Dora Meeson (7 August 1869 – 24 March 1955) was an Australian artist, suffragist, and an elected member of the

Royal Institute of Oil Painters The Royal Institute of Oil Painters, also known as ROI, is an association of painters in London, England, and is the only major art society which features work done only in oil. It is a member society of the Federation of British Artists. Histor ...

in London, England. She was a member of the British

Artists' Suffrage League The Artists' Suffrage League (ASL) (1907 – c.1918) was a suffrage society formed to change parliamentary opinion and engage in public demonstrations and other propaganda activities. Activities The ASL was established in Jan 1907 to assist with ...

Early life and education

Dora Meeson was born on 7 August 1869 to Amelia (née Kipling) and John Meeson in Hawthorn, Victoria. Her father, an English schoolmaster, had moved to Melbourne in 1860 and married Amelia Kipling in 1861. He established Hawthorn Grammar School and sold it around 1880 before relocating the family to London. There, he studied law and eventually became a barrister. In London, the Meeson family then moved to Dunedin, New Zealand c. 1879. It was during this time that Dora Meeson began her artistic career. Also, while studying at the

Canterbury College School of Art The Ilam School of Fine Arts at the University of Canterbury, located in the Ilam suburb of Christchurch, New Zealand, was founded in 1882 as the Canterbury College School of Art. The school became a full department of the university in the ...

, Meeson was witness to the

suffrage Suffrage, political franchise, or simply franchise is the right to vote in public, political elections and referendums (although the term is sometimes used for any right to vote). In some languages, and occasionally in English, the right to v ...

movement and signed the petition which was forwarded to the New Zealand Parliament. She attended the

Slade School 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, studying under

Henry Tonks Henry Tonks, Fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons, FRCS (9 April 1862 – 8 January 1937) was a British surgeon and later draughtsman and painter of figure subjects, chiefly interiors, and a Caricature, caricaturist. He became an influentia ...

and alongside notable fellow student

Augustus John Augustus Edwin John (4 January 1878 – 31 October 1961) was a Welsh painter, draughtsman, and etcher. For a time he was considered the most important artist at work in Britain: Virginia Woolf remarked that by 1908 the era of John Singer Sarg ...

. In 1895, she applied for special entry to the painting classes 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 ...

in Melbourne. Despite not having completed the usual apprenticeship in the Drawing classes, she was accepted as an advanced student by the Master, Bernard Hall and the family returned to Melbourne later in 1895, enabling Meeson to study there l. At the National Gallery School, Dora met her future husband,

George Coates George Coates (born March 19, 1952) is an American theater director most notable for his work with George Coates Performance Works (GCPW), which he founded in 1977 in San Francisco, CA. The company produced over 20 multi-media live performances ...

. They both participated in a poster competition on the theme of "Minerva," with Dora Meeson winning the prize. Coates and Meeson both contended for a scholarship to study at the

Académie Julian The () was a private art school for painting and sculpture founded in Paris, France, in 1867 by French painter and teacher Rodolphe Julian (1839–1907). The school was active from 1868 through 1968. It remained famous for the number and qual ...

in Paris. Ultimately, Coates received the scholarship and Meeson did not, and her family financed her studies in Paris. They planned to reunite on the other side of the world. George Coates and David Davies travelled to London, while the Meeson family coincidentally returned to live in London in the same year. Dora and George then journeyed to Paris, where they enrolled at Julian's School of Art under the tutelage of

Jean Paul Laurens Jean-Paul Laurens (; 28 March 1838 – 23 March 1921) was a romanticism French painter and sculptor, and he is one of the last major exponents of the French Academic style. Biography Laurens was born in Fourquevaux and was a pupil of Léon Co ...

and

Benjamin Constant Henri-Benjamin Constant de Rebecque (25 October 1767 – 8 December 1830), or simply Benjamin Constant, was a Swiss and French political thinker, activist and writer on political theory and religion. A committed republican from 1795, Constant ...

. They spent three years in Paris, immersing themselves in the art scene and admiring the works of prominent artists such as

Fantin-Latour Henri Fantin-Latour (; 14 January 1836 – 25 August 1904) was a French painter and lithographer best known for his flower paintings and group portraits of Parisian artists and writers. Early life Born in Grenoble, Isère, Ignace Henri Jean Th� ...

Puvis de Chavannes Pierre Puvis de Chavannes (; 14 December 1824 – 24 October 1898) was a French painter known for his mural painting, who came to be known as "the painter for France". He became the co-founder and president of the Société Nationale des Beaux-A ...

Auguste Renoir Pierre-Auguste Renoir (; ; 25 February 1841 – 3 December 1919) was a French people, French artist who was a leading painter in the development of the Impressionism, Impressionist style. As a celebrator of beauty and especially femininity, fe ...

Armand Guillaumin Armand Guillaumin (; February 16, 1841 – June 26, 1927) was a French Impressionist painter and lithographer. Biography Early years Born Jean-Baptiste Armand Guillaumin in Paris, he worked at his uncle's lingerie shop while attending even ...

, and

Auguste Rodin François Auguste René Rodin (; ; 12 November 184017 November 1917) was a French sculptor generally considered the founder of modern sculpture. He was schooled traditionally and took a craftsman-like approach to his work. Rodin possessed a u ...

. Dora Meeson particularly felt a sense of belonging in Paris and was impressed by

Claude Monet Oscar-Claude Monet (, ; ; 14 November 1840 – 5 December 1926) was a French painter and founder of Impressionism painting who is seen as a key precursor to modernism, especially in his attempts to paint nature as he perceived it. During his ...

's exhibition showcasing various atmospheric effects of

Rouen Cathedral Rouen Cathedral () is a Catholic church architecture, church in Rouen, Normandy, France. It is the Episcopal see, see of the Archbishop of Rouen, Primate of Normandy. It is famous for its three towers, each in a different style. The cathedral, b ...

. Dora made significant progress at Julian's, winning First Prize in the Concours de Torse d'Homme and Second Prize in the Concours de Torse de Femme in 1898, while Coates received no awards that time. In 1899, both Dora and George had their works exhibited at the Paris Old Salon.

Career

In 1900, the couple returned to England with the intention of getting married, but Dora's parents were skeptical about their ability to sustain themselves financially through art. George found work as an illustrator for ''The Historians' History of the World'', and in 1902, Dora joined him in this endeavor. They attended the wedding of

E. Phillips Fox Emanuel Phillips Fox (12 March 1865 – 8 October 1915) was an Australian impressionism, impressionist painter. Born and raised in Melbourne, Victoria, Fox studied at the National Gallery of Victoria Art School. He travelled to Paris to study ...

and

Ethel Carrick Ethel Carrick, later Ethel Carrick Fox (7 February 1872 – 17 June 1952) was an English Impressionist and Post-Impressionist painter. Much of her career was spent in France and in Australia, where she was associated with the movement known as ...

, and in 1903, Dora and George were married in the same church in Ealing. They had difficulties breaking into the art world there, and early on gained income through producing small illustrations for encyclopedias. From 1903 to 1905, they resided in Ealing, where Dora received an annual allowance of £100 and taught a few students, though they suffered privation and isolation from the art world. They often employed children as models due to their affordability and willingness. Dora expressed her fondness for England as a place of pleasure and Paris as a place of work and expressed interest in the more avant-garde work practised there, while George felt like an outsider in Paris. In 1906, Augustus John (with whom she had studied at the Slade) convinced Dora and George to rent a studio at

Trafalgar Studios Trafalgar Theatre is a West End theatre in Whitehall, near Trafalgar Square, in the City of Westminster, London. The Grade II listed building was built in 1930 with interiors in the Art Deco style as the Whitehall Theatre; it regularly staged ...

in Chelsea. This marked the beginning of their long stay in Chelsea, where they became part of a vibrant art community that included many Australian artists. Notable figures like

Charles Conder Charles Edward Conder (24 October 1868 – 9 February 1909) was an English-born painter, lithographer and designer. He emigrated to Australia and was a key figure in the Heidelberg School, arguably the beginning of a distinctively Australi ...

and members of the

Chelsea Arts Club Chelsea Arts Club is a private members' club at 143 Old Church Street in Chelsea, London with a membership of over 4,000, including artists, sculptors, architects, writers, designers, actors, musicians, photographers, and filmmakers. The club wa ...

, such as

Tom Roberts Thomas William Roberts (8 March 185614 September 1931) was an English-born Australian artist and a key member of the Heidelberg School art movement, also known as Australian impressionism. After studying in Melbourne, he travelled to Europe i ...

Will Dyson William Henry ('Will') Dyson (3 September 1880 – 21 January 1938) was an Australian illustrator, artist and political cartoonist who achieved international recognition. He initially worked as a freelance artist in Australia, developing a spec ...

, and George Lambert, frequented Trafalgar Studios. During their time in Chelsea, Dora attended a suffrage meeting addressed by Emily Pankhurst in another studio within their building, inspiring her to become actively involved in the suffrage movement, while George joined the Men's League for Women's Suffrage. They participated in processions together, and some members of the Chelsea Arts Club affectionately nicknamed them "Coates and Trousers." In 1909, both of Dora's parents passed away, which, although a great shock, provided them with a higher degree of financial independence. They established their home and Dora's studio at No. 52

Glebe Place Glebe Place is a street in Chelsea, London. It runs roughly north to south from King's Road to the crossroads with Upper Cheyne Row, where it becomes Cheyne Row, leading down to Cheyne Walk and the River Thames. It also has a junction with Br ...

, while George had a spacious studio at No. 55 (later occupied by Australian modernist artist

Sidney Nolan Sir Sidney Robert Nolan (22 April 191728 November 1992) was one of the leading Australian artists of the 20th century. Working in a wide variety of media, his oeuvre is among the most diverse and prolific in all of modern art. He is best known ...

) with a connecting door between the two. Dora began painting the

Thames The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the second-longest in the United Kingdom, after th ...

, a subject she deeply cherished, in a post-impressionist style. Meeson and Coates conducted their art careers in England. In 1903 they were employed as illustrators for the

Encyclopædia Britannica The is a general knowledge, general-knowledge English-language encyclopaedia. It has been published by Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. since 1768, although the company has changed ownership seven times. The 2010 version of the 15th edition, ...

, together earning six pounds a year. In 1921 they made a successful visit to Australia, and organised exhibitions of their works in Melbourne,

Ballarat Ballarat ( ) () is a city in the Central Highlands of Victoria, Australia. At the 2021 census, Ballarat had a population of 111,973, making it the third-largest urban inland city in Australia and the third-largest city in Victoria. Within mo ...

Geelong Geelong ( ) (Wathawurrung language, Wathawurrung: ''Djilang''/''Djalang'') is a port city in Victoria, Australia, located at the eastern end of Corio Bay (the smaller western portion of Port Phillip Bay) and the left bank of Barwon River (Victo ...

Adelaide Adelaide ( , ; ) is the list of Australian capital cities, capital and most populous city of South Australia, as well as the list of cities in Australia by population, fifth-most populous city in Australia. The name "Adelaide" may refer to ei ...

and

Perth Perth () is the list of Australian capital cities, capital city of Western Australia. It is the list of cities in Australia by population, fourth-most-populous city in Australia, with a population of over 2.3 million within Greater Perth . The ...

Women's suffrage

Following the death of her parents, Meeson gained momentum with the suffrage movement, and became a founding member of the Kensington branch of the Women's Freedom League. In January 1907, the Artists' Suffrage League was established with Meeson an early member, making significant artistic contributions through her production of political posters, banners and postcards from the league's studio in The King's Road. She also illustrated booklets that were sold to increase visibility for the cause and promote awareness along with

Cicely Hamilton Cicely Mary Hamilton (née Hammill; 15 June 1872 – 6 December 1952), was an English actress, writer, journalist, suffragist and feminist, part of the struggle for women's suffrage in the United Kingdom. She is now best known for the feminist ...

Mary Lowndes Mary Lowndes (1857–1929) was a British stained-glass artist who co-founded the stained glass studio and workshop Lowndes and Drury in 1897. She was an influential leader in the Arts and Crafts movement, not only for her stained glass work an ...

, and C. Hedley Charlton. Meeson's postcards were in high demand, with 6,488 sold at a penny each. In May 1911

Vida Goldstein Vida Jane Mary Goldstein (pron. ) (13 April 186915 August 1949) was an Women's suffrage in Australia, Australian suffragist and social reformer. She was one of four female candidates at the 1903 Australian federal election, 1903 federal election ...

encouraged Meeson and others to form the Australian and New Zealand Women Voters' Committee (London), for the purpose of applying political pressure for voting rights and women's rights. On 17 June 1911 at 5:30pm the Women's Suffrage Coronation Procession was held in London.

Margaret Fisher Margaret Jane Fisher (née Irvine; 4 July 1874 – 15 June 1958) was married to Andrew Fisher on 31 December 1901. They lived in Gympie, Queensland in her husband's electorate of Wide Bay. However, when her husband was elected Leader of the Aust ...

, and Emily McGowen led the Australian contingent with Meeson's banner, ''Commonwealth of Australia. "Trust the Women Mother as I have done"'' carried by Meeson and supported by her husband at the front of the Australian and New Zealand contingent''.'' The banner was purchased from the

Women's Library The Women's Library is England's main library and museum resource on women and the women's movement, concentrating on Britain in the 19th and 20th centuries. It has an institutional history as a coherent collection dating back to the mid-1920s, ...

by the National Women's Consultative Council as a Bicentennial Gift to the Women of Australia in 1988. It can be viewed in

Parliament House, Canberra Parliament House is the meeting place of the Parliament of Australia, the Legislature, legislative body of Politics of Australia, Australia's federal system of government. The building also houses the core of the Executive (government), execut ...

. With the onset of World War I, Meeson helped establish and participated in the

Women's Police Service The Women's Police Service (WPS) in the UK was a national voluntary organization of women police officers that was active from 1914 until 1940. As the first uniformed women's police service in the UK, it made progress in gaining acceptance of wo ...

Exhibitions

* 1992

Heide Museum of Modern Art The Heide Museum of Modern Art, also known as Heide, is an art museum in Bulleen, Victoria, Bulleen, a suburb of Melbourne, Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia. Established in 1981, the museum exhibits modern art, modern and contemporary a ...

– Completing the Picture * 2013 Castlemaine Art Gallery – 'Shimmering Light' - Dora Meeson and the Thames

Collections

Art Gallery of Ballarat 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 ...

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 ...

Australian War Memorial The Australian War Memorial (AWM) is a national war memorial, war museum, museum and archive dedicated to all Australians who died as a result of war, including peacekeeping duties. The AWM is located in Campbell, Australian Capital Territory, C ...

Benalla Art Gallery Benalla Art Gallery is a public art gallery in the regional town of Benalla, Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia. The Benalla Art Gallery is a free, public gallery in Benalla, which opened in 1975. Victoria's ''Herald Sun'' newspaper descri ...

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 ...

Christchurch Art Gallery The Christchurch Art Gallery Te Puna o Waiwhetū, commonly known as the Christchurch Art Gallery, is the public art gallery of the city of Christchurch, New Zealand. It has its own substantial art collection and also presents a programme of New ...

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

Imperial War Museum The Imperial War Museum (IWM), currently branded "Imperial War Museums", is a British national museum. It is headquartered in London, with five branches in England. Founded as the Imperial War Museum in 1917, it was intended to record the civ ...

London *

Museum of London London Museum (known from 1976 to 2024 as the Museum of London) is a museum in London, covering the history of the city from prehistoric to modern times, with a particular focus on social history. The Museum of London was formed in 1976 by ama ...

Docklands *

National Army Museum The National Army Museum is the British Army's central museum. It is located in the Chelsea district of central London, adjacent to the Royal Hospital Chelsea, the home of the " Chelsea Pensioners". The museum is a non-departmental public bod ...

Chelsea *

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 ...

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 ...

National Library of Australia The National Library of Australia (NLA), formerly the Commonwealth National Library and Commonwealth Parliament Library, is the largest reference library in Australia, responsible under the terms of the ''National Library Act 1960'' for "mainta ...

* Parliament House Art Collection *

Port of London Authority The Port of London Authority (PLA) is a self-funding public trust established on 31 March 1909 in accordance with the Port of London Act 1908 to govern the Port of London. Its responsibility extends over the Tideway of the River Thames and its ...

State Library of Tasmania The State Library of Tasmania is the reference, special collections, research and public lending library in the Tasmanian capital of Hobart, Australia. It is part of Libraries Tasmania. Libraries Tasmania includes a state-wide network of librar ...

Recognition and legacy

A representation of her banner was used on the design of the Australian 2003 dollar coin celebrating the centenary of women's suffrage. Meeson Street in the Canberra suburb of Chisholm is named in her honour.

References

External links

1913 Catalogue

State Library of 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 ...

1921 Catalogue

1934 Catalogue

Australian suffragettes
Australian Government
Dora Meeson Coates
Design & Art Australia Online *
Dora Meeson

National Portrait Gallery, London The National Portrait Gallery (NPG) is an art gallery in London that houses a collection of portraits of historically important and famous British people. When it opened in 1856, it was arguably the first national public gallery in the world th ...

Esther Peterson and two unidentified women standing in front of an Australian suffrage banner created by Dora Meeson

Harvard University Library Harvard Library is the network of libraries and services at Harvard University, a private Ivy League university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Harvard Library is the oldest library system in the United States and both the largest academic librar ...

Nineteenth Century New Zealand Artists: A Guide & Handbook

Victoria University of Wellington Victoria University of Wellington (), also known by its shorter names "VUW" or "Vic", is a public university, public research university in Wellington, New Zealand. It was established in 1897 by Act of New Zealand Parliament, Parliament, and w ...

Suffrage artists’ league
Woman and her Sphere *

Australian Dictionary of Biography The ''Australian Dictionary of Biography'' (ADB or AuDB) is a national co-operative enterprise founded and maintained by the Australian National University (ANU) to produce authoritative biographical articles on eminent people in Australia's ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Meeson, Dora 1869 births 1955 deaths 19th-century Australian painters 20th-century Australian painters Académie Julian alumni Alumni of the Slade School of Fine Art Artists from Melbourne People from Hawthorn, Victoria Australian landscape painters 20th-century Australian women painters 19th-century Australian women painters