Beatrice Louise "Bea" Maddock (13 September 1934 – 9 April 2016)
was an Australian artist.
Biography
Born in
Hobart
Hobart ( ; Nuennonne/Palawa kani: ''nipaluna'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian island state of Tasmania. Home to almost half of all Tasmanians, it is the least-populated Australian state capital city, and second-small ...
,
Tasmania
)
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, image_map = Tasmania in Australia.svg
, map_caption = Location of Tasmania in AustraliaCoordinates:
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdi ...
, Bea Maddock studied art education at the
University of Tasmania
The University of Tasmania (UTAS) is a public research university, primarily located in Tasmania, Australia. Founded in 1890, it is Australia's fourth oldest university. Christ College, one of the university's residential colleges, first pro ...
,
Hobart and taught secondary school in her home city before travelling abroad to study at the
Slade School of Art
The UCL Slade School of Fine Art (informally The Slade) is the art school of University College London (UCL) and is based in London, England. It has been ranked as the UK's top art and design educational institution. The school is organised as ...
,
London
London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
. Her teachers included
William Coldstream
Sir William Menzies Coldstream, CBE (28 February 1908 – 18 February 1987) was an English realist painter and a long-standing art teacher.
Biography
Coldstream was born at Belford, Northumberland, in northern England, the second son of co ...
,
Ceri Richards
Ceri Giraldus Richards (6 June 1903 – 9 November 1971) was a Welsh painter, print-maker and maker of reliefs.
Biography
Richards was born in 1903 in the village of Dunvant, near Swansea, the son of Thomas Coslett Richards and Sarah Ric ...
and Anthony Gross. Maddock visited
Paris
Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...
,
Italy
Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...
, the
Netherlands
)
, anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau")
, image_map =
, map_caption =
, subdivision_type = Sovereign state
, subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands
, established_title = Before independence
, established_date = Spanish Netherl ...
and
Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
, where she closely studied the work of the
German Expressionist
German Expressionism () consisted of several related creative movements in Germany before the First World War that reached a peak in Berlin during the 1920s. These developments were part of a larger Expressionist movement in north and central ...
s, who were a formative influence. She also stopped in
Bombay
Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' financial centre of India. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Mumbai is the second- ...
,
India
India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
during the return trip by ship to Australia.
Maddock returned to Australia in order to teach in
Launceston, Tasmania
Launceston () or () is a city in the north of Tasmania, Australia, at the confluence of the North Esk and South Esk rivers where they become the Tamar River (kanamaluka). As of 2021, Launceston has a population of 87,645. Material was copied ...
before settling in the state of
Victoria
Victoria most commonly refers to:
* Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia
* Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada
* Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory
* Victoria, Seychelle ...
. She taught printmaking at the Victorian College of the Arts for several years from 1970 and returned to Tasmania as Head of the School of Art, Launceston in 1983–84. Maddock was a Creative Arts Fellow at the
Australian National University
The Australian National University (ANU) is a public research university located in Canberra, the capital of Australia. Its main campus in Acton encompasses seven teaching and research colleges, in addition to several national academies and ...
,
Canberra
Canberra ( )
is the capital city of Australia. Founded following the federation of the colonies of Australia as the seat of government for the new nation, it is Australia's largest inland city and the eighth-largest city overall. The ci ...
in 1976.
Maddock lived and worked at
Mount Macedon
Mount Macedon ( Aboriginal Woiwurrung language: ''Geboor'' or ''Geburrh'') is a dormant volcano that is part of the Macedon Ranges of the Great Dividing Range, located in the Central Highlands region of Victoria, Australia. The mountain has ...
, Victoria until the
Ash Wednesday fires of 1983 forced her to flee.
Her house, studio and a large archive of many decades' work was destroyed. She later returned to her native state of Tasmania. In 1987 Maddock participated in the 'Artists in Antarctica' program with Jan Senbergs and John Caldwell. While on that voyage, she badly fractured her leg on
Heard Island
The Territory of Heard Island and McDonald Islands (HIMI) is an Australian external territory comprising a volcanic group of mostly barren Antarctic islands, about two-thirds of the way from Madagascar to Antarctica. The group's overall size ...
, which compromised her mobility for several years afterwards.
She was appointed Member of the
Order of Australia
The Order of Australia is an honour that recognises Australian citizens and other persons for outstanding achievement and service. It was established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia, on the advice of the Australian Gove ...
in the
1991 Australia Day Honours The 1991 Australia Day Honours are appointments to various orders and honours to recognise and reward good works by Australian citizens. The list was announced on 26 January 1991 by the Governor General of Australia, Bill Hayden.
The Australia Day ...
for "service to art and to art education".
Work
Maddock is best known as a
printmaker, in which area she had a profound impact on contemporary practice in Australia, combining printing with
encaustic painting
Encaustic painting, also known as hot wax painting, is a form of painting that involves a heated wax medium to which colored pigments have been added. The molten mix is applied to a surface—usually prepared wood, though canvas and other mat ...
and
installation art
Installation art is an artistic genre of three-dimensional works that are often site-specific and designed to transform the perception of a space. Generally, the term is applied to interior spaces, whereas exterior interventions are often called ...
to explore the natural environment,
Aboriginal Australia, and
Australian history
The history of Australia is the story of the land and peoples of the continent of Australia.
Aboriginal Australians, People first arrived on the Australian mainland by sea from Maritime Southeast Asia between 50,000 and 65,000 years ago, and ...
.
She won many prizes and is represented in the
National Gallery of Australia
The National Gallery of Australia (NGA), formerly the Australian National Gallery, is the national art museum of Australia as well as one of the largest art museums in Australia, holding more than 166,000 works of art. Located in Canberra in th ...
, all Australia State galleries, the
Museum of Modern Art
The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) is an art museum located in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, on 53rd Street between Fifth and Sixth Avenues.
It plays a major role in developing and collecting modern art, and is often identified as one of ...
in New York and the USA's National Gallery in Washington.
Maddock's most recent major work, 'Terra Spiritus... With a Darker Shade of Pale', is a 51 part inscribed etching of the entire coastline of Tasmania, each feature labelled with both the English and the Aboriginal Tasmanian topographic names.
The pigments used to make the drawing are locally occurring Tasmanian ochres.
Staff of the Queen Victoria Museum and Art Gallery in Launceston, Tasmania are currently preparing a ''
catalogue raisonné
A ''catalogue raisonné'' (or critical catalogue) is a comprehensive, annotated listing of all the known artworks by an artist either in a particular medium or all media. The works are described in such a way that they may be reliably identified ...
''. It will contain entries on 978 works produced by the artist between 1952 and 1983.
Selected individual exhibitions
* Ingles Building, Launceston, Tasmania: 1964
* Crossley Gallery, Melbourne: 1967, 1968, 1971
* Queen Victoria Museum and Art Gallery, Launceston, Tasmania: 1970
* Gallery A, Sydney: 1974, 1978
* National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne: 1975 (''Three Printmakers''), 1980
* National Art Gallery of New Zealand, Wellington: 1982-3 (touring retrospective)
* Stuart Gerstman Galleries, Melbourne: 1988
* Tasmania Museum and Art Gallery, Hobart: 1988 (''Antarctic Journey'', with John Caldwell and
Jan Senbers), 1990 (''Australian Printmakers'', with Ray Arnold and Rod Ewins)
* Australian National Gallery, Canberra: 1992-3 (''Being and Nothingness'', touring retrospective)
In collections
Her work is represented in the collections of the
National Gallery of Victoria
The National Gallery of Victoria, popularly known as the NGV, is an art museum in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Founded in 1861, it is Australia's oldest and most visited art museum.
The NGV houses an encyclopedic art collection across two ...
(92 works),
the
National Gallery of Australia
The National Gallery of Australia (NGA), formerly the Australian National Gallery, is the national art museum of Australia as well as one of the largest art museums in Australia, holding more than 166,000 works of art. Located in Canberra in th ...
,
the
Art Gallery of South Australia
The Art Gallery of South Australia (AGSA), established as the National Gallery of South Australia in 1881, is located in Adelaide. It is the most significant visual arts museum in the Australian state of South Australia. It has a collection of ...
,
the
Museum of Modern Art
The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) is an art museum located in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, on 53rd Street between Fifth and Sixth Avenues.
It plays a major role in developing and collecting modern art, and is often identified as one of ...
,
the
National Gallery of Canada (2 works),
Te Papa
The Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa is New Zealand's national museum and is located in Wellington. ''Te Papa Tongarewa'' translates literally to "container of treasures" or in full "container of treasured things and people that spring fr ...
(10 works)
and the
Lawrence Wilson Art Gallery
The Lawrence Wilson Art Gallery is an on-campus art gallery at the University of Western Australia in Crawley.
History
The gallery was established in July 1990.
Description
It is supported by a "friends of" organisation. It contains collect ...
at UWA.
See also
*
Art of Australia
Australian art is any art made in or about Australia, or by Australians overseas, from prehistoric times to the present. This includes Aboriginal, Colonial, Landscape, Atelier, early-twentieth-century painters, print makers, photographers, an ...
References
Roger Butler & Anne Kirker (1991) ''Being and Nothingness: Bea Maddock, Work From Three Decades'', Australian National Gallery(This work needs to be cited within the text)
Further reading
* Irena Zdanowicz, ' "Geography with a Purpose": Bea Maddock's Terra Spiritus', Print Quarterly, XXVIII, 2011, pp. 471–77
External links
Images of 317 prints by Bea Maddock
{{DEFAULTSORT:Maddock, Bea
1934 births
2016 deaths
20th-century Australian women artists
20th-century Australian artists
Artists from Tasmania
Australian printmakers
Australian women painters
Members of the Order of Australia
People from Hobart
Women printmakers