Maude Edith Victoria Fleay

Maude Edith Victoria Fleay
Born1869 (1869)
Sulky Gully, Victoria, Australia
Died18 May 1965(1965-05-18) (aged 95–96)
Colac, Victoria, Australia
NationalityAustralian
Known forPainting
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]

Biography

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]

"Gracedale House", Healesville, Rose Stereograph Co

Fleay died on 18 May 1965 in Colac.[1]

Legacy

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]

Further reading

References

  1. ^ a b c "Glover-Fleay, Maude Edith Victoria (1869 - 1965)". Encyclopedia of Australian Science. Retrieved 30 March 2018.
  2. ^ a b c d e Rich, Margaret. "Maude Edith Victoria Fleay b. 1869". Design & Art Australia Online (DAAO). Retrieved 30 March 2018.
  3. ^ ""a nightingale sang"". Advocate (Melbourne, Vic. : 1868 - 1954). 21 August 1946. p. 13. Retrieved 10 September 2020.
  4. ^ "Classified Advertising". The Argus (Melbourne). No. 24, 583. Victoria, Australia. 23 May 1925. p. 39. Retrieved 14 March 2022 – via National Library of Australia.
  5. ^ "Art Society's Service - The Argus (Melbourne, Vic. : 1848 - 1957) - 27 Apr 1938". Trove. Retrieved 10 September 2020.
  6. ^ "ART EXHIBITION". Argus (Melbourne, Vic. : 1848 - 1957). 21 March 1945. p. 13. Retrieved 10 September 2020.
  7. ^ "FIVE ARTISTS". Argus (Melbourne, Vic. : 1848 - 1957). 19 June 1934. p. 5. Retrieved 10 September 2020.
  8. ^ "painting - The Crows Nest, Warapingo Beaufort by Maude Glover Fleay - Victorian Collections". 136.154.202.135. Retrieved 10 September 2020.
  9. ^ a b "WEDDINGS". Ballarat Star (Vic. : 1865 - 1924). 25 February 1905. p. 2. Retrieved 10 September 2020.
  10. ^ "WOMAN OF THE WEEK". Argus (Melbourne, Vic. : 1848 - 1957). 1 November 1949. p. 5. Retrieved 10 September 2020.
  11. ^ Art Gallery of Ballarat (2016). "Annual Report" (PDF). Art Gallery of Ballarat.
  12. ^ "Search object results on eHive". ehive.com. Retrieved 10 September 2020.
  13. ^ "The Lost Ones showcase Maude". The Courier. 29 June 2018. Retrieved 10 September 2020.
  14. ^ Fleay-Thomson, Rosemary; Fleay-Beasy, Mary (1999). The girl from Sulky Gully: a review of the life of Australian artist Maude Glover-Fleay : 1869-1965. Nerang, Qld.: Petaurus Pub. ISBN 0646374818.