Polly Hurry facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Polly Hurry
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John Farmer (1937) Polly Hurry, oil on canvas 50cm x 40 cm
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| Born | 2 May 1883 |
| Died | 5 August 1963 (aged 80) Frankston
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| Nationality | Australian |
| Known for | Painting |
| Movement | Australian Tonalist |
| Spouse(s) | John Farmer |
Polly Hurry (born May 2, 1883, in Kyneton – died August 5, 1963, in Frankston) was an Australian painter. She helped start the Australian Tonalist art movement. She was also a member of the Twenty Melbourne Painters Society.
Contents
Early Life and Education
Polly Hurry was born Mary Hurry in Kyneton, Victoria, on May 2, 1883. Her parents were Henry Hurry and Mary Herring. She was the middle child with two brothers, Maurice and George. Polly grew up in Kyneton at her family home, South Lodge. She later went to Ruyton Girls' School in Kew for her education.
Becoming an Artist
Polly Hurry first learned drawing and wood carving at the Kyneton School of Mines. She then studied watercolour painting with John Mather, a Scottish artist. During a camping trip, she met other artists who knew Max Meldrum. Meldrum was a famous artist known for his "tonalist" style. This meeting made Polly want to become a serious artist.
She began drawing from real life at the Old Temple Court building in Melbourne. Many students of Frederick McCubbin had studios there. These included Jessie Traill, Dora Wilson, and AME Bale. Polly then joined Max Meldrum's studio as one of his first students.
Australian Tonalist Movement
Polly Hurry felt that Max Meldrum was the most important person in her art journey. His studio also changed her personal life. There, she met John Farmer, and they married on August 13, 1921. John Farmer (1897-1989) was a close friend of another student, Justus Jorgensen. Farmer worked as a scenery painter for J.C. Williamson Ltd.
In 1917, a drawing teacher suggested students listen to Max Meldrum. Meldrum believed that "the art of painting is a pure science." He thought painting was about carefully studying how light and color appear to the eye.
Polly Hurry became a founding member of the Twenty Melbourne Painters Society. This group included artists like Alice Bale and Clara Southern. They were all supporters and students of Meldrum. The group formed because they disagreed with the Victorian Artists Society. In 1919, the new group held its first art show. The secretary, A.M.E. Bale, said they wanted "sincerity and a humble study of nature."
In 1921, Polly Hurry entered the first Archibald Prize. This is a famous art competition in Australia. Forty-one artworks were shown, but the winner was WB McInnes. We don't know what painting Polly Hurry submitted.
Polly and John shared a studio at Grosvenor Chambers in Melbourne. Many famous artists also had studios there, including Meldrum, Tom Roberts, and Frederick McCubbin. Other artists like Janet Cumbrae Stewart and Dora Wilson often visited their studio.
Adventures in Asia
For their honeymoon, Polly and John traveled to Asia to paint. They visited Hong Kong, Shanghai, Peking, and Japan (through Korea). People often thought they were among the first Australian artists to paint there. However, other artists like Ellis Rowan had visited Asia before them.
Polly's painting Temple Lantern at Nikko came from this trip. It shows a temple lantern with two Japanese maple trees. She painted it using Meldrum's ideas, with soft earth and grey colors. The background is blurred, making the main subject stand out.
After returning to Australia, they moved to Olinda. Their house, named Miyako, was designed by Justus Jorgensen. It had a large open room, like an artist's retreat. Other Meldrum students often visited. The artist Clarice Beckett stayed there. Polly and John even held a formal Japanese tea ceremony and practiced ikebana, the art of flower arranging. This inspired Clarice Beckett to paint a vase of gladioli.
European Travels and Exhibitions
In late 1923, Polly and John went to Europe. They stayed in Paris first and met up with other artist friends. Polly copied two paintings by Velasquez at the Louvre museum in Paris. Velasquez's painting style was admired by Meldrum.
They spent time in France and London. Polly had success in London, showing two portraits at the Royal Society of Portrait Painters. They also visited Millet’s studio in Fontaineblau and painted in the forest around Barbizon. They traveled south to Nice on the French Riviera. They also visited Holland to see paintings by Rembrandt.
Polly and John returned to Australia in 1926. Polly showed 57 of her works with John. She also joined the Melbourne Society of Women Painters and Sculptors and exhibited with them for many years. In 1927, they showed "thumbnail sketches" (small paintings) with other well-known artists.
The couple went back to Paris and London from 1932 to 1935. Polly's work was successful at the French Salon in Paris in 1933. Even while away, she showed her paintings in Melbourne with Meldrum and other artists.
Sometimes, people talked about Polly's art by mentioning her husband. One newspaper called her "Miss Polly Hurry" in 1939. Another said "Mrs. John Farmer (P. Hurry) has a cottage at Olinda." This shows how women artists were often linked to their husbands at the time. Polly kept her studio at Grosvenor Chambers until 1959. During World War II, she used her studio for a charity art show. She also let the Melbourne Society of Women Painters and Sculptors use it. They made and sold crafts to raise money for the war effort.
Later Life and Death
In 1954, Polly Hurry moved from Olinda to Frankston for health reasons. She passed away there on August 5, 1963, at 80 years old. Her husband, John Farmer, and her brother Maurice survived her. She was cremated on August 7.
Legacy
Polly Hurry was a founding member of the Twenty Melbourne Painters. She showed her art with them from 1919 to 1963. She became a life member of the group in 1961. She also exhibited with the Victorian Artists Society and the Melbourne Society of Women Painters and Sculptors.
In 1978, a street in Chisholm, Canberra, was named Hurry Place in her honor. This was to remember her contributions.
In 2009, Polly Hurry's work was part of a special art show called Misty moderns: Australian Tonalists 1915–1950. This show helped people remember her important place in Australian art history.
Selected Exhibitions
- 1916 Kyneton Technical School, exhibition of portraits by Hurry, Dora Wilson and Alice Farr.
- 1919 Twenty Melbourne Painters, Athenaeum Gallery, August.
- 1921 Third annual exhibition of the Twenty Melbourne Painters, Athenaeum Hall, August.
- 1925 Royal Society of Portrait Painters, London.
- 1926 Exhibition of paintings by Mr J. Farmer and Mrs J. Farmer (P. Hurry), Athenaeum Hall, April-May.
- 1933 French Salon, Paris. Five portraits exhibited by J. Farmer and P. Hurry.
- 1934 Exhibition of Paintings by C. Beckett, A. Figuerola, P. Hurry, M. Meldrum, J. Jorgensen and P. Leason, Athenaeum Gallery, October.
- 1941 Exhibition of Paintings by Max Meldrum and the Meldrum Group; Farmer's Blaxland Galleries, Sydney.
- 1959 Twenty Melbourne Painters exhibition, Athenaeum, September.
Posthumous Exhibitions
- 1973 Max Meldrum and his School, McClelland Gallery, May-July.
- 1983 Polly Hurry 1883-1963. A Retrospective. Castlemaine Art Gallery and Historical Museum, September-October; travelling to McClelland Gallery, November.
Collections
- Victoria and Albert Museum, London
- Queensland Art Gallery
- Ballarat Art Gallery
- Castlemaine Art Museum
