Mary Packer Harris D.A. (Edin.) (30 July 1891 – 26 August 1978) was a Scottish artist and art teacher with a considerable career in South Australia.

Early life and training

Mary was born in

Middlesbrough Middlesbrough ( ), colloquially known as Boro, is a port town in the Borough of Middlesbrough, North Yorkshire, England. Lying to the south of the River Tees, Middlesbrough forms part of the Teesside Built up area, built-up area and the Tees Va ...

, Yorkshire the only daughter of musician and beekeeper Clement Antrobus Harris (c. 1862 – 12 February 1942) and his wife Mary Elizabeth Harris ( – 14 February 1937). Educated in Scotland she attended Morrison's Academy and

Perth Academy Perth Academy is a state comprehensive secondary school in Perth, Scotland. It was founded in 1696. The institution is a non-denominational one. The school occupies ground on the side of a hill in the Viewlands area of Perth, and is within the P ...

before graduating with a diploma from the

Edinburgh College of Art Edinburgh College of Art (ECA) is one of eleven schools in the College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences at the University of Edinburgh. Tracing its history back to 1760, it provides higher education in art and design, architecture, histor ...

. In 1913 she did a post-graduate course in woodblock printing with F. Morley Fletcher, director of the College. She trained as a teacher with the Scottish Education Department and taught at

Buckie Buckie () is a burgh town (defined as such in List of burghs in Scotland, 1888) on the Moray Firth coast of Scotland. Counties of Scotland, Historically in Banffshire, Buckie was the largest town in the county until the administrative area was ...

, Banffshire, Scotland, then from 1918 at the

Ayr Academy Ayr Academy (Scottish Gaelic: ''Acadamaidh Inbhir Àir'') is an 11–18 non-denominational secondary school situated within the Craigie Estate area at University Avenue in Ayr, South Ayrshire. It is the sixth largest secondary school in South Ayr ...

South Australia

An elder brother, Antrobus, was killed in the

Flanders Flanders ( or ; ) is the Dutch language, Dutch-speaking northern portion of Belgium and one of the communities, regions and language areas of Belgium. However, there are several overlapping definitions, including ones related to culture, la ...

trenches in 1916. Another brother, John Brocas Harris ( –1967) had earlier emigrated to South Australia, served at

Gallipoli The Gallipoli Peninsula (; ; ) is located in the southern part of East Thrace, the European part of Turkey, with the Aegean Sea to the west and the Dardanelles strait to the east. Gallipoli is the Italian form of the Greek name (), meaning ' ...

with the Army Medical Corps and was badly wounded. He married Gwendoline Mary Colyer ( –1959) in 1917, and settled in

Gawler Gawler, established in 1839, is the oldest country town in the state of South Australia. It was named after the second Governor (British Vice-Regal representative) of the colony of South Australia, George Gawler. It is about north of the st ...

, where he was a noted horticulturist and horticultural inspector at Gawler, and later at the Government orchard, Blackwood. His eldest son Dr. Ian Harris born 12 February 1920 was awarded DSC for navy heroism. In response to his urging, Mary and her parents emigrated in 1921. In 1922 she accepted a position with the SA School of Arts and Crafts, where she was to teach for 30 years in a wide range of mediums: oil and watercolor, lino and woodblock printing, tapestry and embroidery. Harris was a longtime member of the Royal SA Society of Arts (1922–67) and also exhibited with the

Contemporary Art Society The Contemporary Art Society (CAS) is an independent charity that champions the collecting of outstanding contemporary art and craft for UK museum collections. Since its founding in 1910 the organisation has donated over 10,000 works to museum ...

. Fellow teachers included her friend

Ruth Tuck Ruth Edith Tuck (22 July 1914 – 10 October 2008) was a modernist painter of South Australia, noted for joint exhibitions with her husband Mervyn Ashmore Smith (11 December 1904 – 18 March 1994), and her influence as a teacher of painting. ...

. Students included Rex Wood, Jacqueline Hick and John Olday. She lived at "Bundilla", 116 Walkerville Terrace, Walkerville, which she filled with her own and her students' art, and with a lovingly tended native bird garden punctuated with sculptures by William Ricketts and her nephew Quintin Gilbert Harris (1928–1985), son of J. B. Harris (above). Her bequest of this home to the

Town of Walkerville The Corporation of the Town of Walkerville (or Town of Walkerville) is a small Local government in Australia, local government area in the central suburbs of Adelaide, South Australia. The residents of the Town of Walkerville are represented by ...

was declined, but the Council did accept the many works of art, including sculptures by her friend

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 ...

. She was a leading member of Adelaide's Lyceum Club.

Personal life

Harris was a member of the

Society of Friends Quakers are people who belong to the Religious Society of Friends, a historically Protestant Christian set of denominations. Members refer to each other as Friends after in the Bible, and originally, others referred to them as Quakers ...

, worshipping at the Friends Meeting House, North Adelaide. In common with a great number of Quakers she was active in the peace movement, and was a vegetarian.

Exhibitions

*Her first one-woman show was held in March 1927 at the Society of Arts' gallery at the Institute building, North Terrace, which brought her versatility to public attention. *"The Testament of Beauty" with nine of her students, including

Ivor Francis Ivor Francis (October 26, 1918 – October 22, 1986) was a Canadian-American character actor and acting teacher. He is the father of television soap opera actress Genie Francis. Life and career Francis was born in Toronto and began his acting c ...

and David Dallwitz in November 1939 was held at the Australian Art Gallery, Rundle Street. The exhibition's title comes from a poem by

Robert Bridges Robert Seymour Bridges (23 October 1844 – 21 April 1930) was a British poet who was Poet Laureate from 1913 to 1930. A doctor by training, he achieved literary fame only late in life. His poems reflect a deep Christian faith, and he is ...

. *A one-woman show in April 1946 attracted a predominantly female audience. *A retrospective exhibition of her work was held in 1986

Collections

*Many of her works are held by the

*Several of her woodcut and linocut prints are held by the

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 ...

*The Art Gallery of South Australia has one item: an embroidered firescree
''The Indian upon God''
carved frame by Edwin Newsham (1891–1989).

Publications

Harris was a prolific writer; her ''Art, the Torch of Life'' was published by Rigby, Ltd. in 1946 and much else is held by the State Library of South Australia in manuscript or typescript form. *''The Skyline'', a one act play in four scenes written after the death of her brother in

during World War I. * *

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Harris, Mary People educated at Morrison's Academy People educated at Perth Academy Alumni of the Edinburgh College of Art Australian painters Australian women painters Australian art educators 1891 births 1978 deaths 20th-century Australian women