Trailblazing Women Printmakers: Virginia Lee Burton Demetrios and the Folly Cove Designers

The history of the Folly Cove Designers (1941-1969) – one of America’s longest-running artist collectives – is explored through their work. Folly Cove Designers (officially 1941-1969) was a mostly all-women block printing collective.

The group was founded by Caldecott-award winner and beloved children’s book author/illustrator Virginia Lee Burton Demetrios (of Mike Mulligan and His Steam Shovel fame). Together the Gloucester, MA-based group produced over three hundred distinct designs conveying personal and regional narratives through the use of shared design principles and the compelling language of pattern. The group was propelled to international fame through commercial contracts with major retailers (F. Schumacher, Lord & Taylor, etc.), articles in leading periodicals such as Life, and participation in seminal fine craft exhibitions.

As the first comprehensive history of the Folly Cove Designers, Trailblazing Women Printmakers documents and celebrates the group’s tremendous success and the incredible artistry of its members. Through historical ephemera and photographs, Sarni explores the history, the work, and the group dynamics of the Folly Cove Collective.

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