New Dawn is a contemporary light sculpture by artist Mary Branson celebrating Women's Suffrage.
It is sited at the entrance to St Stephen’s Hall, Houses of Parliament. It is a permanent addition to the Parliamentary Art Collection, as well as the first piece of abstract art commissioned for permanent display in the historic Palace of Westminster.

 

 
New Dawn, a contemporary sculptural light installation celebrating Women's Suffrage in the Houses of Parliament, London by Mary Branson.
Mary Branson’s New Dawn is a moving celebration of the vast numbers of ordinary
women and men who worked and struggled for the vote, the bedrock of modern democracy.
— Caroline Nokes, Chair of the Speaker’s Advisory Committee on Works of Art
New Dawn, a contemporary sculptural light installation celebrating Women's Suffrage in the Houses of Parliament, London by Mary Branson.
On the 150th anniversary of John Stuart Mill’s petition calling for the universal right to
vote, New Dawn is a fitting tribute to the champions for liberty of the past, as well as
an inspiration for future generations.
— John Bercow, Speaker of the House of Commons
New Dawn, a contemporary sculptural light installation celebrating Women's Suffrage in the Houses of Parliament, London by Mary Branson.
“The role that women have played in shaping our democracy, throughout the history of Parliament, has long been a subject close to my heart. Honouring the campaign for women’s rights through art, and in particular through such a spectacular work as this, is something I wholeheartedly support. I hope the beauty of New Dawn, and the values it embodies, are appreciated by visitors to Parliament for years to come.”
— Baroness D’Souza, Lord Speaker of the House of Lords

Screen printing at Ochre Print

A series of prints created during my research as Artist in Residence for Women’s suffrage in the Houses of Parliament.

Funded by Arts Council England and sponsored by Ochre Print Studios, with mentors Annee Robson and Julie Hoyle, assisted by Jacob Farrell and Lizy Bending.

 

Limited Edition, original hand made screen prints are available to buy. Please enquire below. 


Acts.

The language of parliament. Thousands of acts on scrolled vellum. Public and personal deeds residing side by side.

Documents that directly changed women’s lives for the better.

 

60 Limited edition screen prints are available to purchase.

£300
50cm x56.5cm
Screenprinted
Somerset velvet 'Newsprint' 300gsm
Lascaux Inks
7 layers
Unframed


And your petitioner will ever pray.

The final, essential part of a petition is a request, called a ‘prayer’, in which the petitioner specifies the action they wish to see taken in response to their grievance.

Over 52 years, Suffrage societies placed 16,310 petitions in front of Parliament with over 3 million signatures in support of the vote.

 

67 Limited edition screen prints are available to purchase.

£300
57cm x 76cm
Screenprinted
Paper Somerset velvet 'Soft white' 300gsm
Lascaux Inks
9 layers
Unframed


Marching.

A bird’s eye view of a suffrage March.

The banners of the numerous societies, arranged, mixed up, spilling into each other.

Organisation, complexity and cooperation, to achieve the vote for women.

 

59 Limited edition screen prints are available to purchase.

 

£300
40cm x 56cm
Screenprinted
Paper Black Somerset 410gsm
Lascaux Inks
12 layers
Unframed


Movement

From my original watercolour sketch that became the inspiration for the final sculpture. The multitude scrolls reflecting the scale of the suffrage campaign.

 

60 Limited edition screen prints are available to purchase.


£300
50.5cm x 56.5cm
Screenprinted
Somerset velvet 'Black' 280gsm
Lascaux Inks
15 layers
Unframed


Tide.

From my initial sketches for New Dawn. In this early concept, the lunar phases were etched onto the bosses at the centre of each glass scroll.

 

43 Limited edition screen prints are available to purchase.

 

£300
74.5cm x 54.5cm
Screenprinted
Somerset velvet 'Black' 280gsm
Lascaux Inks
8 layers
Unframed


New Dawn. 1, 2, 3.

This series of prints are taken from close up images of the actual discs before installation onto the artwork.

 

32 Amber, 30 Blue, 26 Purple, Limited edition screen prints are available to purchase.

 

 

£300
55cm x 37.5cm
Screenprinted
Somerset velvet  "Black' 280gsm
Lascaux Inks
8 layers
Unframed


Produced with kind support from: