This comprehensive volume presents the biographies of 1,000 women who were active in the British decorative arts over the last few centuries. Some of these women are known today, some are not, yet all made valuable contributions in areas such as stained glass, metalwork, pottery, woodcarving, illustration, bookbinding and decoration, sculpture, decorative embroidery, decorative jewellery, and illumination.

This volume is the largest of its kind to document the lives and careers of some British women artists and decorative artists, published in Britain to date, and helps to shed new light on a still-neglected area of British art and design history. It includes entries for well-known artists such as Barbara Hepworth, Mary Lowndes, and Alice Woodward, alongside influential but forgotten women such as Mary Symonds, Amy Singer, and Catherine Donaldson.

Researched and written by Dr. Sara Gray over a period of eight years, this book is her third to be published. She completed a B.A. Hons Degree in 1992 at Bolton University, followed by a Ph.D. in 2002 awarded by Manchester University. She has a particular interest in the work of British women artists and in regional arts and crafts.