Elizabeth Gray (artist) facts for kids

Elizabeth Gray (born Sharpe) (1837 – 29 April 1903) was an Irish artist. She was known for her etching, watercolour painting, and photography.

Her Life Story

Elizabeth Sharpe was born in Dublin, Ireland, in 1837. She came from an important family. Her brother, Richard Sharpe, was an inventor. He created something called the chromograph.

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

Her Amazing Art

Elizabeth Gray created art using 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.

Elizabeth continued making art after she got married. She used pen and ink on many different surfaces. This included drawing on eggs! One of her works, View of Ferntree Gully, from 1860, was drawn on porcelain.

Exhibitions and Awards

Elizabeth showed five of her artworks at an exhibition in Melbourne in 1864. These included four landscapes and one rural scene. She also exhibited with her husband at the Melbourne Intercolonial Exhibition in 1866. Here, she displayed watercolours of Schnapper Point and Queenscliff. She also showed two etchings called The Bluff and Beech Trees.

Elizabeth won a medal for her unique doilies. These were "etchings on linen" made with marking ink and a quill pen.

Royal Connections

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

Because of these unique gifts, she received a special request from the royal family. The Duke asked her to make a second pair of eggs for Queen Victoria. Elizabeth created another pair, which were mounted in silver.

The eggs given to the Duke were later sold. However, the pair made for Queen Victoria are still kept at Osborne House on the Isle of Wight.

Other Works

Two of Elizabeth Gray's pen-and-ink drawings were shown at the Victorian Intercolonial Exhibition in 1873. Her special egg vases were also displayed there. Another example of her work that still exists is an etched opaline panel. This panel shows a fern gully.

Elizabeth also showed photographs of Aboriginal people at the Melbourne Centennial International Exhibition in 1888.