Mary. Ida. Mary

Mixed media: ink, graphite, fabric, wood, wire. Created for group exhibition Women Pulling at The Threads of Social Discourse V: This is Not a Doll’s House at CAMP gallery, North Miami, FL. Works created by 46 artists in response to themes of gender and identity in Henrik Ibsen’s play Doll’s House. 2023

Mary. Ida. Mary. In Florida, American industrialist Henry Flagler’s ubiquitous name is synonymous with the development of the eastern portion of the state. While a great deal is known about his life and legacy, very little is known of his three wives. In the case of all three women, history has not been favorable in the many biographies about Flagler’s long career. First wife Mary Harkness is barely described, and what is known of her short life is that she was frail and sickly.  Wife number two was Ida Alice, a woman whose portrayal as so mentally unstable, Flagler had no choice but to have her committed to a mental hospital, paving the way for divorce. The laws of the time gave women very little agency, and in many states (including Florida), husbands could have their wives committed for being “insane” based on little to no evidence. Flagler’s third and final wife was Mary Lily, a woman three decades younger. Although her personal life is more broadly documented, she is often represented as something of a gold digger. After Flagler’s death at the age of 83, she only outlived him by four years but ultimately met a tragic end, after her second husband facilitated her untimely death. As history has typically compartmentalized all three wives into specific categories, I’ve been working on a project of writing and drawings, to create space for their lives to unfold. 

Mary, Ida, Mary, drypoint etching, 2023. Created at Raga Press, Boca Raton, FL