Violet Vimpany

Violet Emma Vimpany (née Alomes, 15 April 1886 – 2 March 1979) was an Australian painter and etcher, and in later life also a master stonemason.[1][2] She was an active member of, and regular exhibitor with, the Art Society of Tasmania.[3] Her work is held in the permanent collection of the Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery.[4]

Violet Vimpany
Born(1886-04-15)15 April 1886
Died2 March 1979(1979-03-02) (aged 92)
EducationHobart Technical College
Known forPainting, etching, stonemasonry
MovementModernism

Early life and education

Vimpany was born in 1886 in Forcett, Tasmania, one of eight children (four girls and four boys) of Walter Alomes and Emma Jane Parker. She studied art at Hobart Technical College in 1928 and 1931 to 1932, under the tutelage of Belgian-born Australian artist, Lucien Dechaineux.[3][5]

Career

During the 1930s Vimpany shared a studio at 76 Collins Street in Hobart with other women artists of the time, including Edith Holmes, Mildred Lovett, Ethel Nicholls, Florence Rodway, and Dorothy Stoner.[6] It is presumed that during this time Holmes painted the artwork Portrait of Violet Vimpany (Masterpiece Fine Art Gallery Hobart).[3][5]

From 1936 to 1939, when in her fifties, Vimpany regularly traveled from Hobart to Melbourne to study with Scottish-born Australian artist and art teacher, Max Meldrum. Her work became highly regarded and was exhibited in the 1939 exhibition, International Women: Painter, Sculptors, Gravers, held at the Riverside Museum (now the Master Building) in Manhattan, New York.[2]

Vimpany was a council member of the Art Society of Tasmania[7] from 1936 to 1952, and exhibited with them for over forty years (1932–1975).[3][2] As a philanthropist and champion of women’s rights, she was a member of the Hobart Soroptimist Club (changing to the Soroptimist International of Hobart in the 1970s) – an organisation which advocates for human rights, gender equality, and advancing the status of women.[2]

Her husband died suddenly from a heart attack in 1945, and at the age of 60, she took over his stonemasonry business. Mastering the skills of the masonry trade,[2] she successfully ran the business for over twenty years. Selling the business in 1969, she retired definitively in 1973, and in that same year was named one of Tasmania’s ‘Women of Achievement’.[3][2] In 2019, she was listed as one of 156 "Women who shaped Australian art".[3]

She was honorary secretary of the National Council for Women from 1938 to 1940,[8][9] elected president in 1945,[10] and served as delegate for the NCW at UNRRA in 1945.[11]

Violet Vimpany died on 2 March 1979, aged 92. She is buried at the Forcett Lewisham Cemetery in Tasmania.[3]

Major exhibitions

  • 1939 – International Women: Painter, Sculptors, Gravers, Riverside Museum (now the Master Building), New York
  • 1932–1975 – various exhibitions with the Art Society of Tasmania

Personal life

She married Amos William Vimpany, the foremost stonemason of Hobart, and also a former student of Hobart Technical College. They had two daughters, Violet (‘Vi’) and Gwendolene (‘Gwen’).[3]

References
  1. "Trove: Vimpany, Violet Emma (1886-1979)". trove.nla.gov.au. Retrieved 26 August 2020.
  2. Vimpany, Gwen. "My Mother… the Stonemason". Australian Women's Weekly. 12 November 1975.
  3. Finucane, Paul (2019). Odd Roads To Be Walking: 156 Women Who Shaped Australian Art. Red Barn Publishing. p. 127. ISBN 9781916187702.
  4. Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery. "Annual Report 2006-2007" (PDF). Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery. p. 31. Retrieved 26 August 2020.
  5. Kerr, Joan (1995). Heritage: The National Women's Art Book. G+B Arts International. p. 469. ISBN 9789766410452.
  6. Backhouse, Sue, "Holmes, Edith Lilla (1893–1973)", Australian Dictionary of Biography, Canberra: National Centre of Biography, Australian National University, retrieved 26 August 2020
  7. "Satisfaction At Art Society's Progress". Mercury (Hobart, Tas. : 1860 - 1954). 3 October 1945. p. 8. Retrieved 29 August 2020.
  8. "MRS. A. VIMPANY HONOURED". Mercury (Hobart, Tas. : 1860 - 1954). 6 June 1940. p. 5. Retrieved 29 August 2020.
  9. "National Council of Women". Mercury (Hobart, Tas. : 1860 - 1954). 15 October 1938. p. 8. Retrieved 29 August 2020.
  10. "Children Standing Long Periods Deplored". Mercury (Hobart, Tas. : 1860 - 1954). 13 April 1945. p. 7. Retrieved 29 August 2020.
  11. "Low Type Of Films At Hobart Theatres". Mercury (Hobart, Tas. : 1860 - 1954). 18 May 1945. p. 6. Retrieved 29 August 2020.
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