May Vale (1862–1945), was an

Australian Australian(s) may refer to: Australia * Australia, a country * Australians, citizens of the Commonwealth of Australia ** European Australians ** Anglo-Celtic Australians, Australians descended principally from British colonists ** Aboriginal Au ...

painter. She was reportedly the first women to be elected a member of the Buonarotti Society.

Biography

Vale was born in Ballarat on 18 November 1862. Her family moved to Melbourne 1872. Her family then moved to London, England in 1874. Vale attended the

Royal College of Art The Royal College of Art (RCA) is a public research university in London, United Kingdom, with campuses in South Kensington, Battersea and White City. It is the only entirely postgraduate art and design university in the United Kingdom. It offe ...

in London, Then in 1879, after returning to Melbourne she attended the National Gallery Art Schools, studying under Oswald Rose Campbell,

George Folingsby George Frederick Folingsby (23 August 1828 – 4 January 1891) was an Irish-born Australian painter and art educator. Folingsby was born in the County of Wicklow, Ireland. At the age of 18 he emigrated to Canada. Later he went to New York Cit s ...

and

Frederick McCubbin Frederick McCubbin (25 February 1855 – 20 December 1917) was an Australian artist, art teacher and prominent member of the Heidelberg School art movement, also known as Australian impressionism. Born and raised in Melbourne, Victoria, McCubb ...

. Her colleagues at the school included Jane Sutherland and

Clara Southern Clara Southern (3 October 1860 – 15 December 1940) was an Australian artist associated with the Heidelberg School, also known as Australian Impressionism. She was active between the years 1883 and her death in 1940. Physically, Southern was t ...

. In 1893 she also opened a studio at 119

Swanston Street Swanston Street is a major thoroughfare in the centre of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. It is one of the main streets of the Melbourne central business district and was laid out in 1837 as part of the original Hoddle Grid. The street vertically ...

where she gave art lessons and worked as a commissioned portrait painter. In 1895 she set up an art school at Flinders Buildings, where she taught ''plein air'' painting. One of her students was Alice Marian Ellen Bale. She was said to be the first woman to join the Buonarotti society, but there are other claimants including Alice Brotherton in 1883. In 1906 Vale returned to London where she studied enamelling at the Chelsea Polytechnic Institute. Vale exhibited her painting and her enamels throughout her life at venues including the

Victorian Artists Society The Victorian Artists Society, which can trace its establishment to 1856 in Melbourne, promotes artistic education, art classes and gallery hire exhibition in Australia. It was formed in March 1888 when the Victorian Academy of Arts (previously Vi ...

, the Women's Art Club, and the

Athenaeum Athenaeum may refer to: Books and periodicals * ''Athenaeum'' (German magazine), a journal of German Romanticism, established 1798 * ''Athenaeum'' (British magazine), a weekly London literary magazine 1828–1921 * ''The Athenaeum'' (Acadia U ...

. She had a one-woman show in 1927 at Queens Hall. She was a member of the Buonarotti Club, the

, and the Yarra Sculptors' Society. Vale died on 6 August 1945 in Melbourne.

Legacy

Vale's works are 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 ...

, 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 ...

Gallery

File:Vale, May (1862-1945) Faith learning her lesson, 1898.jpg, ''Faith learning her lesson'', 1898 File:Vale, May (1862-1945) Portrait of David Syme, c.1892.jpg, ''

David Syme David Syme (2 October 1827 – 14 February 1908) was a Scottish- Australian newspaper proprietor of ''The Age'' and regarded as "the father of protection in Australia" who had immense influence in the Government of Victoria.C. E. Sayers,Syme, ...

'' file:MayVale THE ORCHARD (SPRING AT MAYFIELD), c. 1904.jpg, ''The Orchard (Spring at Mayfield)'', c. 1904 File:Vale, May (1862-1945) Girl reading.jpg, Girl Reading

References

External links

images of May Vale's paintings
on Australian Art Auction Records

{{DEFAULTSORT:Vale, May 1862 births 1945 deaths 19th-century Australian women artists 20th-century Australian women artists 20th-century Australian artists Alumni of Chelsea College of Arts Alumni of the Royal College of Art Artists from Victoria (Australia) People from Ballarat