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.
Mary Brosnan | |
|---|---|
 Mary Brosnan, from a 1958 newspaper. | |
| Born | February 2, 1906 New York |
| Died | January 20, 1988 (aged 81) New York |
| Other names | Mary Brosnan Kratschmer (after marriage) |
| Occupation(s) | designer, businesswoman |
| Awards | Neiman-Marcus Fashion Award (1966) |
Early life
editMary Brosnan was born in 1906 in New York. She attended the Sacred Heart Convent school and studied art at the National Academy of Design school.[1]
Career
editBrosnan 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] In 1967 she made the mannequins for a show titled "The Art of Fashion" at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.[12] Brosnan retired after 1973.[13]
Personal life
editIn 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.[14][15]
References
edit- ^ 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.
- ^ The Metropolitan Museum of Art (1967). The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin v 26 no 3 November 1967. p. 152.
- ^ "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.
