Beatrice Dean Darbyshire (31 March 1901 – 31 July 1988) was an Australian artist. She was best known for her etchings, two of which were selected for display at the British Empire Exhibition in 1924 and 1925.

Early life and education

Darbyshire was born in Perth on 31 March 1901, the daughter of Agnes (née Campbell) and barrister Benjamin Harvie Darbyshire. She began her education at Miss Jobson's school in Perth, before attending The Hermitage, an all-girls school in

Geelong Geelong ( ) (Wathawurrung: ''Djilang''/''Djalang'') is a port city in the southeastern Australian state of Victoria, located at the eastern end of Corio Bay (the smaller western portion of Port Phillip Bay) and the left bank of Barwon River, ...

, Victoria, from 1915 to 1917. She had studied art with

Henri Van Raalte Henri Benedictus van Raalte (11 February 1881 – 4 November 1929), known as H. van Raalte, was an Australian artist and printmaker. Early life and training Van Raalte was born in Lambeth, London in 1881 to a Dutch father, Joel van Raalte, a ...

in 1913 and 1914, and returned to his tuition after her time in Geelong. Edith Trethowan and Henrietta Jull (better known as writer

Henrietta Drake-Brockman Henrietta Drake-Brockman (27 July 1901 – 8 March 1968) was an Australian journalist and novelist. Early life Henrietta Frances York Jull was born in Perth, Western Australia in 1901 to public service commissioner Martin Edward Jull (1862–19 ...

) were fellow students.

Career

Art

Darbyshire's art was first shown publicly at the Art Gallery of Western Australia at an exhibition arranged by the Western Institute of Artists. In 1924, she was encouraged by Van Raalte to sail to London where she studied first at the Slade School of Fine Art, and later at the Royal College of Art, and she graduated as an associate in 1927. Two of her etchings, ''The Cowshed, Balingup'' and ''In the Blackwood Country'', were selected for display at the British Empire Exhibition in London in 1924 and 1925. She had works on show at the University Art Club Exhibition in August 1929, one of which was acquired by the Art Gallery of Western Australia. In 1930, she was one of the Australian artists represented at the British Empire Academy in London. For '' The Dawn'', she wrote a two-part article, "Etchings", in which she described the process of producing etchings and the work of Durer, Rembrandt and

Charles Meryon Charles Meryon (sometimes Méryon, 23 November 1821 – 14 February 1868) was a French artist who worked almost entirely in etching, as he had colour blindness. Although now little-known in the English-speaking world, he is generally recognise ...

. An exhibition, titled Western Australian Printmakers of the 1920s and 1930s, including artworks by Darbyshire, A. B. Webb and Edith Trethowan, was held in Canberra in 1981. In his review, art historian

Sasha Grishin Alexander "Sasha" Dmitrievich Grishin is an Australian art historian, art critic and curator based in Victoria and Canberra. He is known as an art critic, and for establishing the academic discipline of art history at the Australian National Uni ...

wrote that Darbyshire "left a valuable historical record of her time". Darbyshire's work is held in the collections of the National Gallery of Australia, the Art Gallery of Western Australia, and the

Art Gallery of New South Wales The Art Gallery of New South Wales (AGNSW), founded as the New South Wales Academy of Art in 1872 and known as the National Art Gallery of New South Wales between 1883 and 1958, is located in The Domain, Sydney, Australia. It is the most importa ...

Health

In July 1940, Darbyshire left Perth to train as an instructor with the Women's League of Health, run by

Thea Stanley Hughes Thea Stanley Hughes (born around 1907, died after 1990) was an Australian writer and health advocate, president of the Women's League of Health in Australia. Early life and education Thea Stanley Hughes was born in England, raised in Austral ...

in Sydney. After qualifying, she conducted fitness classes in Sydney and Wollongong, before returning to Perth in 1944. She managed the Western Australian branch of the league for the following 12 years.

Death

Darbyshire died on 31 July 1988 in Mosman Park, Western Australia.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Darbyshire, Beatrice 1901 births 1988 deaths 20th-century Australian women artists Australian etchers