Adelaide Perry facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Adelaide Perry
Taronga Wharf, 1939
Born	Adelaide Elizabeth Perry 23 June 1891 Beechworth, Victoria
Died	1973(1973-00-00) (aged 81–82) Killara, New South Wales
Nationality	Australian
Known for	Artist, printmaker and teacher

Adelaide Perry (born 1891, died 1973) was an important Australian artist. She was also a printmaker and a respected art teacher in Sydney. Adelaide showed her paintings and prints from 1925 to 1955. She helped introduce a new way of making prints. This method used linoleum blocks in the 1920s. She even started her own art school.

Who Was Adelaide Perry?

Adelaide Perry was born in 1891 in Beechworth, Victoria, Australia. Her father was Richard Hall Perry, a lawyer. Her mother was Eliza Elizabeth. When her father passed away in 1896, her family moved to New Zealand.

In 1914, Adelaide returned to Melbourne. She went to the National Gallery of Victoria Art School. There, she learned from famous artists like Bernard Hall and Frederick McCubbin.

Learning Art in London

Adelaide won a special scholarship in 1921. This allowed her to study art in London for four years. She attended the Royal Academy of Arts. In London, she met artists like Charles Sims and Gerald Kelly. She said they taught her "all she knew about art." She also showed her work in Paris at the Salon des Artistes Francais. Adelaide came back to Australia in 1925.

How She Used Linocuts

In the mid-1920s, Adelaide started using linoleum to make prints. This was a new and exciting way to create art. Wooden blocks were hard to cut, and you needed a special printing press. Linoleum was much easier to use.

Adelaide loved this new method. She used it in her own art and taught it to her students. She liked the strong black lines and simple shapes it made. This style fit her interest in modernism. She used linocuts to show the coast and the harbour. Along with artists like Thea Proctor, she helped make linocuts popular in Australia.

Her Own Art School

By 1930, Adelaide was known as a "clever artist." The Bulletin magazine praised her portraits. She painted the poet Mary Gilmore and art critic Basil Burdett. At this time, she was also teaching at the Julian Ashton Art School.

In the early 1930s, Adelaide opened her own school. It was called the Adelaide Perry School of Drawing and Painting. It was located in Sydney. She also taught part-time at the Presbyterian Ladies' College in Croydon. She often showed her art at the Macquarie Galleries.

In 1934, Adelaide showed her "quality portraits" in an exhibition. This show featured leading women artists of the time. It was held by the Melbourne Society of Women Painters and Sculptors.

In 1936, Adelaide found a penthouse in Sydney. She turned it into a stylish art studio. It was also where she lived.

Exhibitions and Later Years

In 1937, Adelaide became a founding member of the Australian Academy of Art. This group was against modern art. In 1940, her portrait "Diana" was praised. Artist Arthur Murch called it "subtle." He also noted how Australian art was changing.

During the war years, Adelaide showed her art with many well-known artists. These included Julian Ashton, William Dobell, and Thea Proctor. In 1944, she showed her drawings at the Macquarie Galleries.

After the war, Adelaide taught art full-time. She worked at Presbyterian Ladies' College. She taught there until she retired in 1962.

Adelaide continued to show her work in art exhibitions. In 1954, a writer noted her "quiet, sober and considered work." Even though it was calm, it still had "punch." She exhibited with artists like Arthur Murch and Lloyd Rees.

After 1955, Adelaide created less new work. But she had already made her mark as a printmaker and painter. Her art was later included in important art shows.

Remembering Her Art

In 1984, Adelaide's oil paintings were part of an exhibition. It was called Private Collection: The Post-Impressionist Mood in Australian Painting.

In 1986, her linocuts were shown at the National Gallery of Australia. This exhibition was called Australian Printmakers: 1773–1986.

In 1995, there was a big exhibition of Adelaide's work. It was called Overlooked But Not Forgotten. An art critic named Sasha Grishin said Adelaide was not a "major figure." But he thought her early linocuts were very good. He said they were as good as those by Margaret Preston and Thea Proctor. Grishin concluded that Adelaide had a "significant impact on the Sydney art scene."

Recognition

• 1995: The exhibition Overlooked But Not Forgotten was held. It showed works by Adelaide Perry and her students.
• 2001: The Adelaide Perry Gallery was opened. It is at Presbyterian Ladies' College. It helps students learn about art and design.
• 2006: The Adelaide Perry Drawing Prize was created.