Olive Kathleen Crane (9 May 1895 – 13 June 1935) was an Australian artist, known for book illustrations and etchings. She was married to watercolorist

Kenneth Macqueen Kenneth Robertson Macqueen (15 April 1897 – 21 June 1960) was an Australian farmer and artist, known for watercolors. History Macqueen was born in Ballarat, a son of William Sweyn Macqueen DD. (c. 1860 – 1 November 1914), a Presbyterian minist ...

History

Crane was born in Ashfield, Sydney, the youngest daughter of Jane Harrold Crane ( – 1 November 1927) and Walter G. Crane, of "Winsley", 80 Shirley Road, Wollstonecraft, Sydney. She was educated at the Presbyterian Ladies' College, where she was a highly successful student. She went on to Sydney University, graduating BA in 1917. She studied drawing at

Julian Ashton Julian Rossi Ashton (27 January 185127 April 1942) was an English-born Australian artist and teacher. He is best known for founding the Julian Ashton Art School in Sydney and encouraging Australian painters to capture local life and scenery '' ...

's school under

Albert Collins Albert Gene Drewery, known as Albert Collins and the Ice Man (October 1, 1932 – November 24, 1993),Skeely, Richard. "Albert Collins: Biography" Allmusic.com. was an American electric blues guitarist and singer with a distinctive guitar style. ...

, counted with Grace Crowley and Myra Cocks as Ashton's "younger skilled brigade". In parallel with her academic career, she studied pianoforte, with considerable, if not outstanding, success. She showed ability as an artist and designer of greeting cards, winning a Christmas card competition in 1917, which led to commercial success, and won for her a "reputation for delicate and fanciful workmanship". Packs of six topically humorous greeting cards, bearing her name, went on sale alongside stationery from

May Gibbs Cecilia May Gibbs MBE (17 January 1877 – 27 November 1969) was an Australian children's author, illustrator, and cartoonist. She is best known for her gumnut babies (also known as "bush babies" or "bush fairies"), and the book '' Snugglepot ...

and

C. J. Dennis Clarence Michael James Stanislaus Dennis (7 September 1876 – 22 June 1938), better known as C. J. Dennis, was an Australian poet and journalist known for his best-selling verse novel ''The Songs of a Sentimental Bloke'' (1915). Alongside ...

. At the age of 22 "Olive Crane" was a household name. She was called on to illustrate bookplates and books for children, such as ''The City of Riddle-Me-Ree'' (1918) by

Zora Cross Zora Bernice May Cross (18 May 1890 – 22 January 1964) was an Australian poet, best-selling novelist and journalist. Life Zora Bernice May Cross was born on 18 May 1890 at Eagle Farm, Brisbane, to Earnest William Cross and Mary Louisa Eliza ...

, ''The Betty Songs'' by N. J. Cocks, and others of Angus & Robertson's stable. She later did work for Chatto & Windus. But she was not to be defined by her cartoon work, no matter how popular and lucrative. She showed several watercolors in the Society of Artists' exhibition in 1920. One, ''The Tired Dancer'', was purchased by the National Art Gallery of NSW, and later reproduced in ''

Art in Australia ''Art in Australia'' was an Australian art magazine that was published between 1916 and 1942. Founding ''Art in Australia,'' was first issued in 1916. It was edited by Sydney Ure Smith, graphic artist and director of the advertising agency, ...

''. She was able to travel to Europe and London for further study, advancing her reputation as a serious artist, and creating a favorable impression at the Kensington Art School. Among works created during this time was the etching ''Jeune homme las'' (Tired Young Man, 1924), which in 1994 was purchased by 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 ...

. She returned to Australia in 1926 and married farmer and watercolor artist Kenneth Macqueen, painting together in their spare time and supporting him financially while he was struggling for recognition. She contributed to few exhibitions in this period, and gave birth to two children. She died in the months following the second birth.

Personal

On 2 April 1926 Crane married Kenneth Robertson Macqueen They had two children, Marion and Revan. She died a few months after the birth of the son, and her sister Mildred helped Macqueen raise the family.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Crane, Olive 1895 births 1935 deaths Australian children's book illustrators Australian women illustrators 20th-century Australian women artists Bookplate designers