Dorothy Ellsmore Paul

Paul was born Dorothy May Ellsmore in 1902 in Hertfordshire, England.^[1] She trained as an artist at Portsmouth Technical College.^[2] She left for Australia at just nineteen years old, arriving in Sydney on 18 March 1921.^[3] Once in Sydney she trained under Julian Ashton.^[2] She had ambitions of becoming a sculptor though this never eventuated.^[2]

She was first published in The Sun with the cartoon We Do Believe in Fairies in their Sunbeams section.^[4] By 1924 she was drawing cartoons for the soldiers' magazine Aussie alongside fellow female cartoonists Mahdi McCrae, Betty and Esther Paterson, and Lillian Pedersen.^[5] The same year she exhibited her work in a black and white show at Anthony Hordern and Sons' Fine Art Gallery with such artists as Norman Lindsay, Percy Leason, and David Low.^[6]

In 1926 she was illustrating short stories for The Australian Women's Mirror^[7] and the Sydney Mail.^[8] Her illustrations also featured in The Bulletin.^[9] In 1929 she edited a book The Etched Work of Sydney Long which included a sketch of hers of the artist.^[10] They were both associated with the Australian Painters-Etchers Society.^[11] Paul wrote the introduction for the Society's publication The Charm of the Etching.^[12]

From 1931 to 1934 Paul wrote a feature section for The Australian Women's Mirror.^[13] She started with the technique for linocuts^[14] and also wrote on pattern printing,^[15] embroidery,^[16] crafting cuddle toys,^[17] making evening gloves,^[18] and even a frog pyjama case for children.^[19] These crafts and designs were featured in The Sun^[20] and The Mercury.^[21] She wrote and illustrated the stories Portrait of a Dark Girl^[22] and In Search of a Grandmother.^[23]

She married fellow artist Oswald "Mick" Paul in 1925,^[1] son of artist and social reformer Emily Letitia Paul.^[24] His portrait of her was a finalist for the 1929 Archibald Prize.^[25]

Paul has works in the collections of the National Library of Australia,^[26] the National Gallery of Australia,^[27] the State Library of New South Wales,^[28] and a bookplate of Sydney Long in the National Library of New Zealand.^[29]