There were few “respectable” self-made women in the Regency era. Mary Linwood made her fortune in needlework. At the height of her fame, Russian Empress Catherine the Great offered to buy all her “stitchery paintings” for £40,000. That’s about US$3,000,000 in today’s money. Mary Linwood - Stitchery Tycoon Mary Linwood, embroidery ca. 1798. Salvator Mundi, after Carlo Dulci When Mary died of flu at almost 90 years old, her entire collection fetched a mere £300 at auction. The “needlepainting” phenomenon had done its dash and no one seemed sure what [...]