School of Culture and Communication - Theses
Permanent URI for this collection
Search Results
1 - 4 of 4
-
ItemThe etched work of Jessie C.A. Traill, 1881-1967( 1982)Jessie C. A. Traill, 1881-1967, a Melbourne-born artist, was, during her heyday, well respected both in her home state and beyond, as a painter and etcher. Today her name is most readily associated with etchings, and it is generally recognised that her contribution to the etching revival in Australia is a major one and that her work in this medium warrants a thorough study in order that her relative place in this context be fully appreciated. Her prints are, moreover, of a high quality technically speaking, and show significant innovations for Australia in both this respect and in their subject matter. They are, as well, delightful and much sought after items for the collector and connoisseur of prints. This paper is the first written study of Traill's etchings, the present generation print lover having been introduced to her work in a retrospective exhibition at the "Important Women Artists" gallery in Melbourne in 1977, and in subsequent exhibitions of Australian etchings where her works have been included. As such, the study will add to a slowly growing body of information on the major Australian etchers, material which is invaluable for an adequate formulation of the history of printmaking in Australia.
-
ItemPenleigh Boyd 1890-1923( 1986)This thesis traces the life and work of Penleigh Boyd. In so doing it seeks to elucidate the influences which shaped his art and his life. In this process a number of themes emerge: Penleigh Boyd’s relationship to and position in the Boyd family; his own attitude to his art and the world around him; the influence on his art of other Australian artists, and the cultural milieu in which he was brought up. Penleigh Boyd was born in England in 1890 while his parents were staying at the country seat of his mother’s family. The family returned to Australia in 1894 and lived in Sandringham until 1907 when they move to Yarra Glen. Boyd attended the National Gallery School in Melbourne from 1905-1909, and, after two exhibitions in Melbourne, set off for Europe early in 1911. He stayed in Europe, mostly in England, for almost two years before returning to Australia newly married. Back in Australia he painted for two-and-a-half years and built a house at Warrandyte before he enlisted in the A.I.F. He served in France until September 1917 when he was gassed at Ypres. Repatriated to Australia in 1918, he settled in Warrandyte and painted the wattle pictures for which he is most remembered. In 1922 he left for England to organize a loan exhibition of modern art which was shown in the major capitals of Australia in 1923. Not long after the exhibition closed in Melbourne, Boyd was killed in a car accident while travelling to Sydney. Penleigh Boyd repays study for a number of reasons. Firstly, he belongs to one of the best-known of Australia’s many artistic families. His brothers Martin and Merric, his son Robin and his nephew Arthur have all made highly significant contributions to Australian cultural life. Penleigh Boyd is less well-known than most of the members of the Boyd family, partly because of his early death, but also because his art is neither as individual nor as lasting as that of the more famous members of the family. If he is remembered, it is for his paintings of wattle in blossom. These paintings are, it is true, unique in Australian art, but they cannot be compared to the achievements of either of his brothers, or indeed of his son Robin. (From Introduction)
-
ItemChanging the landscape: the life and art of Moya Dyring( 2002)This thesis brings back into focus the life and art of Moya Oyring 1909-1967, who for a time played an important role in Australian art history. From 1937 she lived mainly in France and during her lifetime produced a substantial body of work, most of which was sold at exhibitions throughout Australia. Dyring's early work was figurative, her style strongly defined by the George Bell School and an early foray into Cubism. After settling in France the figures gave way to the constantly changing landscape as she travelled throughout the countryside of France, Spain and Italy. She recorded the life of the country villages the seaside towns and the vistas of Paris. But as her life slowed down in the late 1950s and early 1960s and she travelled less, the figures of children, playing in the parks and gardens blending with the cityscape of Paris, took over from the predominate landscape of earlier years. This thesis is presented in two parts. The first part takes the form of a biography, reconstructing the life of the artist from letters and interviews. Fifty six letters were sent to John and Sunday Reed by Dyring, over a period of thirty years and are now held in the archives of the State Library of Victoria. These letters and other relevant archival material have been used to reconstruct the life of the artist in consultation with family members and friends. Secondary sources, including catalogues and relevant art historical texts have provided additional knowledge of significant people and events that have had an impact on the artist's life, such as John and Sunday Reed, Sam Atyeo and Herbert and Mary Alice Evatt. The second section studies her work and the critical reception it received. It places the artist in the context of her own history, her art practice and art history as it relates to Dyring's gendered experience, politically and personally. Lack of knowledge of the artist's life and work has contributed to her being almost completely disregarded in exhibitions of women artists working in the thirties, forties and fifties. Her contribution to the emerging modernist scene in Melbourne and the part she played in the circle surrounding John and Sunday Reed at Heide, has been reduced to a few lines in art historical texts, yet a studio in Paris bears her name in homage to a great supporter of fellow artists. She had a rare gift for friendship and extended generous hospitality to a large circle friends and young artist visiting Paris from Australia. Like so many women artists of her generation her place in history has been ignored and her art forgotten. This thesis tells her story and places Moya Dyring and her art and life, back into the landscape.
-
ItemHugh Ramsay: a consideration of his life and work( 1966)Hugh Ramsay was born on 25th May, 1877, in Glasgow, the fourth son of John and Margaret Ramsay (nee Thomson). John Ramsay appears to have followed various occupations before this time. According to D. S. Adam he served an apprenticeship as a carpenter and cabinet-maker in Shotts, Lanarkshire; in June, 1896, at the time of his marriage in Stane, Lanarkshire, he gave his occupation as ‘commission agent’; and at the time of Hugh’s birth in Glasgow he gave his occupation as ‘Die Sinker and Engraver’. Two considerations, mentioned by Adam and Mrs. Lennie, a niece of John Ramsay, might well have influenced Ramsay in his decision to emigrate: according to Adam, Margaret Ramsay was in poor health, and the doctor advised a change of climate; Mrs. Lennie, on the other hand, states that John Ramsay was attracted to Australia by the business opportunities he say there. On 5th March, 1878, John Ramsay with his wife and four sons sailed on the ‘Loch Sunart’ for Melbourne, Arriving on 7th June, 1878. The family lived at first in King Street, West Melbourne, moving in 1881 to Williams Road, Prahran, in 1885 to Erica Street, Windsor, and finally, in 1888, to Essendon. Here, according to a neighbor, the Ramsays lived in a terrace house in Bayview Terrace before moving into the substantial new home, “Clydebank”, in Vida Street. (From Chapter 1)