Valma Ondine Howell (15 June 1896 – 16 December 1979),
was an Australian artist of pastoral watercolours of western
Victoria
Victoria most commonly refers to:
* Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia
* Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada
* Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory
* Victoria, Seychelle ...
and actor.
Early years
Valma Ondine Howell was born in
Beaufort Beaufort may refer to:
People and titles
* Beaufort (surname)
* House of Beaufort, English nobility
* Duke of Beaufort (England), a title in the peerage of England
* Duke of Beaufort (France), a title in the French nobility
Places Polar regions
...
, where she was to spend most of her life. The first 14 years of her life were spent with her family on her father's sheep grazing property 'Dookerimbut' between Beaufort and Skipton in western Victoria. She boarded at Ruyton Girls' school in Melbourne during the 1910s. During the Depression she worked as a housekeeper at Mooramong sheep station near Skipton. It was here she later befriended the Canadian-born
Hollywood
Hollywood usually refers to:
* Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California
* Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States
Hollywood may also refer to:
Places United States
* Hollywood District (disambiguation)
* Hollywoo ...
silent screen star
Claire Adams
Claire Adams (; 24 September 1898 – 25 September 1978) was a silent film actress and benefactor. She was born in Canada, studied there and in England, and developed a movie career in Hollywood. She spent the second half of her life in Austra ...
, wife of D.J.S. (Scobie) Mackinnon, then chairman of the
Victoria Racing Club
The Victoria Racing Club was founded in 1864. It was formed following the disbanding of the Victoria Turf Club and the Victoria Jockey Club. A legacy passed from the Victoria Turf Club was the annual "race that stops a nation", the Melbourne Cup, ...
(VRC).
Career
Valma Ondine Howell's most famous subjects include the
Fiery Creek catchment and the Yalla-Y-Poora property. Her one known film role is in the film ''
Night Club
A nightclub (music club, discothèque, disco club, or simply club) is an entertainment venue during nighttime comprising a dance floor, lightshow, and a stage for live music or a disc jockey (DJ) who plays recorded music.
Nightclubs gener ...
'' (1952);
one of only a handful of films made in Melbourne in that decade.
After a trip to India in 1955, which she undertook to clear up her father's estate, her art began to include the human form and non-realist representation. Her sister, the poet and author
Ada Verdun Howell
Ada Verdun Howell (19 July 1902 – 1981) was an Australian writer and poet. Born in Beaufort, Victoria, on her father's sheep property, she was educated at Ruyton Girls' School. Her sister was the artist Valma Howell. She lived in New Yor ...
, lived with her for many years on Stockyard Hill Rd, where they maintained a bush block famous for its
kangaroo grass
}
''Themeda triandra'' is a species of perennial tussock-forming grass widespread in Africa, Australia, Asia and the Pacific. In Australia it is commonly known as kangaroo grass and in East Africa and South Africa it is known as red grass and re ...
woodland.
Personal life
She was the great-granddaughter of Captain
Charles Swanston
Charles Swanston (11 December 1789 – 5 September 1850) was a British merchant, banker, and politician, and a financial backer of the Port Phillip Association.
Early life and education
Charles Swanston was born in Mordington, Berwicksh ...
, East India Company employee and Port Phillip Association investor. She was briefly married to fellow actor/entertainer
Joff Ellen
Joff Ellen (born Raymond Charles Ellen; 20 May 191524 December 1999), was an Australian entertainer, actor and comedian.
Career
During World War II he performed vaudeville acts to the troops and after the war did comedy shows on Melbourne radi ...
.
References
Additional References
*''Of Sheep and Men: a History of Skipton'' by Notman, G. Claude. Skipton, Victoria Claude Notman, 1981
*''History of Ruyton 1878–1956'', Daniell, Hilda. Ramsay, Ware Publishing, Melbourne 1956.
External links
{{DEFAULTSORT:Howell, Valma
1896 births
1979 deaths
Australian women painters
20th-century Australian painters
20th-century Australian women artists