Grace Crowley

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Grace Crowley
Born
Grace Adela Williams Crowley

(1890-05-28)28 May 1890
Barraba, New South Wales
Died21 April 1979(1979-04-21) (aged 88)
Manly, New South Wales
EducationMethodist Ladies College
OccupationArtist
Parent(s)Elizabeth (née Bridger) and Henry Crowley
RelativesClive Crowley

Grace Crowley (pr: as in "slowly") (28 May 1890 – 21 April 1979) was an Australian artist and modernist painter.[1]

Early life and Education

Grace Adela Williams Crowley was born on the 28th of May 1890 in Barraba, New South Whales.[1] She was the fourth child of Henry, a grazier, and Elizabeth (née Bridger).[1] By 1900, her family had relocated to a homestead in Glen Riddle, Barraba, where she spent her time drawing people, cats, dogs, kookaburras, and even her father's prize winning bollock.[2] At about the age of 13 Crowley's parents sent one of her pen and ink drawings to New Idea magazine and she won a prize.[3] As a child, Crowley received an informal education from the governess of her homestead.[2] When this arrangement finished, Crowley and her sister were sent to a boarding school in Sydney, NSW. [2]It was at this time that her Uncle insisted she attend classes by Julian Ashton at The Sydney Art School, now called Julian Ashton Art School.[3] Once a week she would attend a class with Ashton and practice her drawing skills, this was her first formal education in the arts.[3] When Crowley returned to Glen Riddle her desire to create art had diminished, partly as a result of the family’s expectations of her role in the household.[4] The maid was fired and Crowley quickly took on a lot of the household duties.[5] In 1909 Julian Ashton visited Crowley at her family farm and encouraged her artistic practice.[5] In 1915 Crowley became a full time student at The Sydney Art School and from 1918-1923 worked as Ashton’s assistant.[1] During her time at the school Crowley studied alongside; Ralph Balson, John Passmere, Dorrit Black, Herbet Badham, Fizelle, Gerald Lewars, Nancy hall and John Tilam.[3]  In 1925 Crowley moved to France with her friend and fellow artist Anne Danger.[2] Crowley first studied in Paris at Académie Colarossi and then went on to do private lessons with with a Beaux-arts portrait painter Louis Roger.[2] From 1927 to 1929 she was enrolled at L'acadmaine Lhote under Andre Lhote. Throughout the next few years she travelled parts of Europe and briefly studied under Ozcenfant and Albert Gleizes.[2] She moved back to Sydney, Australia in 1930.[2]

Career

On her return to Australia after her years of study, Crowley was one of the most experience Modernist artists in Australia, with a sophisticated understanding of Cubism. In 1932 she briefly taught at the Black Modern Art Centre before it was closed down. She then went on to start her own school with Rah Fizelle, which was renamed to be the Important Centre for Modern Art and was in existence for 5 years[5]. After a relationship breakdown between Fizelle and Crowley, the school closed in 1937[6]. Fizelle remained at 215a George Street, Crowley however set up a studio at her apartment 227 George Street. Since 1937 Grace Crowley, Ralph Balson, Margel Hinder, Rah Fizelle and Eleonore Lange began planning a group exhibition which later came into fruition with fellow painters and sculptors, Frank Medworth, Dadsworth and Gerald Lewers in Exhibition 1: paintings and sculptures[3]. The exhibition was opened by HV Evatt in the David Jones’ Art Gallery in August 1939[7]. In the early 1940s she was one of the first Australians to move into pure abstraction.

With other participating artists including Rah Fizelle, Frank Hinder and Eleonore Lange, Balson and Crowley came together in the 1930s as leaders of the second phase of the modern movement in Australian art, developing the earlier ideas of Roland Wakelin, Roy de Maistre and others at the beginning of World War I.

In 1949, Crowley spent a brief period teaching a course in abstract art at East Sydney Technical College[3].

During this time and throughout the 1950’s, Grace Crowley was most productive. Exhibiting regularly from 1944 and 1954 with the Society of Artists and Contemporary Art Society, Crowley also participated in multiple group exhibitions at this time including; Abstract paintings drawings sculpture constructions, David Jones Art Gallery, 1948. Contemporary Art Society- Eleventh Annual Interstate Exhibition, 1949, and Abstract compositions, paintings, sculpture, Macquarie Galleries, 1951[3]. In 1954 with Balson’s retirement impending, Crowley purchased a house in High Hill, Mittagong, in which she resided alongside her 227 George Street Studio[7]. Only two known paintings were created between 1955 and 59, an abandonment of geometric forms occurred in exchange for gestural brushwork[8]. In 1960 Crowley and Balson travelled to galleries in England, France and America. A rapid turn in style occurred during this time of travel, notably in Devon where both Crowley and Balson turned to pouring paint in a similar fashion to Jackson Pollock. In August 1964 Balson died unexpectedly, marking the end of Crowley’s art practice also. Grace Crowley stayed at the High Hill residence until purchases a unit in Manly.

In honour of the forerunners of the modern abstract movement in Sydney 1966, the Art Gallery of New South Wales held an exhibition which included Crowley and her colleges such as Balson, Fizelle and Hinder[6].

18 days before her 85th birthday, the Art Gallery of New South Wales opened its doors to the first retrospective of Crowley in 1975[6]. Her Project 4 Exhibition followed shortly after[9]. January 1976, Crowley was made a Member of the Order of Australia  for her services to Art[8].

There was an exhibition of her work at the National Gallery of Australia in December 2006 to May 2007 called Grace Crowley - Being modern.[8]

Grace Crowley is represented by Australian National Gallery, Art Gallery of New South Wales, National Gallery of Victoria.

Death

Crowley died at her home in Manly, New South Wales on 21 April 1979 aged 89. She left a body of work comprising 25 paintings and 12 drawings.[1] 3 works are held permanently in the Cruther's Collection of Womens Art in the University of Western Australia.


Exhibitions


  • 1930 A Group of Seven, with Dorrit Black, Roi de Maistre, Roland Wakelin, Enid Cambridge, Grace Cossington Smith and Frank Weitzel, Macquarie Galleries, March.
  • 1932 Solo Exhibition, Modern Art Centre, Sydney, June.
  • 1939 Exhibition I: Paintings and Sculptures. David Jone's Art Gallery, Sydney, August.
  • 1966 Balson Crowley Fizelle Hinder. Art Gallery of New South Wales, May.
  • 1975 Australian Women Artists, One Hundred Years: 1840 - 1940. Ewing and George Paton Galleries, Melbourne, September. Art Gallery of New South Wales, October. National Gallery of Victoria, January.


Notes

  1. ^ a b c d e "Crowley, Grace Adela Williams (1890 - 1979)". Australian Dictionary of Biography On-line Edition. Retrieved 2007-07-23.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g Burke, Janine, 1952- ((1981 printing)). Australian women artists, 1840-1940. Greenhouse Publications. OCLC 644028074. {{cite book}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  3. ^ a b c d e f g McCulloch, Alan, 1907-1992. (1994). The encyclopedia of Australian art. Allen & Unwin. ISBN 1863733159. OCLC 222805509.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  4. ^ Crowley, Grace (1938). "The artist and his model". AGNSW collection record. Art Gallery of New South Wales. Retrieved 9 May 2016.
  5. ^ a b c Taylor, Elena. (2006). Grace Crowley : being modern. National Gallery of Australia. ISBN 9780642541925. OCLC 156439177.
  6. ^ a b c Ottley, Dianne (2010). Grace Crowley's contribution to Australian modernism and geometric abstraction. Cambridge Scholars Pub. ISBN 9781443820479. OCLC 903285436.
  7. ^ a b Taylor, Elena. (2006). Grace Crowley : being modern. National Gallery of Australia. ISBN 9780642541925. OCLC 156439177.
  8. ^ a b c "Grace Crowley - Being Modern". National Gallery of Australia. Retrieved 2007-07-23.
  9. ^ Art Gallery of New South Wales. (1975). Project 4 : Grace Crowley. OCLC 78434412.

References

Bibliography

  • Symposium papers: Colour in art - revisiting 1919 & R-Balson (2008), Nick Waterlow (Australia) (Curator), Annabel Pegus (Australia) (Curator), Ivan Dougherty Gallery (Australia, estab. 1977), Paddington, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.
  • Grace Crowley: being modern (2006), Elena Taylor (Author), National Gallery of Australia (Australia, estab. 1982), Canberra, Australian Capital Territory, Australia.
  • Parallel visions: works from the Australian collection (2002), Barry Pearce (Australia) (Author), Art Gallery of New South Wales (Australia, estab. 1874), Domain, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.
  • Australian art: in the Art Gallery of New South Wales (2000), Barry Pearce (Australia) (Author), Art Gallery of New South Wales (Australia, estab. 1874), Domain, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.
  • Brought to light: Australian Art 1850-1965 (1998), Lynne Seear (Australia) (Editor), Julie Ewington (Australia) (Editor), Queensland Art Gallery (Australia, estab. 1895), South Brisbane, Queensland, Australia.
  • The Art Gallery of New South Wales collections (1994), Ewen McDonald (Australia) (Editor), Art Gallery of New South Wales (Australia, estab. 1874), Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.
  • Ralph Balson A Retrospective (Jul 1989), Bruce Adams (Author), Heide Park and Art Gallery (Australia, estab. 1980, closed 1992), Bulleen, Victoria, Australia.
  • Project 4: Grace Crowley (1975), Daniel Thomas (Curator), Art Gallery of New South Wales (Australia, estab. 1874), Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.

External links

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