Elizabeth Gray (Irish artist) facts for kids

Elizabeth Gray (born Sharpe) (1837 – 29 April 1903) was a talented Irish artist. She was known for her beautiful watercolour paintings, special etching techniques, and even some photography.

Elizabeth Gray: Her Life Story

Early Life and Family

Elizabeth Sharpe was born in Dublin, Ireland, in 1837. She came from an important family. Her brother, Richard Sharpe, was a member of the Royal Hibernian Academy and invented something called the chromograph.

Elizabeth moved to Sydney, Australia, by early 1857. She married Charles Gray on 19 March 1857. Their wedding took place in Portland, Victoria. The couple lived on their property called Nareeb Nareeb, which was near Portland. They had at least three daughters. Their oldest daughter, Annie, was born on 14 April 1858. Elizabeth Gray passed away on 29 April 1903.

Her Amazing Art

Elizabeth Gray worked with watercolour paints and pen-and-ink. Some of her first artworks in Australia were two watercolours from 1857. These showed Sydney Town and Harbour and Sydney Heads.

Creative Techniques

Elizabeth continued to create art after she got married. She used pen and ink on many different surfaces, even on eggs! One of her works, View of Ferntree Gully, from 19 February 1860, was painted on porcelain.

In 1864, she showed five of her artworks at the fourth Annual Exhibition of Fine Arts in Melbourne. These included four landscapes and one rural scene. Elizabeth and her husband also showed their art at the 1866 Melbourne Intercolonial Exhibition. She displayed watercolours of Schnapper Point and Queenscliff. She also showed two etchings called The Bluff and Beech Trees. Elizabeth even won a medal for her special doilies. These were "etchings on linen, done with marking ink and a quill pen."

Royal Recognition

In 1867, Elizabeth Gray gave two vases to the Duke of Edinburgh. He was visiting Victoria at the time. These vases were made from black swan eggs. They had "sketches of natural history" etched onto them.

Because of these unique gifts, she received a special request from the royal family. Her egg vases were shown at the 1872 Exhibition at the South Kensington Museum. Prince Alfred asked her to make a second pair of egg vases for Queen Victoria. Elizabeth made another pair, and these were mounted in silver.

Two of Elizabeth Gray's pen-and-ink drawings were also shown at the Victorian Intercolonial Exhibition in 1873. Her egg vases were displayed there too. The pair of eggs belonging to the Prince were later sold. However, the Queen's pair are still kept at Osborne House on the Isle of Wight.

Another example of Elizabeth's artwork that still exists is an etched opaline panel. It shows a fern gully. She also displayed photographs of Aboriginal people at the 1888 Melbourne Centennial International Exhibition.