their home in Coniston in 1883.[1]

## References

1. Jane Garnett, ‘Women artists in Ruskin's circle (act. 1850s–1900s)’, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004; online edn, October 2005 [accessed 19 November 2015](http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/73637,)

1. Ray Desmond (25 February 1994). [*Dictionary Of British And Irish Botantists And Horticulturalists Including plant collectors, flower painters and garden designers*](https://books.google.com/books?id=thmPzIltAV8C&pg=PA61). CRC Press. pp. 61–. ISBN 978-0-85066-843-8.

1. Wikidata item [Q113958660](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q113958660)

1. ["Ruskin Linen and Lace"](https://ruskinmuseum.com/who-was-john-ruskin-1819-1900/ruskin-linen-and-lace/). *Ruskin Museum*. Retrieved 2023-07-04.

1. Cook, Edward Tyas (April 2010). [*The Life of John Ruskin: Volume 2, 1860-1900*](https://books.google.com/books?id=-ghF9kYfIPwC&dq=%22susan+beever%22&pg=PA286). Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-1-108-00972-0.

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