Maude Edith Victoria Fleay
Australian wildlife artist (1869–1965)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Maude Edith Victoria Glover Fleay (1869–1965), was one of Australia's first wildlife artists.[1] She was known for her paintings of Australian marsupials.[2]
Maude Edith Victoria Fleay | |
|---|---|
| |
| Born | 1869 Sulky Gully, Victoria, Australia |
| Died | 18 May 1965 (aged 95–96) Colac, Victoria, Australia |
| Known for | Painting |
| Spouse |
William Henry Fleay (m. 1905) |
Biography
Fleay was born in 1869 in Sulky Gully, Australia. She studied drawing at the School of Mines, Ballarat, where she was taught by David Davies.[2] She also studied under Frederick McCubbin at the National Gallery School in Melbourne.[2] Her aunt, Elizabeth Glover, owned "Gracedale Hotel" in Healesville. Fleay did a painting of "Gracedale", which hung in Elizabeth Glover's home in Gardenvale.[3][4]
She exhibited with the Melbourne Society of Women Painters and Sculptors and she was a member of the Victorian Artists Society.[2] In 1938 she exhibited at the Athenaeum Gallery with fellow women artists Annie Gates and Henrietta Maria Gulliver.[5] Glover Fleay exhibited at the Leighton Galleries in 1945 where her work was commended for its "rather unfeminine strength and confidence of approach."[6] Noted artist Arthur Streeton said her paintings "reflect great sympathy with and knowledge of the animals."[7] She was also a writer and music teacher,[8] and art director of the Daylesford School of Mines.[9]
In 1905 she married William Henry Fleay at St. Peter's Church of England, Sturt Street, Ballarat.[9] They had three children, including the naturalist David Fleay.[2] She brought out a book with David, Gliders of the Gumtrees, for which she did the illustrations.[10]
Legacy
To honor her contribution to Australia's natural history, the Maude Glover Fleay Award was established by the Victorian College of the Arts.[1] She gifted funds to establish a Maude Glover Fleay Bequest at the Art Gallery of Ballarat, for purchasing works by female artists.[11] Her works "Gum trees", "End of day", and "Consider the lilies" are in the Gallery's collection.[12] An exhibition showcasing her work, The Fabulous Maude, showed at The Lost Ones Contemporary Art Gallery in Ballarat in 2018.[13]
Further reading
- The Girl from Sulky Gully: A Review of the Life of Australian Artist Maude Glover-Fleay: 1869-1965[14]
- Maude Glover-Fleay : Australian art and artists file, State Library Victoria
- Scrapbook, Maude Edith Victoria Glover-Fleay, Sovereign Hill Gold Museum