Thea Proctor
Encyclopedia
Althea Mary Proctor was, with Margaret Preston
and Grace Cossington Smith
, one of the most famous Australian woman artists of her time. She was born in Armidale, New South Wales
, New South Wales
, to solicitor and politician William Consett Proctor and his wife Katherine Louise. When her parents separated in 1892, she and her mother moved to Bowral to stay with her grandmother who encouraged her interest in painting.
She studied at Sydney Art School from 1896 under Julian Ashton
then St John's Wood School in London in 1903 with George Lambert; they became lifelong friends and she modelled for him many times. Apart from a period in Sydney 1912–14 she worked in London 1903–21, associating with fellow expatriates Charles Conder
, Arthur Streeton
and Tom Roberts
and producing pencil drawings and decorative watercolours and fans influenced by Conder and Japanese woodblock prints. She exhibited at the Royal Academy of Arts, and New English Art Club
, later producing lithographs which were exhibited at the Senefelder Club
and the London Goupil Gallery
for the International Society of Sculptors, Painters and Gravers.
After returning to Sydney, she exhibited with Margaret Preston
in 1925 then with George Lambert founded the Contemporary Group who exhibited in Adrian Feint's Grosvenor Gallery in George Street from 1926–28 with Grace Cossington-Smith, Marion Hall Best, Elioth Gruner
, Margaret Preston
, Roland Wakelin
and Roy de Maistre
.
She taught Adrian Feint
the techniques of woodblock-engraving 1926–28, and like him produced covers for the Ure Smith
magazine Home. Later she taught linocut printing at Julian Ashton's Sydney Art School and drawing at the Society of Arts and Crafts.
She and Margaret Preston
were friends who exhibited together in Sydney and Melbourne until a precipitous bout of professional jealousy in 1925.
Late in life she promoted the neglected work of her cousin John Peter Russell
.
One of several portraits by Lambert hangs in the Art Gallery of New South Wales
.
Margaret Preston
Margaret Preston was a well-known Australian artist. She was highly influential during the 1920s to 1940s for her modernist works as a painter and printmaker and for introducing Aboriginal motifs into contemporary art.-Early life:...
and Grace Cossington Smith
Grace Cossington Smith
Grace Cossington Smith AO OBE was an Australian artist and pioneer of modernist painting in Australia and was instrumental in introducing Post-Impressionism to her home country...
, one of the most famous Australian woman artists of her time. She was born in Armidale, New South Wales
Armidale, New South Wales
Armidale is a city in the Northern Tablelands, New South Wales, Australia. Armidale Dumaresq Shire had a population of 19,485 people according to the 2006 census. It is the administrative centre for the Northern Tablelands region...
, New South Wales
New South Wales
New South Wales is a state of :Australia, located in the east of the country. It is bordered by Queensland, Victoria and South Australia to the north, south and west respectively. To the east, the state is bordered by the Tasman Sea, which forms part of the Pacific Ocean. New South Wales...
, to solicitor and politician William Consett Proctor and his wife Katherine Louise. When her parents separated in 1892, she and her mother moved to Bowral to stay with her grandmother who encouraged her interest in painting.
She studied at Sydney Art School from 1896 under Julian Ashton
Julian Ashton
Julian Rossi Ashton was an Australian artist and teacher, known for his support of the Heidelberg School and for his influential art school in Sydney....
then St John's Wood School in London in 1903 with George Lambert; they became lifelong friends and she modelled for him many times. Apart from a period in Sydney 1912–14 she worked in London 1903–21, associating with fellow expatriates Charles Conder
Charles Conder
Charles Edward Conder was an English-born painter, lithographer and designer. He emigrated to Australia and was a key figure in the Heidelberg School, arguably the beginning of a distinctively Australian tradition in Western art.-Early life:Conder was born in Tottenham, Middlesex, the second son,...
, Arthur Streeton
Arthur Streeton
Sir Arthur Ernest Streeton was an Australian landscape painter.-Early life:Streeton was born in Mount Duneed, near Geelong, and his family moved to Richmond in 1874. In 1882, Streeton commenced art studies with G. F. Folingsby at the National Gallery School.Streeton was influenced by French...
and Tom Roberts
Tom Roberts
Thomas William Roberts , usually known simply as Tom, was a prominent Australian artist and a key member of the Heidelberg School.-Life:...
and producing pencil drawings and decorative watercolours and fans influenced by Conder and Japanese woodblock prints. She exhibited at the Royal Academy of Arts, and New English Art Club
New English Art Club
The New English Art Club was founded in London in 1885 as an alternate venue to the Royal Academy.-History:Young English artists returning from studying art in Paris mounted the first exhibition of the New English Art Club in April 1886...
, later producing lithographs which were exhibited at the Senefelder Club
Senefelder Club
The Senefelder Club is an organisation formed in London in 1909 to promote the craft of art reproduction by the process of lithography.The club was named in honour of Aloys Senefelder, who in 1798 invented the lithographic process....
and the London Goupil Gallery
Goupil & Cie
Goupil & Cie was a leading art dealership in 19th century France, with headquarters in Paris. Step by step, Goupil established a worldwide trade with reproductions of paintings and sculptures, with a network of branches in London, Brussels, The Hague, Berlin and Vienna, as well as in New York and...
for the International Society of Sculptors, Painters and Gravers.
After returning to Sydney, she exhibited with Margaret Preston
Margaret Preston
Margaret Preston was a well-known Australian artist. She was highly influential during the 1920s to 1940s for her modernist works as a painter and printmaker and for introducing Aboriginal motifs into contemporary art.-Early life:...
in 1925 then with George Lambert founded the Contemporary Group who exhibited in Adrian Feint's Grosvenor Gallery in George Street from 1926–28 with Grace Cossington-Smith, Marion Hall Best, Elioth Gruner
Elioth Gruner
Elioth Lauritz Leganyer Gruner, early anglicised from Grüner , was an Australian painter, winner of the Wynne Prize seven times.-Early life:...
, Margaret Preston
Margaret Preston
Margaret Preston was a well-known Australian artist. She was highly influential during the 1920s to 1940s for her modernist works as a painter and printmaker and for introducing Aboriginal motifs into contemporary art.-Early life:...
, Roland Wakelin
Roland Wakelin
Roland Shakespeare Wakelin was an Australian painter and teacher, born in Greytown, New Zealand, who with Roy de Maistre and Grace Cossington Smith are regarded as founding the modern movement in Sydney....
and Roy de Maistre
Roy De Maistre
Roy de Maistre CBE was an Australian artist of international fame. He is famous in Australian art for his early experimentation in "colour-music", and is recognised as the first Australian artist to use pure abstractionism. His later works were painted in a figurative style generally influenced by...
.
She taught Adrian Feint
Adrian Feint
Adrian Feint was an Australian artist born in Narrandera, NSW and who worked in various media but is noted for his bookplate designs....
the techniques of woodblock-engraving 1926–28, and like him produced covers for the Ure Smith
Sydney Ure Smith
Sydney George Ure Smith was an Australian arts publisher and promoter who 'did more than any other Australian to publicize Australian art at home and overseas'....
magazine Home. Later she taught linocut printing at Julian Ashton's Sydney Art School and drawing at the Society of Arts and Crafts.
She and Margaret Preston
Margaret Preston
Margaret Preston was a well-known Australian artist. She was highly influential during the 1920s to 1940s for her modernist works as a painter and printmaker and for introducing Aboriginal motifs into contemporary art.-Early life:...
were friends who exhibited together in Sydney and Melbourne until a precipitous bout of professional jealousy in 1925.
Late in life she promoted the neglected work of her cousin John Peter Russell
John Peter Russell
John Peter Russell was an Australian impressionist painter.-Life and work:John Peter Russell was born at the Sydney suburb of Darlinghurst, the eldest of four children of John Russell, a Scottish engineer, his wife Charlotte Elizabeth, née Nicholl, from London. J. P. Russell was a nephew of Sir...
.
One of several portraits by Lambert hangs in the Art Gallery of New South Wales
Art Gallery of New South Wales
The Art Gallery of New South Wales , located in The Domain in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, was established in 1897 and is the most important public gallery in Sydney and the fourth largest in Australia...
.
Recognition
- Bowral Amateur Art Society competition 1895 (judged by Arthur StreetonArthur StreetonSir Arthur Ernest Streeton was an Australian landscape painter.-Early life:Streeton was born in Mount Duneed, near Geelong, and his family moved to Richmond in 1874. In 1882, Streeton commenced art studies with G. F. Folingsby at the National Gallery School.Streeton was influenced by French...
) - A retrospective exhibition was held at Old Parliament House in 2005