Dora Wilson

{{Infobox person

| name = Dora Lynnell Wilson

| image = Dora L. Wilson, before 1926.png

| caption = Dora Lynnell Wilson (1883-1946) British-born Australian artist c.1926

| birth_name = Dora Lynnell Wilson

| birth_date = {{Birth date|1883|8|31|df=y}}

| birth_place = Newcastle upon Tyne, England

| death_date = {{Death date and age|1946|11|21|1883|8|31|df=y}}

| death_place = Melbourne, Victoria, Australia

| occupation = Artist

}}

Dora Lynnell Wilson (31 August 1883 – 21 November 1946) was a British-born Australian artist, best known in her adopted country of Australia for her etchings and street scenes.

Early life

Dora Lynnell Wilson was born on 31 August 1883 in Newcastle upon Tyne, England. Her parents were James Wilson, agent, and Annie Maria, née Green.{{cite Australian Dictionary of Biography |last1=Lee|first1=Mary Alice|title=Wilson, Dora Lynnell (1883–1946)|id2=wilson-dora-lynnell-9134|access-date=6 February 2018}} The family emigrated to the state of Victoria in Australia in 1884, when Dora was a year old.

Education

Wilson was educated at Somerset School and Methodist Ladies' College in Melbourne. From 1901–1906 she studied at the National Gallery under Bernard Hall and Frederick McCubbin, forming friendships with fellow artists Ruth Hollick,{{Cite web|last=Van Wyk|first=Susan|date=2011|title=Ruth Hollick b. 17 March 1883|url=https://www.daao.org.au/bio/ruth-hollick/biography/|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160617182931/https://www.daao.org.au/bio/ruth-hollick/biography/ |archive-date=17 June 2016 |access-date=|website=Design & Art Australia Online}} Gwendolyn Grant, Norah Gurdon, and her partner Pegg Clarke.{{Cite news|date=1936-09-26|title=Heard Here and There|pages=24|work=Argus (Melbourne, Vic. : 1848 - 1957)|url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article11919278|access-date=2020-08-12}} She also took lessons from John Mather with Jessie Traill and Janie Wilkinson Whyte.

Artistic career

Wilson was best known for her etchings, pastels and oils of still lifes and nudes. Her work was praised for her 'strong sense of colour' but also critiqued for demonstrating a 'chocolate box prettiness'.{{cite news|title=Dora Wilson's Exhibition|url=https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/16287018?searchTerm=%22dora%20wilson%22&searchLimits=|access-date=6 February 2018|publisher=The Sydney Morning Herald|date=20 Apr 1926}}

Her work was included in a number of notable exhibitions, including the five week Australian Exhibition of Women's Work in Melbourne, a Royal Academy exhibition of Australian art in London.{{cite news|title=Australian Art: The Exhibition in London|url=https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/204059392?searchTerm=%22Exhibition%20of%20Australian%20Art%22%20%2B%20wilson&searchLimits=l-decade=192|access-date=6 February 2018|publisher=The Age (Melbourne, VIC)|date=26 May 1923}} In 1923 her work, 'Reve d'Or', was reproduced on the cover of Women's World and exhibited at the Société des Artistes Français in Paris.

Her studio at Collins Street West was the meeting place of ex–Gallery School students who exhibited in 1913–14 as 'The Twelve Melbourne Painters.' This group included Jessie Traill, Janet Cumbrae Stewart, Norah Gurdon, Penleigh Boyd, and Lindsay Bernard Hall.{{Cite web|last=School of Historical Studies|first=Department of History|title=Art Societies and Clubs - Entry - eMelbourne - The Encyclopedia of Melbourne Online|url=http://www.emelbourne.net.au/biogs/EM00092b.htm|access-date=2020-08-20|website=www.emelbourne.net.au|language=en-gb}} Wilson was also a member of the Melbourne Society of Women Painters and Sculptors.{{Cite web|title=Honorary and Life Members|url=https://mswps.com.au/about/honorary-and-life-members/|access-date=2020-08-20|website=The Melbourne Society of Women Painters and Sculptors|language=en-AU}}

From the 1920s onwards she concentrated largely on street scenes, and in 1923 she was commissioned by Sir Baldwin Spencer to undertake a series of paintings of European landmarks, which saw her travelling around Europe for over two years, accompanied by the photographer Pegg Clarke. In 1928 these works were exhibited at the Beaux Arts Gallery, London,{{cite news|title=Artist's Exhibition|url=https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/222958619?searchTerm=%22Beaux%20Arts%20Gallery%22%20%2B%20wilson&searchLimits=l-decade=192|access-date=6 February 2018|publisher=The Sun (Sydney, NSW)|date=1 Jul 1929}} and the following year at Australia House. In the early 1930s she focused on historical scenes from Melbourne's history, with an exhibition entitled 'Milestones of Melbourne' held at the Fine Art Society Gallery in March 1935.{{cite web|title=Milestones of Melbourne by Dora L. Wilson|url= http://search.slv.vic.gov.au/permalink/f/1cl35st/SLV_VOYAGER1510026|website=State Library of Victoria|access-date=7 August 2020}} Her work was received favorably by Arthur Streeton for being "fresh in colour and treatment and free from the depressing appearance of black paint."{{Cite news|date=1930-03-20|title=ART EXHIBITIONS.|pages=13|work=Argus (Melbourne, Vic. : 1848 - 1957)|url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article4076060|access-date=2020-08-12}} In 1937 she joined and exhibited with Robert Menzies' Australian Academy of Art.{{Cite book |url=https://nla.gov.au/nla.obj-323428163 |title=Australian Academy of Art First Exhibition, April 8th-29th, Sydney : Catalogue |publisher=Australian Academy of Art |year=1938 |edition=1st |location=Sydney |language=en |access-date=2022-11-02}}

File:Dora L Wilson - Exterior view of single story house with steep gabled roof.jpg|[http://search.slv.vic.gov.au/permalink/f/1cl35st/SLV_VOYAGER2504338 Exterior view of single story house with steep gabled roof], [between 1900 and 1910]

File:Dora Wilson - Unidentified light house on a cliff.jpg|[http://search.slv.vic.gov.au/permalink/f/1cl35st/SLV_VOYAGER2504320 Unidentified light house on a cliff], [between 1900 and 1910]

File:Dora Wilson - Ships at anchor.jpg|[http://search.slv.vic.gov.au/permalink/f/1cl35st/SLV_VOYAGER2504306 Ships at anchor], [between 1900 and 1910]

Death

Wilson died of cancer on 21 November 1946 and was cremated at Springvale Cemetery, Melbourne.{{cite news|title=Obituary - Miss Dora Wilson|url=https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/22391361|access-date=6 February 2018|publisher=The Argus|date=23 Nov 1946}} She made a bequest to the National Gallery trustees in the amount of £1100 as it was her wish to help Australian artists to travel abroad.{{Cite news|date=1947-12-05|title=ARTIST'S OFFER OF SCHOLARSHIP|pages=2|work=Age (Melbourne, Vic. : 1854 - 1954)|url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article206052061|access-date=2020-08-12}}

Exhibitions

1943, from 1 December; Inclusion in a group show of ninety-one paintings and etchings with Arnold Shore, Max Meldrum, John Rowell, Jas. Quinn, John Farmer, Mary Hurry, Dora Serle, Margaret Pestell, Allan Jordan, Isabel Tweddle, Aileen Dent, Murray Griffin, Geo. Colville, and Victor Cog. Hawthorn Library.{{Cite news |date=2 December 1943 |title=Art exhibition at Hawthorn |pages=4 |work=The Age}}