Ann Oenone Grocott (born 1938) is an Australian writer and painter, whose two children's books have been translated into Swedish and Danish. In addition to figurative, portraiture and landscape painting, her artworks include: assemblages in fabric, cement, wood, found objects etc.; oils on canvas, paper and plaster; watercolours and small sculptures. In 1999, Grocott was one of five artists chosen to represent Australia in "Our World in the Year 2000", the Winsor and Newton Worldwide Millennium Exhibition, as a result of which her work appeared in London, Stockholm, Brussels and New York.

Early life

Ann Wood was born in 1938 in

Glenelg, South Australia Glenelg is a beach-side suburb of the South Australian capital of Adelaide. Located on the shore of Holdfast Bay in Gulf St Vincent, it has become a tourist destination due to its beach and many attractions, home to several hotels and dozens of ...

. Her father was the Australian painter, Noel Herbert Wood and her uncle,

Rex Wood Rex Wood (6 April 1906 – 1970) was a South Australian artist who lived for many years in Portugal. History He was born Thomas Percy Reginald Wood in Laura, South Australia, the eldest of four boys born to Rev. Tom Percy Wood and Fannie née ...

was an Australian painter/printmaker. Her father married Eleanor Weld Skipper whom he met at Art School in Adelaide. During World War II, Ann, her mother and her older sister Gini were evacuated from

Bedarra Island Bedarra Island (also known as Richards Island) is one of the Family Islands group within the locality of Dunk in the Cassowary Coast Region, Queensland. Australia. Geography Bedarra Island is approximately seven kilometres off the tropical Nort ...

Woodend, Victoria Woodend () is a town in Victoria, Australia. The town is in the Shire of Macedon Ranges local government area on Dja Dja Wurrung country and is bypassed to the east and north by the Calder Freeway (M79), located about halfway between Melbourne a ...

. Following the war, her parents remained apart. Ann Wood eventually married Terry Grocott and reconnected with her father.

Author

In her 40s, Grocott published two novels for children aged 8–12 years: ''Duck For Danger'' (1985) and ''Danni's Desperate Journey'' (1987,

Angus & Robertson Angus & Robertson (A&R) is a major Australian bookseller, publisher and printer. As book publishers, A&R has contributed substantially to the promotion and development of Australian literature.Alison, Jennifer (2001). "Publishers and editors: A ...

). ''Duck For Danger'', whose protagonist traveled from Queensland to Bangkok and London, was described as combining "a liberal helping of humour with a sense of the daring and unexpected into a totally irresistible blending". The protagonist of ''Danni's Desperate Journey'', a science fiction fantasy, travels the universe. ''Duck For Danger'' was translated into Swedish as ''Fly för livet, Micky'' (Wahlstroms, 1987, ) and ''Danni's Desperate Journey'' was translated into Danish as ''Fridas farlige faerd'' (Tellerup, 1989, ). Grocott also published a handbook on ''How to write for children'' (1985, AWPS), as well as several short stories. A French criticism of juvenile writing quoted her on the challenges of writing for younger people.

Artist

Grocott eventually decided to concentrate on painting. She worked for a decade as a self-taught artist, and was a student of the Australian Flying Arts School. The school was led by Mervyn Moriarty, who flew to remote areas of regional Queensland and north-western New South Wales to give workshops. Grocott earned a Post-Graduate Diploma in Fine Art from

Monash University Monash University () is a public research university based in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Named for prominent World War I general Sir John Monash, it was founded in 1958 and is the second oldest university in the state. The university has a ...

in 1991. In 1999, Grocott was one of five artists chosen to represent Australia in "Our World in the Year 2000", the Winsor and Newton Worldwide Millennium Exhibition. Her painting ''New Generation -- Ancient Land'' (1998) was shown in London, Stockholm and Brussels. The London showing was opened by Prince Charles. As part of the United Nations Millennium Art Exhibition it was also shown in New York. The piece was purchased for the permanent collection of the

Bundaberg Bundaberg is a city in the Bundaberg Region, Queensland, Australia, and is the tenth largest city in the state. Bundaberg's regional area has a population of 70,921, and is a major centre of the Wide Bay–Burnett geographical region. The Bun ...

Regional Galleries. Her works have been included in Sydney, Australia's Salon des Refuses, an alternative to the prestigious exhibitions held annually for the

Archibald Archibald is a masculine given name, composed of the Germanic elements '' erchan'' (with an original meaning of "genuine" or "precious") and ''bald'' meaning "bold". Medieval forms include Old High German and Anglo-Saxon . Erkanbald, bishop of ...

and

Wynne Prize The Wynne Prize is an Australian landscape painting or figure sculpture art prize. As one of Australia's longest-running art prizes, it was established in 1897 from the bequest of Richard Wynne. Now held concurrently with the Sir John Sulman Prize ...

s. In 2011, she won both the grand prize and the portrait award in the Bundaberg Sugar Gala Arts Festival. Grocott has exhibited in both solo and group exhibitions and her works are held in gallery collections. Her work appears in the

20th Century Fox 20th Century Studios, Inc. (previously known as 20th Century Fox) is an American film production company headquartered at the Fox Studio Lot in the Century City area of Los Angeles. As of 2019, it serves as a film production arm of Walt Dis ...

movie ''

Nim's Island ''Nim's Island'' is a 2008 adventure film written and directed by Jennifer Flackett and Mark Levin, and based on the children's story of the same name by Wendy Orr. A young girl alone on a remote island seeks help from an agoraphobic San Francisc ...

'', based on the book by

Wendy Orr Wendy Orr is a Canadian-born Australian writer born in Edmonton, Alberta. She is probably best known as the author of ''Nim's Island'', which was made into a film in 2008 starring Jodie Foster, Abigail Breslin and Gerard Butler Gerard Ja ...

. Grocott exhibited at the Allamanda Gallery which was an important center for artists and their exchange of ideas in Bundaberg. In August 2019, Ann Grocott was showcased with Jennifer McDuff, Marvene Ash, John Honeywill, and Coralie Busby in the exhibition ''Out of The Allamanda'' at Bundaberg Regional Art Gallery. The exhibition was developed in collaboration with the ''Colour and Response'' tour and exhibition which examined the impact of the work of Merv Moriarty and Flying Arts throughout Queensland. In 2017 Ann Grocott curated ''Bloodline'' at the Bundaberg Regional Art Gallery. The exhibition featured works by Ann Grocott, Noel Wood 1912-2001 (her father), Rex Wood 1906-1970 (her uncle) and Thomas Wood 1855-1937 (her great-grandfather). In 2019, just before an art auction at Leonard Joel in Melbourne, Ann Grocott discovered several works by her father Noel Wood were fakes or copies with a forged signature of her father's. The works were subsequently withdrawn from the auction sale.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Grocott, Ann 1938 births Living people 20th-century Australian novelists Australian children's writers Australian women novelists Australian women painters Writers from South Australia Australian portrait painters 20th-century Australian women writers 21st-century Australian women artists 21st-century Australian artists

Early life

Author

Artist

Further reading

References