Dawn Sime facts for kids

Dawn Sime (born June 1, 1932, died May 28, 2001) was an important Australian artist. She was known for her abstract paintings and was part of the expressionist art movement in Melbourne during the late 1950s and 1960s. She was one of the first artists to create abstract art in Australia at that time. Dawn Sime lived most of her life in Melbourne and passed away in Castlemaine.

Becoming an Artist

Early Life and Inspiration

Dawn Sime was the youngest child and the only girl in her family. She loved reading and drawing from a young age. When she was 16, she wanted to go to art school.

She found inspiration in British modern artists like Henry Moore, Barbara Hepworth, and Ben Nicholson. She also loved Asian art, especially after her brother brought back art prints from a trip to Southeast Asia.

Art Training and Marriage

Dawn Sime mostly taught herself how to paint. However, she did study formally for six months at the Melbourne Technical College in 1948. There, she met Ian Sime, who was also an artist. They later married.

Joining the Art Scene

In the early 1950s, Dawn and Ian Sime joined the Contemporary Art Society. They created a unique style of abstract art. Their art was called "biomorphic abstraction," which means it used shapes inspired by living things. This was different from the popular art style of the time, which showed more realistic figures. Famous artists like Arthur Boyd and Joy Hester were known for that style.

Dawn and Ian Sime, along with sculptors Julius Kane and Clifford Last, showed their art. They exhibited at the studio of Georges and Mirka Mora on Collins Street.

Founding an Art Space

Dawn Sime also helped create the first art space run by artists themselves. She started it with John and Sunday Reed. This space was first called the Museum of Modern Art Australia. Today, it is known as the Heide Museum.

Gaining Recognition

Dawn Sime's art became well-known when one of her paintings was shown in London. This happened at the Tate Gallery in 1962, as part of a big exhibition of Australian art. After this, she began to sell and show her artwork a lot more.

Her growing reputation even allowed her to teach art. She became an art teacher at the Fintona Girls' School, even though she didn't have formal teaching training.

Challenges and Perseverance

In the early 1960s, Dawn Sime's marriage to Ian Sime ended. Around the same time, her success as an artist seemed to slow down. Her art career faced another challenge when she married Erik Westbrook. He was the director of the National Gallery of Victoria. Some people thought her art career could not be taken seriously because she was the director's wife.

However, Dawn Sime did not give up. She kept making art and showed her work throughout the 1970s and early 1990s. In 1988, she and Erik Westbrook, who had retired from the gallery, moved to Castlemaine.

Where Her Art Was Shown

Dawn Sime's art was shown in many important places. Here are some examples:

• In 1962, her work represented Australia at the Tate Gallery in London.
• In 1964, she was invited to exhibit at Helena Rubinstein at the Art Gallery of New South Wales.
• In 1972, she received a special award called a Fellowship to study in the USA.
• In 1987, she was an artist-in-residence for two weeks. She had an outdoor studio at the Victoria Gardens in High Street for the Prahan Council.
• In 1996, a special exhibition called Looking through: selected works by Dawn Sime showed her art from the 1960s. This was at the Ian Potter Museum of Art, University of Melbourne. Her earlier works were also shown at the Heide Museum that same year.

Art in Collections

Dawn Sime's artwork is held in many important art collections. This means that galleries and institutions own her pieces. The Women's Art Register lists her presence in these collections:

• National Gallery of Victoria
• Art Gallery of Western Australia
• Ballarat Fine Arts Gallery
• Auckland Art Gallery
• Castlemaine Art Museum
• Commonwealth Collection, Canberra
• Reserve Bank, Sydney
• Reserve Bank, NSW