{{Short description|Australian artist (1891–1951)}} {{Use dmy dates|date=February 2014}} {{Use Australian English|date=February 2014}} {{Infobox person | name = Dorrit Black | image = Dorrit Black.jpg | caption = | birth_name = Dorothea Foster Black | birth_date = 23 December 1891 | birth_place = [[Burnside, South Australia|Burnside]], South Australia | death_date = {{death date and age|1951|09|13|1891|12|23|df=y}} | death_place = [[Adelaide]], South Australia | other_names = | known_for = | education = | employer = | occupation = Artist | title = | spouse = | partner = | children = | parents = | relatives = | signature = | website = | footnotes = }}
'''Dorothea Foster Black''' (23 December 1891 – 13 September 1951) was an Australian [[painter]] and [[printmaker]] of the [[modernism|Modernist]] school, known for being a pioneer of [[Australian modernism|modernism in Australia]] and for her [[Cubism|Cubist style]]. In 1931 she established the Modern Art Centre in Margaret Street, [[Sydney]], which was the first gallery in Australia to devote itself to [[modernism]], and one of the first galleries in Australia to be established by a woman.
==Early life and education== Dorothea Foster Black was born on 23 December 1891<ref name=ADB /> in the [[Adelaide]] suburb of [[Burnside, South Australia|Burnside]], the daughter of engineer and architect Alfred Barham Black and Jessie Howard Clark, an amateur artist and daughter of [[John Howard Clark]], editor of the ''[[South Australian Register]]''.<ref name=Gaze />
Dorothea attended the [[South Australian School of Design|South Australian School of Arts and Crafts]] in about 1909, working in watercolours, and attended the [[Julian Ashton Art School]] in Sydney in 1915, where she concentrated on working in oils.<ref name=Gaze>{{cite book|last=Gaze|first=Delia|title=Dictionary of women artists|volume=1|year=1997|publisher=Fitzroy Dearborn|location=London|isbn=1884964214|title-link=Dictionary of women artists}}</ref>
In 1927, Black went by herself to [[London]], England, and attended the [[Grosvenor School of Modern Art]], where she experimented with colour [[linocut]] printing while studying under [[Claude Flight]]. Black was influenced by Flight to use bold geometrical patterns and harmonious colour schemes.<ref name="kmn">{{Cite web|last=Teffer|first=Nicola|date=2020|title=Know My Name: Dorrit Black|url=https://nga.gov.au/knowmyname/artists.cfm?artistirn=14552|access-date=2020-08-06|website=National Gallery of Australia}}</ref> In 1928, she studied at [[André Lhote]]'s Academy in Paris.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|title=Dorrit Black {{!}} The Cbus Collection of Australian Art|url=https://www.cbusartcollection.com.au/artists/?id=17|access-date=2021-06-03|website=www.cbusartcollection.com.au|archive-date=12 March 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190312223033/https://www.cbusartcollection.com.au/artists/?id=17|url-status=dead}}</ref> Black was influenced by Lhote's "compostional principles of geometric order".<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.artgallery.nsw.gov.au/artsets/|title=Art Sets - 20th Century Australian Art : Cubism in Australia|website=Art Gallery of NSW}}</ref> In 1929, she briefly worked with [[Albert Gleizes]].<ref name="ADB" />
==Art practice and career== Black was strongly influenced by the [[Modern art|Modernist]] and [[Cubism|Cubist]] art movements she was exposed to in London and [[Paris]].<ref name="Heide">{{cite web|url=http://www.heide.com.au/assets/files/Education/Cubism--Australian-Art.pdf|title=Cubism and Australian Art|publisher=Heide Museum of Modern Art|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140216024005/http://www.heide.com.au/assets/files/Education/Cubism--Australian-Art.pdf|archive-date=16 February 2014|access-date=5 February 2014|df=dmy-all}}</ref> By the time she returned to her home country in late 1929, Black had become an active proponent of the [[Cubism|Cubist style]], and brought the styles back to Australia with her.<ref name=ADB /> Black then held an exhibition at Macquarie Galleries in [[Sydney]] in 1930.<ref name=":0" /> This was one of six one-woman shows which were to feature her work.<ref name=ADB />
=== Works === [[File:Dorrit Black's 1930 The Bridge.jpg|thumb|''The Bridge'' (1930) by Dorrit Black]] Black created most of her linocuts in the 1930s. She worked mainly in watercolours in the late 1930s and then returned to working in oils. She settled in Adelaide, South Australia, in the late 1930s with her ageing mother, and painted many landscapes of the Adelaide hills and the south coast.<ref name=ADB />
Black's lino-prints were integral to her art practice. As she grew older "the vitality of the natural world" became fundamental. "Air Travel 3: The pineapple plantation" is an example of Black's lino-prints.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Dorrit Black : Unseen Forces|last=Lock|first=Tracey|publisher=Art Gallery of South Australia|year=2017|pages=164}}</ref> The making of linocuts allowed Black to abstract her subjects by eliminating detail and emphasising structure. Abstraction allowed her to communicate sensation.<ref name="kmn" />
Black is noted for her 1930 painting ''The Bridge,'' showing the [[Sydney Harbour Bridge]] as it was being constructed, before the arch was joined.<ref>Rothwell, S. "Artists’ portraits of the Sydney Harbour Bridge." Durability of Bridge Structures: Proceedings of the 7th New York City Bridge Conference, 26–27 August 2013. CRC Press, 2013.</ref><ref>{{Cite book|title=An Appreciation of Dorrit Black's Painting 2nd edition: Revised: 54 Art Works|last=Gaekwad|first=Allen|publisher=Xlibris AU|year=2014}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|title=Dorrit Black : Unseen Forces|last=Lock|first=Tracey|publisher=Art Gallery of South Australia|year=2017}}</ref> ''The Bridge'' was painted in jewel-like colours such as aquamarine and "shimmering peacock" and was Australia's first Cubist landscape. It was painted in Sydney.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Dorrit Black: unseen Forces|last=Lock|first=Tracey|publisher=Art Gallery of South Australia|year=2017|isbn=978-1-921668-18-0|pages=63}}</ref>
=== The Modern Art Centre, Sydney === Black was interested in creating an environment that would enable others to work in the new style. She established the Modern Art Centre in Margaret Street, [[Sydney]], in 1931, the first gallery in Australia to devote itself to modernism. It was also one of the first galleries in Australia to be established by a woman.<ref name=ArtAustralia/> Over the next few years, the Modern Art Centre became a "source of inspiration and opening to a wider vision" to artists such as [[Nancy Hall (artist)|Nancy Hall]]. It hosted small but significant exhibitions by artists who became important proponents of Australian modernism, including [[Roland Wakelin]], [[Grace Crowley]], [[Grace Cossington Smith]], [[Ralph Balson]], and [[Rah Fizelle]].<ref name="ArtAustralia">{{cite journal|last=Thomas|first=Sarah|year=2006|title=Dorrit Black's Modern Art Centre|url=http://www.artaustralia.com/article.asp?issue_id=175&article_id=71|url-status=dead|journal=Art & Australia|edition=online/excerpted|volume=44|issue=Spring|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140221233906/http://www.artaustralia.com/article.asp?issue_id=175&article_id=71|archive-date=21 February 2014}}</ref>
===Return to Adelaide=== On returning to Adelaide, Black taught part-time at the [[South Australian School of Art]]. She was a member of the [[South Australian Society of Arts]] and the [[Contemporary Art Society (Australia)|Contemporary Art Society]].<ref name="kmn"/>
== Recognition == Black was a finalist for the [[Archibald Prize]] for portraiture in 1931.<ref name="Archibald">{{cite web|title=Archibald Prize Winner for 1931|url=http://www.artgallery.nsw.gov.au/prizes/archibald/1931/|publisher=Art Gallery NSW|access-date=6 February 2014}}</ref>
The [[Art Gallery of South Australia]] purchased her work ''Mirmande'' (1928) in 1940.<ref name="Mirmande">{{cite web|title=Mirmande by Dorrit Black|url=http://www.artgallery.sa.gov.au/agsa/home/Collection/detail.jsp?ecatKey=631|publisher=Art Gallery of South Australia|access-date=6 February 2014}}</ref>
==Death and legacy== Black died in the [[Royal Adelaide Hospital]] on 13 September 1951, at the age of 59, after a car accident. Her body was cremated following a [[Unitarianism|Unitarian]] service.<ref name="ADB">{{Cite encyclopedia| volume = 7| last = North| first = Ian| title = Biography - Dorothea Foster (Dorrit) Black| encyclopedia = Australian Dictionary of Biography| access-date = 2014-02-06| year = 1979| chapter-url = https://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/black-dorothea-foster-dorrit-5249| chapter = Black, Dorothea Foster (Dorrit) (1891–1951)| publisher = National Centre of Biography, Australian National University}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|last=Speck|first=Catherine|date=2014|title=Dorrit Black: Unseen Forces, Art Gallery of South Australia, 14 June – 7 September 2014|journal=Australian and New Zealand Journal of Art |volume=14 |issue=2|pages=214–216|doi=10.1080/14434318.2014.973009|s2cid=179482745}}</ref>
Women were trailblazers of Modernism in Australia,<ref>{{Cite web|last=Sanders|first=Anne|date=2014|title=Visual Arts|url=http://www.womenaustralia.info/leaders/biogs/WLE0448b.htm|access-date=2020-08-06|website=The Encyclopedia of Women and Leadership in Twentieth-Century Australia|language=en-gb}}</ref> and Black is recognised as "a prime force in educating Australians in the appreciation of modern art".<ref name="kmn" /> Her work was described by critic [[Ivor Francis (painter)|Ivor Francis]] as:
<blockquote>deeply respected by the more informed section of Adelaide artists. She has so consistently been artistically cold-shouldered and ignored since her return here about 20 years ago that it is amazing how she maintained the courage to fight on against so much prejudice and misunderstanding. Regarded as not sufficiently "advanced" by one section, and too "modern" by the other, it will be many years before her exceptional talent can be properly appreciated in its right perspective, as it most certainly will be.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article130358841 |title=Dorrit Black. |newspaper=[[The News (Adelaide)|The News]] |location=Adelaide |date=22 September 1951 |access-date=2 June 2014 |page=4 |publisher=National Library of Australia}}</ref></blockquote>
Her work is represented in the collections of the [[National Gallery of Australia]] as well as in many state and regional galleries,<ref>{{Cite web |title=Dorrit Black (1891–1951) |url=https://nga.gov.au/on-demand/the-exhibitionists-dorrit-black/ |access-date=2023-03-08 |website=National Gallery of Australia |language=en}}</ref> and in the [[Victoria and Albert Museum]], London. A travelling retrospective of her work was organised by the [[Art Gallery of South Australia]] (AGSA) in 1975, who presented a major exhibition of her work from 14 June to 7 September 2014,<ref name="kmn" /> titled ''Dorrit Black: Unseen Forces'', and described as "the largest retrospective ever staged of the artist's work and was the first exhibition in nearly forty years to reassess Dorrit Black’s contribution to the story of Australian art".<ref>{{cite web | title=Dorrit Black: Unseen Forces | website=AGSA - The Art Gallery of South Australia | date=30 October 2020 | url=https://www.agsa.sa.gov.au/whats-on/exhibitions/dorrit-black-unseen-forces/ | access-date=24 May 2026}}</ref>
She was represented in ''[[Know My Name (exhibition)|Know My Name]]'' exhibition in the [[National Gallery of Australia]], [[Canberra]], in 2020<ref>{{Cite book |title=Know My Name |date=2020 |author1=Natasha Bullock|author2= Kelli Cole|author3= Deborah Hart|author4= Elspeth Pitt |publisher= [[National Gallery of Australia]] |isbn=978-0-642-33487-9 |location=Canberra, ACT |oclc=1143495525}}</ref> and also in the 2025 exhibition co-presented by AGSA and the [[Art Gallery of New South Wales]] (AGNSW) and entitled ''Dangerously Modern Australian Women Artists in Europe, 1890-1940''.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Marsh |first=Walter |date=6 June 2025 |title=This is the modern world |work=[[The Guardian Weekly]] |pages=55–56}}</ref>
In May 2026, AGSA acquired a rare landscape painting by Black, titled ''Sicilian mountain'', to add to its collection of around 70 works by her. A bidding war led to the price of A$675,000, the highest price ever fetched at auction for a work by her; the previous record of A$86,000 was achieved in 2014 by a London auction house for a print of her linocut ''The eruption''.<ref>{{cite web | title=Art Gallery lands 'modernist masterpiece' after $675,000 bidding war | website=[[InDaily]]|first= Walter| last=Marsh | date=7 May 2026 | url=https://www.indailysa.com.au/inreview/visual-art/2026/05/07/art-gallery-lands-modernist-masterpiece-after-675000-bidding-war | access-date=24 May 2026}}</ref>
The Dorrit Black Building, built for the [[University of South Australia]] (now part of [[Adelaide University]]) in 2005, incorporates ceramic kilns, [[glassblowing]] equipment, [[darkroom]]s for photography, studios for textile art, painting, and drawing.<ref>{{cite web | title=20 years young | website=UniSA Time Capsule | date=1 January 2005 | url=https://timecapsule.unisa.edu.au/nodes/view/1076 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20260122043632/https://timecapsule.unisa.edu.au/nodes/view/1076 | archive-date=22 January 2026 | url-status=live | access-date=24 May 2026}}</ref> Designed by [[John Wardle (architect)|John Wardle Architects]] and [[Hassell (architecture firm)|Hassell]], the building received a commendation in the New Buildings Category of the [[RAIA]] State Awards in 2006.<ref name="h548">{{cite web | title=Awards | website=[[ArchitectureAU]] | date=1 July 2006 | url=https://architectureau.com/articles/awards-6/ | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240529080628/https://architectureau.com/articles/awards-6/ | archive-date=29 May 2024 | url-status=live | access-date=24 May 2026}}</ref>
==References== {{reflist|30em}}
==External links== *[https://web.archive.org/web/20140605051005/http://www.artgallery.sa.gov.au/agsa/home/Exhibitions/ComingSoon/Dorrit_Black.html Dorrit Black: Unseen Forces (2014 Exhibition in Adelaide)] *[https://www.sothebysaustralia.com.au/article/dorrit-black-a-thoroughly-modern-master Dorrit Black: A thoroughly Modern Master] * [https://web.archive.org/web/20180405052458/http://unisa.edu.au/Education-Arts-and-Social-Sciences/Education-Arts-and-Social-Sciences-Facilities/Dorrit-Black-Building/ Dorrit Black Building] at UniSA (now part of [[Adelaide University]]) *[https://www.aasd.com.au/index.cfm/list-all-works/?concat=BlackDorot Dorothea (Dorrit) Foster Black Australia, 1891-1951] – List of all Dorrit Black Paintings, Australian and New Zealand Art Sales Digest
==Further reading== * ''The art of Dorrit Black''. Macmillan; [Adelaide]: Art Gallery of South Australia, South Melbourne, Vic, 1979. * Gaze, Delia, Mihajlovic, Maja, and Shrimpton, Leanda ''Dictionary of women artists''. Fitzroy Dearborn, London; Chicago, 1997. * Harding, Lesley, and Sue Cramer, eds. ''Cubism and Australian Art''. No. 124. The Miegunyah Press, 2009. * North, Ian, ''Black, Dorrit, 1891–1951 and Art Gallery of South Australia'' * Lock, Tracey, ''Dorrit Black: Unseen Forces'', Art Gallery of South Australia, Adelaide, 2017 {{Grosvenor School}} {{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Black, Dorrit}} [[Category:1891 births]] [[Category:1951 deaths]] [[Category:20th-century Australian women artists]] [[Category:Road incident deaths in South Australia]] [[Category:Artists from Adelaide]] [[Category:Accidental deaths in South Australia]] [[Category:Alumni of the Grosvenor School of Modern Art]] [[Category:Australian women printmakers]] [[Category:20th-century Australian printmakers]] [[Category:Julian Ashton Art School alumni]] [[Category:Linocut artists]]