Ecclesiastes, and The Song of Solomon

Da Loria Norman, born Belle Mitchell in Kansas, moved with her family to England when she was young. There she married, had children, began to paint, joined the mystical Theosophical Society, and then fell out with her husband. Around this time, she also began to illuminate books. After a high-profile divorce, she changed her name, returned to the United States, and began to support her family through her art. The Library commissioned this volume, printed on vellum and featuring illumination and embroidery, for the Spencer Collection of the Wallach Division. It brings together the most astringent and the most sensual books of the Bible and aims, in Norman’s words, “to stimulate the beholder to search for spiritual significance,” since “symbolism elevates thought to the DIVINE.”