Mary Edwell-Burke

Mary Edwell-Burke (1894-1988), was an Australian painter and carver.

Mary Edwell-Burke
Self-portrait, 1936
Born
Mary Edwards

(1894-06-19)19 June 1894
Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
Died19 January 1988(1988-01-19) (aged 93)
Fiji
NationalityAustralian
Known forPainting, Sculpture

Biography

Edwell-Burke was born on 19 June 1894 in Sydney.[1] She was the half-sister of Bernice E. Edwell.[2] She studied at the East Sydney Technical College.

In the 1920s she exhibited with the Royal Art Society (as Mary Edwards). Edwell-Burke was a finalist for the Archibald Prize in 1921 and 1922.[3][4] From 1935-1945 she exhibited with the Australian Watercolour Institute (as Mary Edwards).[1]

In 1944 Edwell-Burke, along with Joseph Wolinski, brought legal action to overturn William Dobell's 1943 Archibald prize for his portrait Mr Joshua Smith, claiming the image was more a caricature than a portrait.[5]

In 1945 her portrait of Dame Enid Lyons, was rejected as 'unsatisfactory’ by the Federal Government’s Historic Memorials Committee. Edwell-Burke subsequently moved to Fiji and changed her name from Mary Edwards to Mary Edwell-Burke.[1]

Edwell-Burke died on 19 January 1988 in Fiji.[1]

References
  1. Candice, Bruce. "Mary Edwards b. 1894". Design & Art Australia Online (DAAO). Retrieved 3 April 2018.
  2. Kerr, Joan. "Bernice E. Edwell b. 11 May 1880". Design & Art Australia Online (DAAO). Retrieved 4 April 2018.
  3. "1921". Archibald Prize. Art Gallery of New South Wales. Retrieved 3 April 2018.
  4. "1922". Archibald Prize. Art Gallery of New South Wales. Retrieved 3 April 2018.
  5. Eagle, Mary. "Dobell, Sir William (1899–1970)". Australian Dictionary of Biography. National Centre of Biography, Australian National University. Retrieved 3 April 2018.
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