SOLD - Mary Read (1685 - 1721) Collage

‘No Man’s Land’ Series The title of this latest series ‘No Man’s Land’ relates to those who have challenged the social system of patriarchy in order to live adventurous or professional lives of discovery. The aim is to produce a portrait gallery of the hidden contributors to history - a gallery of little known protagonists who have studied, achieved and explored despite the perceived social unacceptabilty of their sex or sexuality for their chosen endeavours, and to celebrate those to whom the ‘doing’ was of greater importance than the need for personal recognition (the antithesis of today's 'selfie' celebrities). Continually fascinated by the use of costume to depict status and present an image to the world, it has been a natural progression to focus on those who have mastered the art of disguise, in some cases for an entire life-time, in these imagined representations. Ann Bonny & Mary Read were 18th century pirates of the Caribbean. Irish-born Ann married a brigand named James Bonny as a teenager and moved from her home in South Carolina to the Caribbean, where she eloped with another pirate, Calico Jack Rackham. She dressed as a man to join his crew. Read was born in London and was passed off as a boy by her mother in order to collect child support from her dead half-brother's grandparents. After a stint with the British military, she married a sailor and began living as a woman. Her husband died young, and the widow Read once again disguised herself as a man and joined the military. Upon leaving the service, she drifted into a pirate's life. She met Ann Bonny while serving on Rackham's ship. In October 1720, when Anne was about eighteen years old, Rackham and his crew were attacked by a "King's ship". Most of Rackham's pirates put up little resistance as many of them were too drunk to fight. However, Read and Bonny fought fiercely and managed to hold off Barnet's troops for a short time. Rackham and his crew were taken to Jamaica, where they were convicted and sentenced by Governor Lawes to be hanged. According to Johnson, Bonny's last words to the imprisoned Rackham were: "Had you fought like a man, you need not have been hang'd like a dog." Bonny and Read both won a stay of execution due to pregnancy (pleading their bellies). Read died in prison, possibly from childbirth complications. Bonny disappeared from court records. It is believed that her parents may have bought her freedom, but there are no official documents on her fate. Original work available through The Martin Tinney Gallery, Cardiff

Collage:Oil on Wood

Original:One-of-a-kind Artwork

Size:14 W x 12 H x 0.5 D in

Delivery Time:Typically 5-7 business days for domestic shipments, 10-14 business days for international shipments.