Margery Withers Explained
Margery Pitt Withers (13 January 1890 – 1966) was an Australian artist.
Biography
Born in England to Fanny Flinn and the Australian landscape artist Walter Withers, Margery was brought to Australia aged six months to live at the Charterisville estate in East Ivanhoe, Victoria.[1] Her father worked as an art master at various schools in Melbourne including the Presbyterian Ladies' College, Ruyton Girls' School, the Melbourne Grammar School and Emma Bartlett Cook's Private Girls' School. Margery Withers studied art at the National Gallery School and the Working Men's College.[2] At the National Gallery School, Withers won nine prizes and was awarded a special prize of £50 by the National Gallery Trustees for her picture The Letter.[3]
Withers was engaged to fellow student, John (Jack) Martin Paterson, who dedicated a sketch of a kitten to her while a soldier during World War 1. He was killed in action at Villers-Bretonneux in August 1918.[4] In 1927 Withers married Richard Matthew McCann, an artist and a founding member of Twenty Melbourne Painters.
Withers painted figures and landscapes in both oil and watercolours, and taught art at Swinburne College for several years, though as a married woman she was asked to resign in 1928 and reapply for a temporary position, without benefits.[5] Her work has been described as "finding charm in every shadow and light under her brush."[6]
She painted at Tawonga,[7] Diamond Creek, and Heidelberg,[8] and exhibited with the Victorian Artists Society[9] and the Twenty Melbourne Painters Society.[10] She also showed with artists such as Polly Hurry, Jo Sweatman, and A.M.E. Bale.[11]
Withers has works in the collections of the Art Gallery of New South Wales, the Castlemaine Art Gallery and Historical Museum, the University of Western Australia and the State Library Victoria. Her portrait of her husband Richard McCann was shortlisted for the Archibald Prize in 1939.[12]
Works
- 1910, Early Eltham looking towards Montmorency][13]
- ca. 1913–1922, Nude study of a young woman[14]
- ca. 1913–1922, A Warrandyte Farm, near Frank Crozier's[15]
- 1920, Kit Turner's Cottage, Eltham[16]
- 1920, Souter's College, Eltham[17]
- 1920, Studley Park[18]
- ca. 1920–1940, Christ Church, South Yarra[19]
- 1924, Bridge and piers[20]
- 1932, Yarra floods and North Balwyn from Ivanhoe-Boulevard[21]
- 1935, Portrait of unidentified young woman[22]
- 1945, Orchard country, North Eltham[23]
Exhibitions
- Walter and Margery Withers, Collins House, 1915[24]
Notes and References
- Web site: Artist's Footsteps. 2020-10-08. www.artistsfootsteps.com.
- Web site: Withers, Margery Pitt - Artists - Australian Art Auction Records. 2020-10-08. www.artrecord.com.
- News: 1916-10-10. ART EXHIBITION.. 2. Bendigo Independent (Vic. : 1891 - 1918). 2020-10-08.
- Web site: Newly digitised works on paper. 2020-10-08. blogs.slv.vic.gov.au. 16 August 2017. en-US.
- News: 1928-09-18. WOMAN'S WORLD. 16. Herald (Melbourne, Vic. : 1861 - 1954). 2020-10-08.
- News: 1917-09-06. VICTORIAN ARTISTS' SOCIETY SPRING SHOW.. 27. Table Talk (Melbourne, Vic. : 1885 - 1939). 2020-10-08.
- News: 1931-04-18. ART.. 15. Australasian (Melbourne, Vic. : 1864 - 1946). 2020-10-08.
- Web site: 2013-10-30. On Eltham's Art History – Essay by Jenni Mitchell. 2020-10-08. Petschel House. en.
- News: 1921-06-14. ART EXHIBITIONS.. 9. Argus (Melbourne, Vic. : 1848 - 1957). 2020-10-08.
- Web site: Photograph - Mary Owen, granddaughter of Walter Withers, unveiling the commemorative plaque on Walter Withers Rock at the corner of Bible and Arthur Streets, Eltham, 13 Oct 1990 - Victorian Collections. 2020-10-08. 136.154.202.135.
- News: 1938-09-13. VARIOUS ART. 14. Age (Melbourne, Vic. : 1854 - 1954). 2020-10-08.
- Web site: Archibald Prize Archibald 1939 finalist: R McCann, Esq by Margery Withers. 2020-10-08. www.artgallery.nsw.gov.au.
- http://search.slv.vic.gov.au/permalink/f/1cl35st/SLV_VOYAGER2851334 Early Eltham looking towards Montmorency / Margery Withers
- http://search.slv.vic.gov.au/permalink/f/1cl35st/SLV_VOYAGER1765348 Nude study of a young woman / Margery Withers
- http://search.slv.vic.gov.au/permalink/f/1cl35st/SLV_VOYAGER1765358 A Warrandyte farm - near Frank Crozier's / Margery Withers
- http://search.slv.vic.gov.au/permalink/f/1cl35st/SLV_VOYAGER1665000 Kit Turner's cottage, Eltham /Margery Withers
- http://search.slv.vic.gov.au/permalink/f/1cl35st/SLV_VOYAGER2851235 Souter's College, Eltham
- http://search.slv.vic.gov.au/permalink/f/1cl35st/SLV_VOYAGER1665002 Studley Park
- http://search.slv.vic.gov.au/permalink/f/1cl35st/SLV_VOYAGER2851305 Christ Church, South Yarra
- http://search.slv.vic.gov.au/permalink/f/1cl35st/SLV_VOYAGER3364580 Bridge and piers
- http://search.slv.vic.gov.au/permalink/f/1cl35st/SLV_VOYAGER2851315 Yarra floods and North Balwyn from Ivanhoe-Boulevard
- http://search.slv.vic.gov.au/permalink/f/1cl35st/SLV_VOYAGER2156422 Portrait of unidentified young woman
- http://search.slv.vic.gov.au/permalink/f/1cl35st/SLV_VOYAGER2851345 Orchard country, North Eltham
- News: 1915-11-24. EXHIBITION OF PAINTINGS.. 13. Age (Melbourne, Vic. : 1854 - 1954). 2020-10-08.