Thea Proctor
Thea Proctor | |
---|---|
St John's Wood School of Art | |
Known for | Painting |
Alethea Mary Proctor (2 October 1879 – 29 July 1966) was an Australian painter, print maker, designer and teacher who upheld the ideas of 'taste' and 'style'.[1]
Biography
Proctor was born in
Proctor studied at the
In 1912, Proctor became the first female Australian artist to exhibit at the Venice Biennale. Her watercolour on silk 'Coquetterie', with its characteristic depiction of costuming, was exhibited for Great Britain.[5]
After returning to Sydney, Proctor exhibited with
Proctor was known for her interest in fashion, and designed her own clothing, expressing her individuality.[9] On her return from London in the early 1920s, Proctor was unimpressed with the Australian women's fashion of the day, poor availability of the sort of luxury fabrics she had been used to seeing in London and Paris, and particularly the way Australian women wore what she considered shapeless hats.[10]
By 1922, she had set up a studio in the Grosvenor Building at 219 George Street where she taught classes.[11] She regarded herself as one of the first 'moderns' to exhibit in Australia, regularly attending art openings, always impeccably dressed in lavender or violet.[12]
Proctor taught Adrian Feint the techniques of woodblock-engraving 1926–28, and they both produced covers for the Ure Smith magazine The Home. Later she taught linocut printing at Julian Ashton's Sydney Art School and drawing at the Society of Arts and Crafts of New South Wales.[2]
In 1937 Proctor became a foundation member of, and exhibited with, Robert Menzies' anti-modernist organisation, the Australian Academy of Art.[13] Late in life she promoted the neglected work of her cousin John Russell.[14] Proctor remained unmarried but was briefly engaged to Sidney Long in 1898, whom she had met and studied with in London.[1] Proctor was always exquisitely groomed and considered beautiful. She was still creating and exhibiting drawings of sure and subtle draughtsmanship until late in life, with her work showing at the Macquarie Galleries in Sydney.[12]
Two of several portraits by Lambert of Proctor hang in the Art Gallery of New South Wales and the National Portrait Gallery in Australia has a portrait in charcoal, also by Lambert.[2][15][16][17]
Recognition
- Awarded a prize at the Bowral Amateur Art Society's exhibition in 1894, while attending Lynthorpe Ladies' College.[2] This was judged by Arthur Streeton)
- The Society of Artists awarded her a medal in recognition of her influence as a tastemaker in New South Wales.[18]
- A retrospective exhibition The World of Thea Proctor was held at the National Portrait Gallery, Old Parliament House in 2005.[19][20]
- Proctor Street in the Canberra suburb of Chisholm is named in her honour.[21]
Sources
- Encyclopedia of Australian Art Alan McCulloch, Hutchinson, London 1968
- The World of Thea Proctor Barry Humphries, Andrew Sayers, Sarah Engledow, Craftsmann House, St Leonards, NSW, 2005
References
- ^ a b Proctor, Thea. "Thea Proctor". Design and Art Australia Online. Retrieved 18 June 2020.
- ^ a b c d e f Butler, Roger. "Proctor, Alethea Mary (Thea) (1879–1966)". Australian Dictionary of Biography. National Centre of Biography, Australian National University – via Australian Dictionary of Biography.
- ^ National Gallery of Australia. "George.W.Lambert Retrospective:heroes and icons – George LAMBERT – Miss Thea Proctor". nga.gov.au.
- ^ "The Terrace; Thea PROCTOR, 1879–1966; n.d.; 1943_14 on eHive". eHive. Retrieved 19 June 2020.
- ^ Kerry Gardner (2021) 'Australia at the Venice Biennale: A Century of Contemporary Art' The Migunyah Press, ISBN 978-0-522-87736-6
- ^ Contemporary Group, [Contemporary Group: Australian Gallery File], retrieved 20 June 2020
- ^ "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 14 October 2008. Retrieved 18 November 2009.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) - ^ "Thea Proctor & Margaret Preston". themonthly.com.au. 5 November 2008.
- ^ Gray, Anne (2002). "Thea Proctor". National Gallery of Australia. Retrieved 18 June 2020.
- ^ "Australians must Develop Taste says Miss Thea Proctor AND HAS SOMETHING TO ADD ABOUT HATS, ARCHITECTURE, THE RUSSIAN BALLET AND THE VENUS de MILO EPIDEMIC IN AMERICA. (1 June 1922)", The Home: An Australian Quarterly, 3 (2), Art in Australia, 1 June 1922, retrieved 20 June 2020
- ^ Preston, Margaret. "Thea Proctor's Tea Party". Art Gallery of New South Wales. Retrieved 20 June 2020.
- ^ ISSN 0007-4039
- ^ Australian Academy of Art First Exhibition, April 8th-29th, Sydney : Catalogue (1st ed.). Sydney: Australian Academy of Art. 1938. Retrieved 2 November 2022.
- ISSN 1833-7538. Retrieved 18 June 2020.
- ^ Lambert, George W (1903). "Miss Thea Proctor". AGNSW collection record. Art Gallery of New South Wales. Retrieved 10 May 2016.
- ^ Lambert, George W (1916). "Portrait of a lady (Thea Proctor)". AGNSW collection record. Art Gallery of New South Wales. Retrieved 10 May 2016.
- ^ Proctor, Thea. "The real Thea". National Portrait Gallery of Australia. Retrieved 18 June 2020.
- ^ Proctor, Thea. "Society of Artists Medal". Retrieved 20 June 2020.
- ^ "The World of Thea Proctor". National Portrait Gallery exhibition.
- ^ "Thea's World - State of the Arts". Archived from the original on 24 October 2009. Retrieved 18 November 2009.
- ^ "Schedule 'B' National Memorials Ordinance 1928–1972 Street Nomenclature List of Additional Names with Reference to Origin: Commonwealth of Australia Gazette. Special (National: 1977–2012) – 8 Feb 1978". Trove. p. 14. Retrieved 2 April 2020.
External links
- Thea Proctor at the Art Gallery of New South Wales
- "The Rose", 1927 at the National Portrait Gallery, Canberra
- Thea Proctor: Australian art and artists file, State Library Victoria