Norah Simpson (5 July 1895 – 19 February 1974) was an Australian

modernist Modernism is both a philosophical and arts movement that arose from broad transformations in Western society during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The movement reflected a desire for the creation of new forms of art, philosophy, an ...

painter. She grew up in Sydney and is described as "giving impetus to modernism" in Australia: when returning from France in 1913, she brought back a series of reproductions of then-current works which were influential to her fellow art students. Sydney-based modernists inspired by those works and Simpson's descriptions of techniques include

Grace Cossington Smith Grace Cossington Smith (20 April 189220 December 1984) was an Visual arts of Australia, Australian artist and pioneer of Modernist art, modernist painting in Australia and was instrumental in introducing Post-Impressionism to her home country. ...

Roy de Maistre Roy De Maistre CBE (27 March 18941 March 1968) was an Australian artist of international fame. He is renowned in Australian art for his early experimentation with "colour-music", and is recognised as the first Australian artist to use pure abst ...

and

Roland Wakelin Roland Wakelin (17 April 1887 – 28 May 1971) was a New Zealand-born Australian painter and teacher. Early life Roland Shakespeare Wakelin was born on 17 April 1887 in Greytown, New Zealand. He studied at Wellington Technical School from 190 ...

Biography

Norah Simpson was born on 5 July 1895 and grew up in Sydney. In 1911 Simpson was a student of Antonio Dattilo Rubbo, an Italian-born artist who taught in Australia from 1897, fellow students were Tempe Manning and

. Late in 1911 Simpson travelled to London, and lived in Chelsea. Next year she enrolled in the

Westminster School of Art The Westminster School of Art was an art school in Westminster, London. History The Westminster School of Art was located at 18 Tufton Street, Deans Yard, Westminster, and was part of the old Royal Architectural Museum. H. M. Bateman described ...

and was taught by

Walter Sickert Walter Richard Sickert (31 May 1860 – 22 January 1942) was a German-born British painter and printmaker who was a member of the Camden Town Group of Post-Impressionist artists in early 20th-century London. He was an important influence on d ...

, then she travelled to France to see the work of Cézanne, van Gogh, Matisse and Picasso. In 1913 she brought back to Australia a suitcase-ful of art books and reproductions of their works, thereby "giving impetus to modernism" in Australia. The works contributed to "the debate and practice of new techniques and new subjects" by Simpson, Smith and Manning. Other Sydney artists influenced by Simpson include

and

. By 1915 Simpson had returned to London, then moved to Glasgow in 1919 and on to France in 1920. In 1920 she married Edward Richardson Brown and they had a son, Donald, and by 1921 Simpson was no longer painting. In 1950 she married William Henry Cockren, and she died in 1974 at Crossways,

Instow Instow is a village in north Devon, England. It is on the estuary where the rivers Taw and Torridge meet, between the villages of Westleigh and Yelland and on the opposite bank to Appledore. There is an electoral ward with the same name. The w ...

, North Devon.

External links

'Studio portrait, Chelsea'
a 1911 self-portrait (1915) kept at Art Gallery NSW.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Simpson, Norah 1895 births 1974 deaths Artists from Sydney Australian women painters Modern painters 20th-century Australian women artists 20th-century Australian artists