Mary Brosnan: Difference between revisions
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| name = Mary Brosnan |
| name = Mary Brosnan |
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| image = MaryBrosnan1958.jpg |
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| alt = An older white woman, looking to the viewer's left. |
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| caption = Mary Brosnan, from a 1958 newspaper. |
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| birth_name = <!-- only use if different from name --> |
| birth_name = <!-- only use if different from name --> |
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| birth_date = February 2, 1906 |
| birth_date = February 2, 1906 |
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Revision as of 13:32, 1 October 2019
Mary Brosnan | |
|---|---|
 Mary Brosnan, from a 1958 newspaper. | |
| Born | February 2, 1906 New York |
| Died | January 1988 New York |
| Other names | Mary Brosnan Kratschmer (after marriage) |
| Occupation(s) | designer, businesswoman |
| Awards | Neiman-Marcus Fashion Award (1966) |
Mary Brosnan (February 2, 1906 – January 20, 1988), also known as Mary Brosnan Kratschmer, was an American businesswoman and mannequin designer, winner of the Neiman-Marcus Fashion Award in 1966.
Early life
Mary Brosnan was born in 1906 in New York, the daughter of Michael Brosnan. She attended the Sacred Heart Convent school and studied art at the National Academy of Design school.[1]
Career
Brosnan was portrait painter by training. During the Great Depression, she worked as a window dresser, and when the need arose for a more glamorous mannequin, she created one.[2] She and sculptor Kay Sullivan founded Mary Brosnan Inc., in 1941, providing American-made mannequins to stores during World War II, when European mannequins were difficult to import. Brosnan moved her manufacturing from Manhattan[3] to Long Island in 1947.[4] Also in 1947, her company acquired a patent for a self-standing mannequin, requiring no external stand.[5] Her 1948 mannequins became associated with the "New Look" of Christian Dior, because they were well-matched in proportions (broad shoulders, slim hips), and Brosnan's mannequins often used in Dior window displays.[6]
Brosnan's business was a success, and she was described as one of the "top American businesswomen" in a 1958 profile.[2] In 1962, Mary Brosnan Inc., a division of D. G. Williams,[7] occupied a 35,000 square-foot plant in Long Island City, with sculptors' studios, casting rooms, drying ovens and other facilities.[8] In 1964 the factory was producing 150-200 mannequins a week. "I often wonder where the old mannequins end up," Brosnan mused in an interview that year. "Sometimes I imagine there's a big desert somewhere out in Arizona, where they are piled up like used cars."[9]
Brosnan won the Neiman-Marcus Fashion Award in 1966. "She is the country's most eminent sculptress of the mannequins seen in store windows," explained one report about the award.[10][11] Brosnan retired after 1973.[12]
Personal life
In 1956,[2] Mary Brosnan married a Vienna-born importer, Robert Kratschmer.[1] She died January 20, 1988, aged 81 years, from cancer, in New York.[13][14]
References
- ^ a b Miller, Joy (February 27, 1966). "New Mannequin is 'Happiness Girl', says Mary Brosnan, New York Designer". The Bridgeport Post. p. 30. Retrieved September 30, 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ a b c Reef, Betty (February 17, 1958). "Manikins Made a Mint for Her". St. Louis Globe-Democrat. p. 11. Retrieved September 30, 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Store Executives Mary Brosnan Guests". Women's Wear Daily. February 12, 1942. p. 34 – via ProQuest.
- ^ "Mary Brosnan, Inc., to Move to Long Island to Double Production". Women's Wear Daily. March 11, 1947. p. 76 – via ProQuest.
- ^ "Patents Device to Make Mannequins Self-Standing: Invention To Eliminate Use Of Visible Supporting Rod Assigned To Mary Brosnan, Inc.— Production To Take Some Time". Women's Wear Daily. April 8, 1947. p. 69 – via ProQuest.
- ^ Strege, Gayle (2017-07-05). "The Store Mannequin: An Evolving Idea of Beauty". In Iarocci, Louisa (ed.). Visual Merchandising: The Image of Selling. Routledge. pp. 106–108. ISBN 9781351537469.
- ^ Taylor, Angela (December 6, 1977). "Mannequins: First, You Find a Face". Intelligencer Journal. p. 17. Retrieved September 30, 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Mary Brosnan Expands". Women's Wear Daily. July 24, 1962. p. 13 – via ProQuest.
- ^ Sheppard, Eugenia (June 17, 1964). "She's So Pretty They Keep a Mold". The Corpus Christi Caller-Times. p. 33. Retrieved September 30, 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Hughes, Alice (February 19, 1966). "Top Award Presented to Mannequin Creator". Poughkeepsie Journal. p. 4. Retrieved September 30, 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Rosenthal, Richard; Sokol, Jack (May 26, 1969). "Models of your Mind". New York Magazine. p. 39. Retrieved September 30, 2019.
- ^ "Fashion's Mannequins Nearly Real". Asbury Park Press. September 23, 1973. p. 25. Retrieved September 30, 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Mary Brosnan Kratschmer: Mannequin Designer, 81". The New York Times. January 23, 1988. p. 10. Retrieved September 30, 2019.
- ^ "Mary Brosnan". Women's Wear Daily. January 21, 1988. p. 18 – via ProQuest.
