Margaret Baskerville

Margaret Francis Ellen Baskerville
Born(1861-09-14)14 September 1861
Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
Died6 July 1930(1930-07-06) (aged 68)
Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
NationalityAustralian
Known forSculpture
Spouse
Charles Douglas Richardson
​
​
(m. 1914)​

Margaret Francis Ellen Baskerville (14 September 1861 – 6 July 1930), was an Australian sculptor, water-colourist, and educator. She is regarded as Victoria's first professional woman sculptor.[1] Baskerville was born on 14 September 1861 in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.[2]

Training

From 1879-1887 Baskerville attended the National Gallery Schools in Melbourne, in both the School of Painting and the School of Design. In 1886 she joined and was an active member of the bohemian Buonarotti Club in its last two years.[3] From 1904-1906 she attended the Royal College of Art Modelling School in London, England.[1]

Baskerville returned to Australia in 1906. She assisted her former teacher Douglas Richardson in a shared studio. The two married in 1914.[2]

Professional sculptor

Bust of Edith Cavell in Kings Domain, Melbourne

After WWI Baskerville created a number of soldier monuments in Australia. Her first commission[2] was the major commission for a bronze monument to the 22nd Premier of Victoria, Sir Thomas Bent.[4] She was the first Australian woman sculptor to receive this honour.[1] She also produced the James Cuming memorial,[5] and Melbourne's Edith Cavell Memorial.[6]

In 1916 Walter Burley Griffin and Marion Mahony Griffin undertook for the entrepreneurial Greek émigré restaurateur (Greek Consul-General) Antony J. J. Lucas the luxury refit of the Vienna Cafe at 270 Collins Street, Melbourne in a transitional Art Nouveau/Art Deco style. They commissioned local artists;[7] Baskerville[8] jeweller Charles Costerman for the sculptural elements[9] and Bertha Merfield for a mural.[10][11]

Exhibiting artist

Baskerville was a member of the Melbourne Society of Women Painters and Sculptors. Other memberships include the Yarra Sculptors' Society, the Victorian Sketching Club, the Women's Art Club, the council of the Australian Institute of the Arts and Literature, the Austral Salon and the Victorian Artists Society.[2] Baskerville exhibited her work regularly, her last being in 1929.[2]

Death and legacy

Baskerville died on 6 July 1930 in Melbourne.[2] Baskerville Street in the Canberra suburb of Chisholm is named in her honour.[12]

References

  1. ^ a b c "Margaret Frances Ellen Baskerville". Design & Art Australia Online (DAAO). Retrieved 27 March 2018.
  2. ^ a b c d e f Scarlett, Ken. "Baskerville, Margaret Francis Ellen (1861–1930)". Australian Dictionary of Biography. National Centre of Biography, Australian National University. Retrieved 27 March 2018.
  3. ^ Mead, Stephen F. (December 2011). "The Search for Artistic Professionalism in Melbourne: the activities of the Buonarotti Club, 1883 -1887". The Latrobe Journal. 88.
  4. ^ "Sir Thomas Bent". Monument Australia. Retrieved 27 March 2018.
  5. ^ "Margaret Baskerville 'James Cuming Memorial'". Heritage Council of Victoria. Retrieved 27 March 2018.
  6. ^ "Nurse Edith Cavell". Monument Australia. Retrieved 27 March 2018.
  7. ^ "Social Items". Graphic Of Australia. No. 105. Victoria, Australia. 18 January 1918. p. 6. Retrieved 17 December 2024 – via National Library of Australia.
  8. ^ "Cafe Australia". The Argus (Melbourne). No. 21, 918. 26 October 1916. p. 4. Retrieved 17 December 2024 – via National Library of Australia.
  9. ^ "Classified Advertising". The Argus (Melbourne). No. 21, 923. 1 November 1916. p. 16. Retrieved 17 December 2024 – via National Library of Australia.
  10. ^ Condello, Annette (January 2011). "Interior Luxury at the Cafe Australia". IDEA. 10 (1): 64–77. doi:10.37113/ideaj.v0i0.126.
  11. ^ Vernon, Christopher (November–December 2003). "Items of Interest: Report from the 24th AGM". Australian Garden History. 15 (3): 22.
  12. ^ "Schedule 'B' National Memorials Ordinance 1928–1972 Street Nomenclature List of Additional Names with Reference to Origin". Commonwealth of Australia Gazette. Special. Australia. 8 February 1978. p. 10. Retrieved 3 May 2020 – via Trove.