Grace Denny (1884-1971) was an expert in textiles and professor at the University of Washington (UW). She is unrelated to the Denny family of early Seattle settlers. Denny was born and raised in Nebraska and came to Seattle in 1914 to teach Home Economics at UW. During her time at the university, Denny helped substantially expand the Home Economics program. In 1923, Denny was commissioned by the Bon Marche department store to write a book defining different kinds of textiles to educate the store’s buyers. After publishing the book, titled "Fabrics," she began giving lectures on textiles at department stores and museums in Seattle. Denny also wrote about textiles for the World Book Encyclopedia and the American College Dictionary. In 1937, Denny was one of the founding members of the Seattle Weavers’ Guild, which promotes interest in handweaving crafts.

This portrait of Grace Denny was used to accompany an article about a talk she would be giving at the Seattle Art Museum on "The Classic Revival" in October 1940.

Caption information source: “Transcript – Grace Denny interview,” Milo Ryan oral histories of retired University of Washington faculty and staff,” retrieved from https://www.lib.washington.edu/static/public/specialcollections/findingaids/75-026Denny.pdf
Caption information source: “Grace G. Denny 1884-1971,” Seattle Weavers’ Guild, retrieved from https://www.seattleweaversguild.com/archive/grace-g-denny-1884-1971