Pat Larter facts for kids

Patricia Larter (1936–1996) was an Australian artist. She was known for her unique artworks that included mail art, videos, photos, performances, and paintings. Many people considered her a top artist in the "international mail art" movement. Pat Larter also created the term "femail art," which was later used by other female mail artists around the world.

Pat Larter's Life

Patricia Florence Holmes was born on July 8, 1936, in Leytonstone, England. She grew up on Canvey Island with her family. When she was young, her father passed away, and Pat had to work to help support her family.

Pat met her husband, Richard Larter, at their workplace, Perfect Lambert & Co. They got married on February 18, 1953, when Pat was only sixteen years old. In 1962, they moved to Australia. They had five children: Lorraine, Nicholas, Derek, Diane, and Eliza.

The Larter family first lived in Luddenham, New South Wales. In 1982, they moved to Yass, New South Wales. Sadly, Pat Larter passed away from cancer on October 6, 1996.

Pat Larter's Art

Pat Larter's art often challenged traditional ideas about women. She focused on art forms like performance and mail art, which are not always permanent. She traded art with many artists from different countries and showed Australia's art in major postal art exhibitions.

Her collection of mail art is now kept at the Art Gallery of New South Wales (AGNSW). It is the largest collection of its kind in Australia. Pat Larter also started painting later in her life, but her painting career was cut short when she passed away.

Femail Art

Pat Larter created the term "Femail Art." This was her feminist way of responding to mail art. Female mail artists all over the world adopted this term. For example, artist Anna Banana used "Femail Art" in the title of her magazine, VILE, in 1979.

Pat and Richard Larter's Collaboration

Pat Larter appeared in many of Richard Larter's paintings. She was often called his "muse," which means someone who inspires an artist. Their individual art projects often blended together.

Pat would direct Richard to take photos of her, which she then used in her own artworks. Richard also used these same photos as inspiration for his paintings. They also worked together to create many Super-8 films and prints. Both Pat and Richard's individual artworks shared similar themes and ideas.

When Pat Larter sent out mail art, whether it was her own work or something they made together, she always signed it "Pat & Dick" or "Pat and Richard Larter." This showed how much they worked as a team.

Exhibitions

Selected Solo Exhibitions

• 2015, Femail Art, Mailbox Art Space, Melbourne
• 2013 Paintings, Watters Gallery, Sydney
• 2011 Paintings, Watters Gallery, Sydney
• 2009 Abstract and Figurative Paintings, Legge Gallery, Sydney
• 2005 Paintings, Legge Gallery, Sydney
• 2003 Abstract and Figurative Paintings, Legge Gallery, Sydney
• 2002 Paintings, Legge Gallery, Sydney
• 2001 Paintings (unexhibited work 1992-1994), Legge Gallery, Sydney
• 1999 Patricia Larter 1936-1996, Legge Gallery at Watters Gallery, Sydney
• 1997 Pat Larter, Legge Gallery, Sydney
• 1996 Mirror Mirror On The Wall, Legge Gallery, Sydney
• 1995 New Paintings and Super Scans With Glitter, Legge Gallery, Sydney
• 1994 Allusions and Illusions, Legge Gallery, Sydney
• 1993 Bedazzled, Legge Gallery, Sydney
• 1992 Rhapsody in Colour, Legge Gallery, Sydney
• 1991 Laser Prints, Manfred Stirnemann Gallery, Zurich, Switzerland
• 1986 Mail Art Show, Artists' Union, Osaka, Japan

Selected Group Exhibitions

• 2015 See You At The Barricades, Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney
• 2014 Glitter: Pat Larter vs Lola Ryan, Lawrence Wilson Art Gallery, University of Western Australia
• 2013 Like Mike, Sarah Scout Presents, Melbourne
• 2011 Frank's Flat, Maitland Regional Art Gallery, NSW
• 2010 Art Month Sydney, Watters Gallery, Sydney
• 2010 Melbourne Art Fair, Royal Exhibition Building, Melbourne
• 2010 Summer Exhibition, Watters Gallery, Sydney
• 2009 Summer Exhibition, Watters Gallery, Sydney
• 2008 Richard Larter: A Retrospective, National Gallery of Australia, Canberra
• 2008 Melbourne Art Fair 2008, Royal Exhibition Building, Melbourne
• 2007 Summer Show, Legge Gallery, Sydney
• 2007 Art Sydney '07, Royal Hall of Industries, Moore Park, Sydney
• 2006 Larter Family Values, Travelling exhibition: University of Tasmania Centre for the Arts; Queensland University of Technology & Liverpool Regional Museum
• 2006 Group Show, Legge Gallery, Sydney
• 2006 Summer Show, Legge Gallery, Sydney
• 2006 Melbourne Art Fair 2006, Royal Exhibition Building, Melbourne
• 2005 Summer Show, Legge Gallery, Sydney
• 2004 Melbourne Art Fair 2004, Royal Exhibition Building, Melbourne
• 2003 Summer Show, Legge Gallery, Sydney
• 2002 Melbourne Art Fair 2002, Royal Exhibition Building, Melbourne
• 2002 Group Show, Legge Gallery, Sydney
• 2002 Summer Show, Legge Gallery, Sydney
• 2000 Ten Years , Legge Gallery, Sydney
• 2000 Sixth Australian, Legge Gallery, Sydney
• 2000 Summer Exhibition, Legge Gallery, Sydney
• 1999 Exploratory Behaviour, National Gallery of Victoria
• 1999 10Th Summer Exhibition, Legge Gallery, Sydney
• 1998 Christmas Show, Legge Gallery, Sydney
• 1997 Sanguine Valediction, Legge Gallery, Sydney
• 1996 Mellow Down Easy (Dedicated to Pat Larter), Legge Gallery, Sydney
• 1996 5Th Australian Contemporary Art Fair, Royal Exhibition Building, Melbourne
• 1996 Richard Larter and Pat Larter Super Scans, Watters Gallery, Sydney
• 1996 Adelaide Biennial of Australian Art, Art Gallery of South Australia
• 1995 Ironsides, Powerhouse Museum, for Armidale Regional Gallery
• 1995 Summer Exhibition, Legge Gallery, Sydney
• 1994 Fourth Australian Contemporary Art Fair 2002, Royal Exhibition Building, Melbourne
• 1994 Artists Don't Believe in Sanity Clause, Legge Gallery, Sydney
• 1993 After the Field..., Utopia Gallery, Sydney
• 1993 After the Field..., Manly Art Gallery, Sydney
• 1993 Pat Larter's Rhythms & Peter Maloney's Blues, Rom Gallery, Sydney
• 1993 Tempest, Legge Gallery, Sydney
• 1992 Abstract: The Non-objective, MOCA, Brisbane
• 1992 Thisness, Legge Gallery, Sydney

Collections

Pat Larter's art can be found in several important art collections, including:

• National Gallery of Australia
• Art Gallery of South Australia
• Art Gallery of New South Wales
• Art Gallery of Western Australia
• Allen Arthur Robinson
• National Gallery of Victoria

See also

• Australian art