Marjorie Hann facts for kids

Marjorie Helen Hann OAM, FRSASA (born 1916 – died 2011) was a talented artist and art teacher from South Australia. She was known for her realistic paintings, her fun cartoon characters, and her helpful art classes.

Early Life and Art Studies

Marjorie was born in 1916. She was the only daughter of William and Mary Fisher. She grew up in Alberton. Marjorie went to Presbyterian Girls' College. There, she started learning art from a teacher named Maude Priest.

When she was just 15, Marjorie joined the Royal South Australian Society of Arts. In the early 1930s, she studied oil painting. Her teachers were famous artists like Leslie Wilkie, Gladys Goode, and Ivor Hele. She learned at the South Australian School of Arts and Crafts. This school was in the old Exhibition Building in Adelaide.

After school, Marjorie worked as a commercial artist. This means she created art for businesses. She designed posters and advertisements for a furniture company called Waterman Brothers.

Marjorie also loved acting. She helped with plays by acting, writing, and designing sets and costumes. She even helped write a musical comedy in 1938.

During World War II, Marjorie worked at the Holden factory in Woodville. She made technical drawings and instruction papers to help with the war effort. This work was very difficult for her.

Creating Cartoons

After the war, Marjorie drew pictures for children's books. These books were written by Kathleen M. Mellor. One book was about safety, called "Stop, Look, Listen." Others were "Now I'm Ready" and "Let's Go to the Beach."

In 1947, a radio person named Bob Fricker created a funny character. His name was "Charlie Cheesecake." Charlie was a boy who often got into trouble. Marjorie was asked to draw pictures for a book about Charlie. This book taught kids about safety. It was called "The Adventures of Charlie Cheesecake." It came out around 1950. The book had comic strip drawings. For each problem Charlie faced, there were two pictures. You could lift a flap to see what happened next! Later, another book came out, called "The Return of Charlie Cheesecake."

Marjorie also wrote and drew a serious comic strip. It was based on a story called The Rose and the Ring by Thackeray. This comic strip had 82 parts. It was shown in newspapers all over Australia.

Writing and Art Judging

Marjorie was good at writing for newspapers. She won a contest for an essay she wrote. After that, she got her own newspaper column. It was called "Every Woman's Family." She wrote this column for many years for newspapers in Adelaide and Melbourne.

The Messenger Press asked her to write about art shows. She wrote a regular column about art in local newspapers for four years. During this time, she also studied the history of art.

Marjorie was also an art judge. For eleven years, she judged the art section at the Royal Adelaide Show. She also wrote and drew pictures for historical articles in The Advertiser newspaper.

Teaching Art

Marjorie taught art classes for many years. She taught landscape and portrait painting. She also taught people how to appreciate art. She taught at the Workers' Educational Association for 16 years. She also taught at colleges in Kensington and Norwood for four years.

She traveled to many country areas in South Australia to teach art. She also taught in Mildura, New South Wales and Nambour, Queensland.

In 1973, Marjorie started special art classes for artists. Ten well-known South Australian artists led these classes. She organized this program with the Royal South Australian Society of Arts for nine years.

Her Paintings

Marjorie always painted in a realistic style. This means her paintings looked very much like real life. She painted directly from nature. She also painted people who posed for her portraits. Sometimes she painted en plein aire, which means painting outdoors.

She used pastels and oils, but her favorite art material was watercolors. She said that Gladys Goode, Ivor Hele, and John C. Goodchild were her biggest inspirations.

Marjorie took two painting trips to the United Kingdom. These were in 1976 and 1979. After each trip, she had very successful art shows in Adelaide. She also had a solo show at the Adelaide Art Society in 2009.

She worked closely with the Lombard Art Gallery in North Adelaide and Stepney. She had six shows there during the Adelaide Fringe Festival. She also showed her art at the Pepper Street Gallery in Magill and at other art events.

Family Life

Marjorie married Sergeant George Adrian Hann around 1945. He was in the RAAF (Royal Australian Air Force).

George and Marjorie lived in Rosslyn Park. They had two sons, born in 1947 and 1951, and a daughter, born in 1949.

Awards and Recognition

Marjorie Hann received the Order of Australia Medal in 1988. This was a special award for her service to the arts.

She was also made an Honorary Life Member of several groups. This means she was given a special title for her lifelong contributions. These groups included:

• Royal South Australian Society of Arts
• Adelaide Art Society
• Burnside Painting Group
• PGC / Seymour College Old Collegian’s Association

In 2010, the Lombard Gallery held a special show of her art. It was part of the Festival Fringe.