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In 1965, Roy Strong became joint secretary of the newly-formed Costume Society along with Madeleine. He recalled the tensions inherent in the Society at the start. Chairman Donald King’s ‘attitude to dress was what I would categorize as cool, and he was a solitary male presiding over a department staffed entirely by women whose relationships…

Our family were very sad to hear from Madeleine’s children, Mark and Lucy, of the death of their mother on 14 July. A small family funeral was held in Oxford. Madeleine and Karen met in 1957 when Madeleine joined the Victoria and Albert Museum where she remained until 1988, working first of all as a…

It’s two years since Karen died in her own room at our house in Walthamstow. I was there with Katrina and our cousin from Denmark, Tina, a highly qualified nurse who had come from Aarhus specially to help us through Karen’s final illness. Later that day our son Jacob came over and we read excerpts…

During the last months of Karen’s life, I applied for a job at Aarhus University. Several months after she died, I was awarded the job and more than one person made the joke that Karen must have had a hand in this from the beyond. I’m not sure what I believe about life after death,…

I just came across this letter from Karen, and was struck at once—not only by the network of scholars that she could effortlessly link together across geographies and generations—but by her long memory for objects and the questions they pose for us. Karen was given an unusual embroidered apron by Genitha Halsey around 1970, presented…

I chose this extract from the oral history already published on Karen’s website because first of all I thought it would be heartwarming to hear my mother’s voice and secondly it provides a prescient and amusing adjunct to the recent registration of her gravestone by Viborg Museum. Katrina Finch Passage from the oral history interview…

The article below appeared in a Danish church magazine which writes about matters concerning the local area where Karen was born and represents the churches of Rødding, Løvel and Pederstrup. The nearest city to these villages/small towns is Viborg which has amongst other buildings, a cathedral and a museum. The museum has been responsible for…

The following talk was given by Philip Sykas on June 6th 2019 as part of the Early Textiles Study Group’s (ETSG) biennial conference, held in Glasgow and dedicated to the memory of Karen Finch. Click here for more information. One of Karen’s lectures, featured on the website, that will interest those studying Early Textiles is…

This is the talk I gave on June 6th 2019 as part of the Early Textiles Study Group’s (ETSG) biennial conference, held in Glasgow and dedicated to the memory of Karen Finch. Click here for more information. 1. Home page Karen Finch, my mother, left to us a considerable archive containing: published and unpublished papers,…