Christian Marjory Emily Carlyle Waller (nee Yandell; 2 August 1894 - 25 May 1954) was an Australian printmaker, illustrator, muralist and stained-glass artist. At 15 she moved to Melbourne, where she studied at the National Gallery School. In 1915 she married fellow-student

Napier Waller Mervyn Napier Waller Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George, CMG Officer of the Order of the British Empire, OBE (19 June 189330 March 1972) was an Australian muralist, mosaicist and painter in stained glass and other media. He is ...

. Waller was Australia's only professional woman stained-glass artist until the craft revival of the 1970s and was much sought-after as an illustrator and stained-glass artist; after the Second World War, she had a five-year waiting list and more commissions than she could execute. Her glass adorns over 20 churches in Victoria and New South Wales. Waller signed and exhibited her work under her maiden name (Yandell) in her early career, but later used her married name.

Early life

Waller was born in Castlemaine, Victoria, to Emily and William Yandell, a plasterer, who died when she was five, when she moved to Langston Street, Bendigo, to live with her sister Florence and husband Alexander James Sclater. She was one of seven children.

Early career

Christian studied painting at the Castlemaine School of Mines under Carl Steiner and then at the Bendigo School of Mines with Hugh Fegan. In 1909, her painting ''A Petition'' (a Greek scene featuring her sister Florence), was accepted for exhibition at the

Bendigo Art Gallery Bendigo Art Gallery is an Australian art gallery located in Bendigo, Victoria. It is one of the oldest and largest regional art galleries. History The gallery was founded in 1887. The gallery's collection was first housed in the former Bendig ...

and was shown at the local Masonic hall, the gallery committee noting that "Miss Christian Yandell, who is only 14 years of age, is considered by competent critics to be a rising artist." The mayor and the Masonic lodge raised money through the sale of her works by

art union A raffle is a gambling competition in which people obtain numbered tickets, each of which has the chance of winning a prize. At a set time, the winners are drawn at random from a container holding a copy of each number. The drawn tickets are chec ...

to send her to study art in Melbourne. Christian moved to Melbourne in 1909 at age fifteen, where she studied 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 ...

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 Bernard Hall and exhibited in the Singer Depot windows in The Block, Collins Street, in 1910. While there she won several student prizes and exhibited with 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 ...

(1913–22). She illustrated numerous publications, such as ''Melba's Gift Book of Australian Art and Literature'' (1915), many published by Edward Vidler. She met and married fellow-student Mervyn Napier Waller in 1916. During the 1920s, Waller became a leading book illustrator, winning acclaim as the first Australian artist to illustrate ''Alice in Wonderland'' (1924). "Yandell’s drawings are an eclectic mix, ranging from depictions of the iconic Mad Hatter’s Tea Party through to densely drawn processional scenes and simple sketches of Wonderland’s inhabitants." Her skill in drawing was conspicuous and was praised by fellow students such as

Ola Cohn Ola Cohn (born Carola Cohn; 25 April 1892 – 23 December 1964) was an Australian artist, author and philanthropist best known for her work in sculpture in a modernist style, and famous for her ''Fairies Tree'' in the Fitzroy Gardens, Melbour ...

. Her illustration work supported her husband when he returned from the Second World War wounded and was unable to work for some time. While at art school, Waller became interested in

Theosophy Theosophy is a religious movement established in the United States in the late 19th century. Founded primarily by the Russian Helena Blavatsky and based largely on her writings, it draws heavily from both older European philosophies such as Neop ...

, which was very much ''dans le vent'' at the time. She did not become a member but joined the library and attended lectures. This was an important influence on her for the rest of her life, although she never abandoned the Christian faith altogether, creating a personal synthesis of these beliefs.

Graphic works

As a printmaker, Waller is best known for her powerful, bold linocuts printed on her own press, including many bookplates for friends. She exhibited extensively at the usual venues: the Victorian Artists Society, Robertson and Mullens and the New Gallery. Her work was appreciated by critics and sought after. Her early illustrations partake of a range of influences from the 'golden age of printmaking', including Aubrey Beardsley, Kai Nielsen and Arts and Crafts illustration. Her linocuts exhibited Art Deco tendencies stylistically, while having a range of symbolic references drawn from classical and Arthurian mythology, Egyptian and Hermetic lore and astrology and numerology. She created linocut bookplates for many of her friends. Her tour de force was the set of seven prints''The Great Breath'' (1932). These illustrated

Theosophical Theosophy is a religious movement established in the United States in the late 19th century. Founded primarily by the Russian Helena Blavatsky and based largely on her writings, it draws heavily from both older European philosophies such as Neo ...

doctrine drawn from Madame Blavatsky's ''The Secret Doctrine'', and were well received by critics such as

Blamire Young William Blamire Young (9 August 1862 – 14 January 1935), commonly known as Blamire Young, was an English-Australian artist and art critic. He painted primarily in watercolour. Biography Early life Young was born at Londesborough, Yorkshire ...

and Harold Herbert. They were produced by her own Golden Arrow Press, and Hendrik Kohlenberg suggests that Waller undertook most of the physical production of the book in her Fairy Hills studio. Only a small number of the planned 150 book edition for ''The Great Breath'' was ever produced. She wrote a second book'' The Gates of Dawn,'' illustrated with lithographs, but put it aside to help Napier with his Newspaper House mosaic commission, and unfortunately never published it. It was published by her niece

Klytie Pate Klytie Pate (20 October 1912 – 10 June 2010) was an Australian studio potter who emerged as an innovator in the use of unusual glazes and the extensive incising, piercing and ornamentation of earthenware pottery. She was one of a small group ...

with Richard Griffin in 1977. "Her print work is characterised by a complex symbolism, combining ancient classical and literary subjects alongside occult motifs in a dynamic style owing much to the bold geometry of Art Deco and the handmade ethos of the Arts and Crafts movement." A third book, The Woman of Faery, was projected but never completed. In 1942 she painted a large mural of the Nativity for Christ Church, Geelong and in 1937 one of The Robe of Glory for Fawkner Crematorium; by the end of her life she had completed more than a hundred stained-glass windows.

Stained Glass

Beside her graphic works, Waller was a leading professional stained-glass maker, being at the time one the few acknowledged Australian woman professionals, beside contemporaries Amalie Colquhoun and Nora Burden. She and Napier had begun to work for William Montgomery, a leading trade glass firm, while still students, and Christian began creating her own commissions from 1927. In 1929 she and Napier travelled to Europe where they spent valuable time at the

Arts and Crafts The Arts and Crafts movement was an international trend in the Decorative arts, decorative and fine arts that developed earliest and most fully in the British Isles and subsequently spread across the British Empire and to the rest of Europe and ...

studio of British stained glass artist Veronica Whall in London and at

An Túr Gloine An Túr Gloine (; Irish for "The Glass Tower") was a cooperative studio for stained glass and '' opus sectile'' artists from 1903 until 1944, based in Dublin, Ireland. History An Túr Gloine was conceived of in late 1901 and established Januar ...

in Ireland with which a number of women stained glass artists,

Evie Hone Eva Sydney Hone RHA (22 April 1894 – 13 March 1955), usually known as Evie, was an Irish painter and stained glass artist.Nicola Gordon Bowe (May 2009)Hone, Eva Sydney (1894–1955) ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'', online editi ...

Beatrice Elvery Beatrice Moss Elvery, RHA (1881, Dublin – 1970, Rockall, Sandycove) was an Irish painter, stained-glass artist and sculptor. Early life Beatrice Moss Elvery was born in 1881, the second daughter of the Dublin businessman, William Elvery, ...

Wilhelmina Geddes Wilhelmina Geddes HRUA (25 May 1887 – 10 August 1955) was an Irish stained glass artist who was an important figure within the Irish Arts and Crafts movement and also the twentieth-century British stained glass revival. Notable works include wi ...

, Catherine O'Brien, and Kathleen Quigly, were affiliated with founder Sarah Purse. On her return she devoted herself mainly to stained glass work, influenced by these studios. She was extensively patronised by the architect Louis Williams. From 1927 to 1953 she produced more than one hundred and twenty individual stained-glass panels. In this medium she was innovative, employing radical techniques unknown in Australia at the time. She did all the work herself, while at the same time assisting Napier Waller with his increasing mosaic commissions. Waller's windows display much of the Theosophical spirituality that she had first become interested in while at art school. Their symbolism is rich and complex, drawing on varied sources. Miley notes:

"Her windows, mainly ecclesiastical commissions, are notable for the originality of their concepts, the beauty of their colouration and delicacy of painting. They combine subtle and varied symbolism with a strong personal element which gives them a drawing power beyond the usual."

catalogue raisonné A (or critical catalogue) is an annotated listing of the works of an artist or group of artists and can contain all works or a selection of works categorised by different parameters such as medium or period. A ''catalogue raisonné'' is normal ...

of her stained glass was published in 2022. Large collections of her glass are at Geelong Grammar School Chapel; St James Anglican Church, Ivanhoe and St Mark's Anglican Church, Camberwell. Other notable works are at St Matthew's Anglican Church, Prahran; Scotch College Chapel; Christ Church Anglican Church, Geelong and Canterbury Uniting Church. Designs and drawings for stained glass are held in many Australian public gallery collections.

Personal life

In 1915 Christian married fellow art student

who enlisted in 1916 and served in France, where he lost his right arm to injuries. He learned to use his left hand while recuperating, during which time Christian supported them with her extensive book illustration. She was especially sought after by Edward Vidler to illustrate poetry and fiction and her drawings, exhibited widely, were admired by collectors. The Wallers'

style house was constructed in Crown Rd, in the Ivanhoe precinct known as Fairy Hills, by builder Phillip Millsom in 1922, through a War Services loan, to the artists' design and specifications. Lit by windows high up on a mezzanine 'minstrel gallery' was a hall in which they entertained their friends including their neighbour Norman McGeorge and the musicians Bernard Heinz and

Fritz Hart Fritz Bennicke Hart (11 February 1874 – 9 July 1949) was an English composer, conductor, teacher and unpublished novelist, who spent considerable periods in Australia and Hawaii. Early life Hart was born in Brockley, originally in the English ...

, for whom Christian made posters and concert decorations, and Percy Meldrum, architect of Newspaper House which Napier decorated with a mosaic, with furniture designed by the Wallers and painted by Christian in the Arts and Crafts manner and made for them by the Goldman Manufacturing Co. The Wallers were childless but Christian gathered around her a group of young people who she referred as her 'children' and whom she mentored; Ron Meadows, Harry Tatlock Miller and Hilda Elliott, who became lifelong friends. In 1925 Christian's niece

(née Sclater) came to live with them when Pate's father remarried. She assisted in the studio and their relationship was close; Christian encouraged Pate's talents and she became a significant Australian ceramicist, her work influenced by Christian's ideas. In the 1930s Napier Waller began an

affair An affair is a relationship typically between two people, one or both of whom are either married or in a long-term Monogamy, monogamous or emotionally-exclusive relationship with someone else. The affair can be solely sexual, solely physical or ...

with one of his students at the Working Men's College where he taught, New Zealander Lorna Reyburn, which Christian discovered in about 1937. In 1939 she left, travelling to New York where she joined the community of the African-American philosopher and mystic

Father Divine Father Divine (September 10, 1965), also known as Reverend M. J. Divine, was an American spiritual leader from about 1907 until his death in 1965. His full self-given name was Reverend Major Jealous Divine, and he was also known as "the Messen ...

. In 1940 her friend the composer Jack Tallis persuaded her to return. She spent the rest of her life at Crown Road immersing herself in her work and becoming increasingly reclusive. Waller suffered from heart disease but continued to work, fulfilling an endless stream of commissions. She had to give up work in the early 1950s and died aged 59 of

hypertensive heart disease Hypertensive heart disease includes a number of complications of high blood pressure that affect the heart. While there are several definitions of hypertensive heart disease in the medical literature, the term is most widely used in the context of ...

in May 1954. She was cremated and her ashes interred at Fawkner Crematorium, where some years before she had painted ''The Robe of Glory''.

Collections

National Gallery of Australia The National Gallery of Australia (NGA), formerly the Australian National Gallery, is the national art museum of Australia as well as one of the largest art museums in Australia, holding more than 166,000 works of art. Located in Canberra in th ...

: 83 works, and Napier Waller's portrait (1932) of his wife * The

holds her self-portrait (1915) *

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 ...

holds 11 works *

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 ...

: 50 works * Art Gallery of New South Wales; 4 works * Art Gallery of South Australia * Hamilton Art Gallery * Ballarat Art Gallery * Warrnambool Art Gallery * State Library of Victoria * State Library of Queensland

Publications

Though Waller completed ''The Gates of Dawn'' it was not published in her lifetime. Her niece Klytie published it, as well as a facsimile edition of ''The Great Breath'', with Gryphon Books in Melbourne in 1978.

Bibliography

* Roger Butler ''Christian Waller 1895-1956'' icDeutscher Galleries, Armadale, 1978 * Emma Busowsky Cox (ed): ''Daughters of the Sun: Christian Waller and

'' Bendigo Art Gallery, Bendigo 2018 * Jenny McFarlane: ''Concerning the Spiritual: The Influence of the Theosophical Society on Australian Artists 1890-1934'' Australian Scholarly Publishing, North Melbourne 2012 * Caroline Miley: ''Christian Waller Stained Glass: Towards the Light'' Australian Scholarly Publishing, North Melbourne 2022 * David Thomas (ed): ''The Art of Christian Waller'' Bendigo Art Gallery Bendigo 1992

Exhibitions

* 1923, 1 August: ''Exhibition of Woodcuts''. Tyrrell's Galleries, NSW * 1931, 3–24 December: ''7th Xmas Exhibition of Etchings and Woodcuts by Leading English and Australian Artists'' * 1932, 5–16 April: ''Exhibition of Linocuts'', Everyman's Lending Library * 1932, 6–24 December: ''Eighth Xmas Exhibition of Etchings and Woodcuts by Master Etchers'', Seddon Galleries, Melbourne * 1934, 16–26 November: ''Heidelberg Art Exhibition''. Ivanhoe Hall

Posthumous

* 1976, 1 July 1976–1 October: ''Outlines of Australian Printmaking: Prints of Australia from the last third of the 18th century until the present time''.

Ballarat Fine Art Gallery The Art Gallery of Ballarat is the oldest regional art gallery in Australia. It was established in 1884 as the Ballarat Fine Art Gallery by a company of interested citizens led by James Oddie. It initially rented out the first floor of the Balla ...

* 1978, 13 April – 5 May: ''A Survey of Australian Relief Prints 1900 - 1950''. Deutscher Galleries * 1978, 8–30 September 1978: ''Christian Waller 1895-1956'' ic Deutscher Galleries * 1983, 8 June–24 June: ''Images of Women Prints and Drawings of the Twentieth Century.'' University Of Melbourne Art Gallery * 1987, 30 April–30 May: ''Masterpieces of Australian printmaking''. Josef Lebovic Gallery, Sydney * 1988, 5–26 March: ''Australian women printmakers'', Josef Lebovic Gallery, Sydney * 1992: ''The Art of Christian Waller,'' curated by David Thomas. Bendigo Art Gallery * 1992, 20 September – 25 October: The Art of Christian Waller. Castlemaine Art Gallery And Historical Museum * 1995, 8 March 1995: ''Women Printmakers 1910 to 1940 in the Castlemaine Art Gallery and Historical Museum''. Castlemaine Art Gallery And Historical Museum *2017/18, 11 November—5 February: ''Daughters of the Sun: Christian Waller and

''.

*2018/19, 10 November–10 February: ''Daughters of the Sun'', curated by Emma Busowsky Cox, Bendigo Art Gallery

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Waller, Christian 1894 births 1954 deaths 20th-century Australian women artists 20th-century Australian artists Australian stained glass artists and manufacturers Australian printmakers People from Bendigo People from Ivanhoe, Victoria People educated at St Mary's College, Melbourne People from Castlemaine, Victoria