Maude Edith Victoria Fleay | |
---|---|
Born | 1869 Sulky Gully, Victoria, Australia |
Died | 18 May 1965 Colac, Victoria, Australia | (aged 95–96)
Nationality | Australian |
Known for | Painting |
Spouse |
William Henry Fleay (
m. 1905) |
Maude Edith Victoria Glover Fleay (1869–1965), was one of Australia's first wildlife artists. [1] She was known for her paintings of Australian marsupials. [2]
Fleay was born in 1869 in Sulky Gully, Australia. She studied drawing at the School of Mines, Ballarat, where she was taught by David Davies. [2] She also studied under Frederick McCubbin at the National Gallery School in Melbourne. [2] Her aunt, Elizabeth Glover, owned "Gracedale Hotel" in Healesville. Fleay did a painting of "Gracedale", which hung in Elizabeth Glover's home in Gardenvale. [3] [4]
She exhibited with the Melbourne Society of Women Painters and Sculptors and she was a member of the Victorian Artists Society. [2] In 1938 she exhibited at the Athenaeum Gallery with fellow women artists Annie Gates and Henrietta Maria Gulliver. [5] Glover Fleay exhibited at the Leighton Galleries in 1945 where her work was commended for its "rather unfeminine strength and confidence of approach." [6] Noted artist Arthur Streeton said her paintings "reflect great sympathy with and knowledge of the animals." [7] She was also a writer and music teacher, [8] and art director of the Daylesford School of Mines. [9]
In 1905 she married William Henry Fleay at St. Peter's Church of England, Sturt Street, Ballarat. [9] They had three children, including the naturalist David Fleay. [2] She brought out a book with David, Gliders of the Gumtrees, for which she did the illustrations. [10]
Fleay died on 18 May 1965 in Colac. [1]
To honor her contribution to Australia's natural history, the Maude Glover Fleay Award was established by the Victorian College of the Arts. [1] She gifted funds to establish a Maude Glover Fleay Bequest at the Art Gallery of Ballarat, for purchasing works by female artists. [11] Her works "Gum trees", "End of day", and "Consider the lilies" are in the Gallery's collection. [12] An exhibition showcasing her work, The Fabulous Maude, showed at The Lost Ones Contemporary Art Gallery in Ballarat in 2018. [13]