Whilst she originally studied painting and sculpture, Helen Lillias Mitchell is best remembered for her work in the area of textiles, particularly weaving. In 1946 she opened a weaving workshop, taking private pupils from the Metropolitan School of Art in Dublin, until she was eventually invited to create a department of textiles at the school in 1951. She was passionately interested in traditional Irish art forms, and concerned about preserving techniques and knowledge (eg. about natural dyes used in Ireland in the past). In her will she bequeathed an amount of money to be used to fund the annual Golden Fleece Awards, a prize which recognizes those artists working in the areas of traditional art forms.

Source: Auctions