Elizabeth May Norriss, later Bess Norriss Tait, (17 May 1878 – January 1939) was an Australian artist.

Life

Norriss was born in Melbourne, Australia in 1878. She studied at Melbourne Art Gallery School and in 1905 at the

Slade School of Fine Art The UCL Slade School of Fine Art (informally The Slade) is the art school of University College London (UCL) and is based in London, England. It has been ranked as the UK's top art and design educational institution. The school is organised as ...

in London. She specialised in watercolours and miniatures. In 1907, she was made a member of the Royal Society of Miniature Painters. She became a member of the British Watercolour Society and

Society of Women Artists The Society of Women Artists (SWA) is a British art body dedicated to celebrating and promoting fine art created by women. It was founded as the Society of Female Artists (SFA) in 1855, offering women artists the opportunity to exhibit and sell ...

. In 1908, she married the Australian entrepreneur J. Nevin Tait (1876–1961), the UK representative of and partner in the theatrical company J. & N. Tait. They travelled to South Africa in 1909 before returning to Australia. The

National Portrait Gallery National Portrait Gallery may refer to: * National Portrait Gallery (Australia), in Canberra * National Portrait Gallery (Sweden), in Mariefred *National Portrait Gallery (United States), in Washington, D.C. *National Portrait Gallery, London ...

hold a self-portrait c.1900-10. Norriss Street in the Canberra suburb of Chisholm is named in her honour.

Life in London

In 1911, she returned to London and resided in Church Street, Chelsea. She exhibited at the

Royal Academy of Arts The Royal Academy of Arts (RA) is an art institution based in Burlington House in Piccadilly London, England. Founded in 1768, it has a unique position as an independent, privately funded institution led by eminent artists and architects. Its ...

, the

New Society of Artists The New Society of Artists was formed in London in 1921. Its primary aim was to give a chance for artists whose work had not been accepted by the Royal Academy (RA) to exhibit their work in London and, later, in the provinces. In 1932 it became the ...

and the Paris Salon between 1908 and 1936, the Grosvenor Gallery and the Goupil Gallery. She was commissioned to paint the miniatures in Queen Mary's Dolls' House, produced 1921-4, currently on display at Windsor Castle.

Francis Derwent Wood Francis Derwent Wood (15 October 1871– 19 February 1926) was a British sculptor. Biography Early life Wood was born at Keswick in Cumbria and studied in Germany and returned to London in 1887 to work under Édouard Lantéri and Sir Thomas ...

's bronze bust of her (1922) was purchased by the Chantrey Bequest for the

Tate Tate is an institution that houses, in a network of four art galleries, the United Kingdom's national collection of British art, and international modern and contemporary art. It is not a government institution, but its main sponsor is the UK ...

in 1926. A large one-man show of her work was held at Walker's Galleries in 1938. She died in London in 1939.

Work in collections

Her work is in the collection of the Art Gallery of New South Wales.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Norriss, Bess 1878 births 1939 deaths 20th-century Australian women artists 20th-century Australian artists Alumni of the Slade School of Fine Art Artists from Melbourne Australian expatriates in England Australian women painters 19th-century Australian women