Pixie O'Harris (born Rhona Olive Harris; 15 October 1903 – 17 November 1991), earlier known as Pixie O. Harris, was a Welsh-born Australian artist, newspaper, magazine and book illustrator, author, broadcaster, caricaturist and cartoonist, designer of book plates, sheet music covers and stationery, and children's hospital ward fairy-style mural painter. She became patron to Sydney's

Royal Alexandra Hospital for Children The Children's Hospital at Westmead (CHW; formerly Royal Alexandra Hospital for Children) is a children's hospital in Western Sydney. The hospital was founded in 1880 as "The Sydney Hospital for Sick Children". Its name was changed to the "Royal ...

in 1977.

Early life

Rhona Olive Harris was the daughter of George Frederick Harris, chairman of the Royal Art Society

Cardiff Cardiff (; ) is the capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of Wales. Cardiff had a population of in and forms a Principal areas of Wales, principal area officially known as the City and County of Ca ...

Wales Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...

, and Rosetta Elizabeth Harris (née Lucas). She was the fifth of nine children. Rhona was the aunt of Rolf Harris. Her brother was Cromwell Harris, who immigrated from

, Wales to

Perth Perth () is the list of Australian capital cities, capital city of Western Australia. It is the list of cities in Australia by population, fourth-most-populous city in Australia, with a population of over 2.3 million within Greater Perth . The ...

, Western Australia. Cromwell was the father of

Rolf Harris Rolf Harris (30 March 1930 – 10 May 2023) was an Australian musician, television personality, painter, and actor. He used a variety of instruments in his performances, notably the didgeridoo and the Stylophone, and is credited with the inventi ...

. She was educated at Sully village school and Allensbank Girls School in Cardiff. At age 14 she was a member of the South West Art Society. The Harris family migrated to Australia in 1920 and settled in Perth. They moved to Sydney in 1921. Disliking her given name ''Rhona'', and having been dubbed "the Welsh

pixie A pixie (also called pisky, pixy, pixi, pizkie, piskie, or pigsie in parts of Cornwall and Devon) is a mythical creature of British folklore. Pixies are speculated to be particularly concentrated in the high moorland areas around Devon and Cor ...

" on the boat over to Australia, she became known as "Pixie". She originally produced her professional work under the name "Pixie O. Harris"; however, following a printer's error at the ''

Sydney Morning Herald ''The Sydney Morning Herald'' (''SMH'') is a daily tabloid newspaper published in Sydney, Australia, and owned by Nine Entertainment. Founded in 1831 as the ''Sydney Herald'', the ''Herald'' is the oldest continuously published newspaper in ...

'', which printed her name as "Pixie O'Harris", she permanently used that pseudonym. During the 1950s she completed a series of murals and paintings for the children's wards of several hospitals with her brother Olaf. Some of these were later rediscovered, restored and put on display in 2020.

Marriage

On 16 July 1928 she married Bruce Pratt, the son of eminent scholar and important Congregational minister, Frederick Vicary Pratt (1870–1932) and Agnes Elizabeth Pratt (born 1872), née Waddell. He was also the editor of the

Australian Encyclopaedia The ''Australian Encyclopaedia'' is an encyclopedia focused on Australia. In addition to biographies of notable Australians the coverage includes the geology, flora, fauna as well as the history of the continent. It was first published by Angus ...

, and a younger brother of the artist Douglas Pratt. The couple had three daughters.

Honours

In 1953 Pixie O'Harris was awarded the Queen's Coronation Medal. In 1976 she was made a Member of the

Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

(MBE). The following year she was awarded the Queen's Silver Jubilee Medal.

Works

Written by Pixie O'Harris

* 1983, ''Was It Yesterday? The Autobiography of Pixie O'Harris'', Rigby, Australia. * 1986, ''Our Small Safe World: Recollections of a Welsh Childhood'', Boobook Publications, Sydney, NSW.

Poetry (or lyrics) by Pixie O'Harris

* 1944, ''Where the Waterfall Leaps in the Gully'', (music by Dorothy R. Mathlin), D. Davis & Co., Sydney, NSW. * 1945, ''Pixie O'Harris Songs for Children'', (music by Dorothy R. Mathlin), D. Davis & Co., Sydney, NSW. * 1945, ''Where the Winding Wollondilly Flows'', (music by Dorothy R. Mathlin), D. Davis & Co., Sydney, NSW. * 1957, ''The Town of Flowers'', Arthur H. Stockwell, Devon, UK. * 1972, ''The Hunter: a Two-Part Song'', (music by Colin J. Jenkins), Allans Music, Melbourne, VIC.

Written and illustrated by Pixie O'Harris

* 1923, ''The O.K. Fairy Book: New Rhymes and Pictures for Kiddies Only'', Weston Co., Sydney, NSW. * 1935, ''Pearl Pinkie and Sea Greenie: the Story of Two Little Rock-Sprites'', Angus & Robertson, Sydney, NSW. * 1940, ''The Pixie O'Harris Story Book'', Angus & Robertson, Sydney, NSW. * 1941, ''The Babes in the Wood, Cinderella, Little Red Riding Hood (3 Vols.)'', New Century Press, Sydney, NSW. * 1941, ''The Fortunes of Poppy Treloar'', Angus & Robertson, Sydney, NSW. * 1942, ''Marmaduke the Possum'', Angus and Robertson, Sydney, NSW. * 1943, ''Goolara: Daughter of the Billabong'', Currawong, Sydney, NSW. * 1943, ''Rondel the Fair'', Currawong, Sydney, NSW. * 1943, ''The Story of Our Baby'', New Century Press, Sydney, NSW. * 1944, ''Rocks of Han: a Fairy Story'', Currawong, Sydney, NSW. * 1944, '' Poppy and the Gems'', Currawong, Sydney, NSW. * 1945, ''Pixie O'Harris Songs for Children'', Davis, Sydney, NSW. * 1945, ''The Fairy Who Wouldn't Fly'', Marchant & Co., Sydney, NSW. * 1946, ''Princess of China'', Currawong Publishing, Sydney, NSW. * 1947, ''Poppy Faces the World'', Angus & Robertson, Sydney, NSW. * 1950, ''Pixie O'Harris Gift Book'', Dymock's, Sydney, NSW. * 1953, ''Marmaduke and Margaret'', Angus & Robertson, Sydney, NSW. * 1977, ''Marmaduke the Possum in the Cave of the Gnomes'', Angus & Robertson, Sydney, NSW. * 1977, ''Birthday Book'', Angus and Robertson, Sydney, NSW. * 1978, ''The Teddy Bear's Picnic'', Golden Press, Sydney, NSW. * 1978, ''The Bunny Who Lost his Tail and The Giant's Eiderdown'', Golden Press, Sydney, NSW. * 1979, ''The Kangaroo Who Couldn't Hop and the Cloud Wallaby'', Golden Press Sydney, NSW. * 1980, ''The Pixie O'Harris Treasury of Animal Verse'', Golden Press, Sydney, NSW. * 1980, ''Trailing Echoes'', (publisher not known), Sydney, NSW. * 1981, ''The Pixie O'Harris Nursery Rhyme Book'', David Ell, Sydney, NSW. * 1982, ''The Little Grey Mouse and her Friends'', Golden Press, Sydney, NSW. * 1985, ''A Cavalcade of Cats'', Methuen, Sydney, NSW. * 1985, ''Loveleaves the Koala'', Methuen, Sydney, NSW. * 1988, ''Loveleaves Returns to the Bush'', Dent, Australia.

Works illustrated by Pixie O'Harris

* Bedford, Ruth, 1934, ''Hundreds and Thousands'', Dymock's, Sydney, NSW. * Boughton, Joy, 1981, ''This Roundabout'', J. Boughton, Vaucluse, NSW (Illustrated by Pixie O'Harris & Joseph H. Arman). * Carroll, Lewis, 1990, ''

Alice's Adventures in Wonderland ''Alice's Adventures in Wonderland'' (also known as ''Alice in Wonderland'') is an 1865 English Children's literature, children's novel by Lewis Carroll, a mathematics university don, don at the University of Oxford. It details the story of a ...

, (125th Birthday Edition)'', Carroll Foundation, Melbourne, VIC. * Cope, Gwen, 1936, ''Fairy Verse for Little Folk'', Angus & Robertson, Sydney, NSW. * Cope, Gwen, 1937, ''Under the Joy of the Sky, and Other Verses'', Angus & Robertson, Sydney, NSW. * Davison, Frank Dalby, 1936, ''Children of the Dark People: an Australian Story for Young Folk'', Angus & Robertson, Sydney, NSW. * Grahame, Kenneth, 1983, ''

The Wind in the Willows ''The Wind in the Willows'' is a children's novel by the British novelist Kenneth Grahame, first published in 1908. It details the story of Mole, Ratty, and Badger as they try to help Mr. Toad, after he becomes obsessed with motorcars and get ...

'', Rigby Ltd, Adelaide, SA. * Griffiths, Lexie, 1945, ''Between Ourselves'', Angus & Robertson, Sydney, NSW. * Hemphill, Rosemary, 1959, ''Fragrance and Flavour: the Growing and Use of Herbs'', Angus & Robertson, Sydney, NSW. * Higgins, Kathleen, 1938, ''Betty in Bushland'', Angus & Robertson, Sydney, NSW. * Lister, Gladys, 1938, ''Little Round Garden'', Angus & Robertson, Sydney, NSW. * Lister, Gladys, 1939, ''Little Round House'', Angus & Robertson, Sydney, NSW. * Lister, Gladys, 1946, ''The House that Beckons'', New Century Press, Sydney, NSW. * Liston, Maud Renner, 1982, ''Cinderella's Party: A Fairy Story'', Rigby Ltd, Adelaide, SA. * Littlejohn, Agnes. 1924, ''The Lost Emerald and Other Stories'', Edwards Dunlop, Sydney, NSW. * Merrick, Frances, 1975, ''The Children's Bar Reading Book'', Mrs. Frances Merrick, Roseville, NSW. * Park, Margaret Robertson, 1940, ''The Secret Joy: Poems'', Jackson & O'Sullivan, Brisbane, QLD. * Pender, Lydia, 1958, ''Marbles in My Pocket'', Writers' Press, Sydney, NSW. * Randell, Beverley, 1969, ''The Baby'', Kea Press, Wellington, NZ. * Rice, Esmée, 1948, ''The Secret Family'', Angus & Robertson, Sydney, NSW. * Rothenberger, L. (ed.), 1968, ''More Star Spangled Cooking: With The American Women's Club of the American Society, Sydney, Australia'', American Society, Sydney, NSW. * Sabine, Jo, 1941, ''The Pillow Pat Poems'', J.Sabine, Grafton, NSW. * Tombs, John, 1945, ''Apple Cottage, and the Lost Key'', Offset Printing Company, Sydney, NSW. * She also illustrated stories and articles appearing in the School Magazine published by the NSW Department of Education. The issues of February, April and July 1947 contain examples.

Memorial

APA Pixie O’Harris Award

Is awarded for "Distinguished and Dedicated Service to the Development and Reputation of Australian Children’s Books".

References

External links

*
Pixie O'Harris 1903–1991
Australian Children's Literature 1830–1950
Papers of Pixie O'Harris, n.d.

Lu Rees Archives The National Centre for Australian Children's Literature Inc, formerly known as the Lu Rees Archives, is a not-for-profit study and research centre housed at the University of Canberra. The founding donation was by Lu Rees. Its director in 20 ...

of Australian Children's Literature,

University of Canberra The University of Canberra (UC) is a public university, public research university with its main campus located in Bruce, Canberra, Australian Capital Territory. The campus is from Belconnen Town Centre, and from Canberra's Civic, Australian ...

Papers of Ray Mathew, 1945–2001

National Library of Australia The National Library of Australia (NLA), formerly the Commonwealth National Library and Commonwealth Parliament Library, is the largest reference library in Australia, responsible under the terms of the ''National Library Act 1960'' for "mainta ...

containing papers of Pixie O'Harris
Trove search
{{DEFAULTSORT:Oharris, Pixie 1903 births 1991 deaths 20th-century Australian musicians 20th-century Australian poets 20th-century Australian women artists 20th-century Australian women writers 20th-century pseudonymous writers 20th-century Welsh women artists 20th-century Welsh painters 20th-century Welsh poets 20th-century Welsh women writers Australian Members of the Order of the British Empire Artists from Cardiff Australian children's writers Australian caricaturists Australian editorial cartoonists Australian women editorial cartoonists Australian male songwriters Australian women children's book illustrators Australian children's book illustrators Naturalised citizens of Australia British emigrants to Australia British women children's writers Australian women poets Welsh women poets Writers from Cardiff Pseudonymous women writers Welsh illustrators British women children's book illustrators Welsh caricaturists Women caricaturists Welsh editorial cartoonists British women editorial cartoonists 20th-century Australian painters Australian modern painters