Bessie Davidson

(1879-1965)

Purple Flowers

Footnotes

PROVENANCE
The Osborne Art Gallery, Adelaide (label attached verso)
Private collection, Adelaide
thence by descent
Private collection, Adelaide

EXHIBITED
Exhibition of Paintings by Bessie Davidson, The Osborne Art Gallery, Adelaide, 31 May - 13 June 1967, cat. 20

'The last exhibition of the work of the late Bessie Davidson, a South Australian painter who carved a niche for herself in the art life of Paris in the early 1900s, and who spent most of her painting life in Europe, was opened at the Osborne Art Gallery... The exhibition consists mainly of paintings remaining in the artist's studio in Paris, where she died last year at the age of 84...

'There is a robust decision in Bessie Davidsons handling of paint, an almost masculine vigor in her response not only to the still life and interior which she painted so often, but also to the mountain landscapes of the pyrenees and of Scotland, land of her forebears, which she visited almost every year...

'An Intrepid woman – she distinguished herself with the Red Cross in France during World War I – slight in build, of dignity, charm and outstanding talent, Bessie Davidson is one of the very few Australian women – there may be four or five – to be honoured by France with the Legion of Honor.

'Although she exhibited rarely in Australia, her work has been seen in international exhibitions at Pittsburg, St. Louis, New York, London, Venice and Edinburgh. She was the first Australian woman to be elected an associate and then a member, of the New Salon of Paris, and she is represented in Luxembourg and in Rouen.'

as noted by Elizabeth Young, 'Exhibition by Bessie Davidson', The Adelaide Advertiser, 1 June 1967