A.M.E. Bale
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Alice Marian Ellen Bale, known as A. M. E. Bale, (11 November 1875 14 February 1955) was an Australian artist, the editor of the
Victorian Artists' Society The Victorian Artists Society, which can trace its establishment to 1856 in Melbourne, promotes artistic education, art classes and Art museum, gallery hire art gallery, exhibition in Australia. It was formed in March 1888 when the Victorian Acad ...
's journal ''VAS'' and a foundation member of the
Twenty Melbourne Painters Society Twenty Melbourne Painters Society is an Australian arts organisation that was established in 1918. The group split from the Victorian Artists Society to follow the Australian Tonalist Max Meldrum. Membership is restricted to 20 and is upon invita ...
. In her will, she left an endowment for the A. M. E. Bale Travelling Scholarship and Art Prize to support Australian artists. The endowment funds a scholarship and two prizes.


Early life and education

Bale was born in
Richmond, Victoria Richmond is an inner-city suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, east of the Melbourne central business district, located within the City of Yarra Local government areas of Victoria, local government area. Richmond recorded a population of 2 ...
, on 11 November 1875,''Victoria, Australia, Cemetery Records and Headstone Transcriptions, 1844–1997'' the daughter of Marian and naturalist William Mountier Bale. She was an only child, and her family had houses in both
Kew Kew () is a district in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames. Its population at the 2011 census was 11,436. Kew is the location of the Royal Botanic Gardens ("Kew Gardens"), now a World Heritage Site, which includes Kew Palace. Kew is ...
and Castlemaine. She studied art under
Frederick McCubbin Frederick McCubbin (25 February 1855 – 20 December 1917) was an Australian artist, art teacher and prominent member of the Heidelberg School art movement, also known as Australian impressionism. Born and raised in Melbourne, Victoria, McCubb ...
and
Lindsay Bernard Hall Lindsay Bernard Hall (28 December 1859 – 14 February 1935) was an English-born Australian artist, teacher and art gallery director. Early life and career Hall was born at Garston, Liverpool, England, the son of a broker of the same famil ...
at the
National Gallery School The National Gallery of Victoria Art School, associated with the National Gallery of Victoria, was a private fine arts college founded in 1867 and was Australia's leading art school of 50 years. It is also referred to as the 'National Gallery S ...
18951904.


Career

Bale came to prominence as an artist in
Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...
in the 1920s and 1930s, developing a reputation as one of Australia's pre-eminent flower and still life painters. Distancing herself from her fellow female artists who were more aligned with the
suffragette A suffragette was a member of an activist women's organisation in the early 20th century who, under the banner "Votes for Women", fought for the right to vote in public elections in the United Kingdom. The term refers in particular to members ...
movement, Bale preferred to work hard within the constraints of the traditional structures of the art world, and never left
Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Queen Victoria (1819–1901), Queen of the United Kingdom and Empress of India * Victoria (state), a state of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, a provincial capital * Victoria, Seychelles, the capi ...
. An active member of the Pickwick Club of Kew, she would gather with young members, some of whom were fellow Gallery School students, for weekly discussions where they adopted the personas of
Charles Dickens Charles John Huffam Dickens (; 7 February 1812 – 9 June 1870) was an English novelist, journalist, short story writer and Social criticism, social critic. He created some of literature's best-known fictional characters, and is regarded by ...
' characters. There she developed an intimacy with fellow club member Norman Brown, which came to an end by 1906 with Brown's departure and Bale's reluctance to leave her ordered family life. As a painter Bale did
landscape A landscape is the visible features of an area of land, its landforms, and how they integrate with natural or human-made features, often considered in terms of their aesthetic appeal.''New Oxford American Dictionary''. A landscape includes th ...
s and
portrait A portrait is a painting, photograph, sculpture, or other artistic representation of a person, in which the face is always predominant. In arts, a portrait may be represented as half body and even full body. If the subject in full body better r ...
s but was best known for her flower studies. She was able to sell her paintings and exhibit in not just Australia but also
London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...
and
Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...
. She exhibited with the Melbourne Society of Women Painters 19171955.


Other activities

Bale edited the
Victorian Artists' Society The Victorian Artists Society, which can trace its establishment to 1856 in Melbourne, promotes artistic education, art classes and Art museum, gallery hire art gallery, exhibition in Australia. It was formed in March 1888 when the Victorian Acad ...
's journal ''VAS'' before her efforts to reform the society in 1917 and 1918 and an election loss got her ousted as a troublemaker. Her friend
Jo Sweatman Estelle Mary (Jo) Sweatman (1872-1956), was an Australian painter. She was a founding member of the Twenty Melbourne Painters Society. Early life and training Sweatman was born in South Yarra 1872. She took drawing classes at a suburban ladi ...
, the last remaining female office bearer, was ousted also a few months later on an electoral technicality. They became foundation members of the
Twenty Melbourne Painters Society Twenty Melbourne Painters Society is an Australian arts organisation that was established in 1918. The group split from the Victorian Artists Society to follow the Australian Tonalist Max Meldrum. Membership is restricted to 20 and is upon invita ...
, Bale holding the position of secretary until her death.Guidelines
, AME Bale Art Prizes, www.gleneira.vic.gov.au


In collections

*
Art Gallery of New South Wales The Art Gallery of New South Wales (AGNSW), founded as the New South Wales Academy of Art in 1872 and known as the National Art Gallery of New South Wales between 1883 and 1958, is located in The Domain, Sydney, Australia. It is the most import ...
, *
National Gallery of Victoria The National Gallery of Victoria, popularly known as the NGV, is an art museum in Melbourne, Victoria (state), Victoria, Australia. Founded in 1861, it is Australia's oldest and list of most visited art museums in the world, most visited art mu ...
''.'' *
Castlemaine Art Museum Castlemaine Art Museum is an art gallery and museum in Castlemaine, Victoria, Castlemaine, Victoria, Australia. Founded in 1913, it is housed in a purpose-built Art Deco building, completed in 1931 and heritage-listed by the National Trust. Its ...


Awards

She was a finalist in the
Archibald Prize The Archibald Prize is an Australian portraiture art prize for painting, generally seen as the most prestigious portrait prize in Australia. It was first awarded in 1921 after the receipt of a bequest from J. F. Archibald, J. F. Archib ...
in 1922, and 1924, while 1932
Ernest Buckmaster Ernest William Buckmaster (1897–1968) was an Australian artist born in Victoria. He won the Archibald Prize in 1932 with a portrait of Sir William Irvine. He also served as an Australian war artist during World War II. Although an accompl ...
's portrait of her was a finalist in the Archibald.


Death and legacy

Bale died on 14 February 1955 in Melbourne.


A. M. E. Bale Travelling Scholarship and Art Prize

Bale established the biennial A. M. E. Bale Travelling Scholarship and Art Prize through her will to support Australian artists in perpetuity. The prize "is intended to encourage, support and advance classical training of emerging artists (in their early to mid-career) at any stage of life, who are pursuing the study and practice of traditional art and who desire to study the works of old masters". Three prizes are awarded: * Major Award for a Travelling Scholarship (A$50,000) since 2011 * A. M. E. Bale Art Prize in the medium of oil and/or acrylic (A$5,000) * A. M. E. Bale Art Prize for Works on Paper (A$5,000) In 1977,
Peter Wegner Peter Wegner may refer to: * Peter Wegner (computer scientist) (1932–2017), professor of computer science at Brown University, Rhode Island, United States * Peter Wegner (American artist) (born 1963) * Peter Wegner (Australian artist) See also

was awarded the A. M. E. Bale residential painting scholarship under Sir
William Dargie Captain Sir William Alexander Dargie (4 June 1912 – 26 July 2003) was a renowned Australian painter, known especially for his portrait paintings. He won the Archibald Prize, Australia's premier award for portrait artists on eight separat ...
, awarded by Glen Eira City Council, which he undertook from 1978 to 1980.


References


External links


Papers of the Bale family
''
State Library Victoria State Library Victoria (SLV) is the state library of Victoria, Australia. Located in Melbourne, it was established in 1854 as the Melbourne Public Library, making it Australia's oldest public library and one of the first free libraries in th ...
''
A. M. E. (Alice Marian Ellen) Bale
ustralian art and artists file ''State Library Victoria''
Flowers
/ A. M. E. Bale, ''State Library Victoria'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Bale, Alice Heidelberg School Artists from Melbourne 20th-century Australian painters Archibald Prize finalists 1875 births 1955 deaths People from Richmond, Victoria National Gallery of Victoria Art School alumni 20th-century Australian women painters