{{Short description|Australian artist (1892–1971)}} {{Infobox artist | name = Esther Paterson | birth_date = {{birth date|1892|02|05|df=y}} | birth_place = Carlton, Victoria, Australia | death_date = {{death date and age|1971|08|08|1892|02|05|df=y}} | education = National Gallery Art School | field = Book illustration, Portraiture, Cartoon | image = May and Mina Moore - Esther Paterson.jpg | spouse = George Hermon Gill | death_place = Middle Park, Victoria, Australia }}
{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2020}} {{Use Australian English|date=June 2020}} '''Esther Paterson Gill''' (5 February 1892 {{snd}} 8 August 1971) was an Australian artist, book-illustrator and cartoonist.
==Early years== Paterson was born in Carlton, Victoria,<ref>Australia, Birth Index, 1788-1922</ref> the second child born to Scottish emigrants Hugh and Elizabeth Leslie (''née'' Deans) Paterson. She was the niece of eminent landscape painter John Ford Paterson.<ref name=":0">{{cite journal|last=Rankin|first=Gwenyth|date=2005|title=A forgotten talent: [The rich legacy of artist Esther Paterson.]|url=https://search.informit.com.au/documentSummary;dn=200600129;res=IELAPA|journal=National Library of Australia News|language=EN|volume=16|issue=3|pages=7}}</ref> Paterson grew up around artists, actors, and other creatives, and lived next door to Annie and Frederick McCubbin.<ref name=":0" /> She began her education at Oberwly School, St. Kilda. At age thirteen, Paterson studied painting at the National Gallery of Victoria School from 1907 to 1912.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.pikitiapress.com/blog/2015/1/10/aussie-girls-esther-paterson-1892-1971|title=Aussie Girls: Esther Paterson (1892-1971)|website=Pikitiapress.com|date=8 January 2015|access-date=7 July 2017}}</ref><ref name=":5" />
Educated to a secondary level in St Kilda at European-style finishing school Oberwyl, formerly Etloe Hall, in Burnett Street,<ref>{{Cite web |title=Oberwyl (Formerly Etloe Hall) |url=http://www.skhs.org.au/SKHSbuildings/27.htm |access-date=2026-02-03 |website=www.skhs.org.au}}</ref> run by Swiss art patron Madame Elise Pfund,<ref>{{Cite web |title=Oberwyl (Extant) 35 Burnett Street |url=https://stkildahistory.org.au/our-collection/houses/burnett-street/415-oberwyl-extant-burnett-street-1 |access-date=2026-02-03 |website=stkildahistory.org.au}}</ref> Paterson studied painting beside William Beckwith McInnes at the National Gallery of Victoria art school over 1907-12 under Bernard Hall and Frederick McCubbin,<ref name=":5">{{Cite book |last=Frame |first=Tom |title=Australian Dictionary of Biography |publisher=National Centre of Biography, Australian National University, Melbourne University Press |year=1996 |volume=14 |chapter=Paterson, Esther (1892–1971)}}</ref> who was a neighbour of her family.<ref name=":02">{{Cite web |title=Archibald Prize Archibald 1938 work: Miss Betty Paterson by Esther Paterson |url=https://www.artgallery.nsw.gov.au/prizes/archibald/1938/17918/ |access-date=2026-02-03 |website=www.artgallery.nsw.gov.au |language=en}}</ref>
==Career== [[File:1926 Archibald McInnes Paterson.jpg|right|thumb|''[https://www.artgallery.nsw.gov.au/collection/works/853/ Silk and lace],'' 1926, William Beckwith McInnes]] Paterson was publishing her illustrations while still at school with work featured in ''The Woman'' in 1908 and cartoons appearing in the Sydney ''Bulletin'' throughout 1912.<ref name=":0" /> This led to regular appearances in Melbourne ''Punch,'' the ''Argus'', and other papers and journals.<ref name=":0" /> Her work saw her labelled by the ''Sun'' as "Melbourne's Poster Girl."<ref>{{cite news|date=1912-07-19|title=IN SOCIETY and OUT OF IT|pages=6|work=Sun (Sydney, NSW : 1910 - 1954)|url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article228814169|access-date=2020-09-02}}</ref>
Her first book of sketches "Aussie Girls" was published in 1918 by Melbourne Publishing Company.<ref name=":5" /> It conveyed her ability to analyse the customs and values inherent in Melbourne society at the time.<ref name=":0" /> This was followed by her second book "'Me': a page from my diary" in 1919.<ref name=":0" /> Her talent in both illustration and poignant writings led to collaboration with writers Ethel Turner and Mary Grant Bruce, and acknowledgement from editors and publishers.<ref name=":0" />
Paterson had bylines as a freelance journalist with pictorial essays in publications such as ''Table Talk'', ''Home'', and the ''Weekly Times''.
Paterson nurtured the artistic talent of her younger sister Betty Paterson, who had trained as a musician at the Marshall Hall Conservatorium.<ref name=":0" /> Betty's drawings of babies and young children led to her also becoming a cartoonist for ''Punch'', and the sisters even exhibited their works together.<ref name=":0" /> An exhibition of pictures by Esther and Betty was opened in 1922 at the Queen's Hall by then Prime Minister of Australia Billy Hughes.<ref name=":1">{{cite news|date=1922-07-01|title=FACULTY OF EXECUTION|pages=7|work=Herald (Melbourne, Vic. : 1861 - 1954)|url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article243650693|access-date=2020-09-02}}</ref> While the pictures were described as a "sometimes frivolous quality of humour", Esther was commended for her portraits of "Inez" and "The Purser."<ref name=":1" /> They were also active in helping charities during the Second World War, selling their pencil sketches at a fete in aid of Women Artists' National Service, held at Ola Cohn's East Melbourne studio.<ref>{{cite news|date=1940-12-07|title=THE WORLD OF WOMEN|pages=11|work=Argus (Melbourne, Vic. : 1848 - 1957)|url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article11309939|access-date=2020-09-02}}</ref>
Her work as a published illustrator was to become more prolific upon her marriage to George Hermon Gill. Gill worked as a staff writer for the Melbourne ''Star,'' the ''Argus'', and the ''Herald'', with Esther illustrating many of his articles.<ref name=":0" />
Her portraits of soldiers both uniformed and civilian is shown at the Australian War Memorial Canberra. The National Gallery of Victoria and Geelong Art Gallery also hold some of her work.<ref name=":5" /> Paterson posed in her wedding dress for the 1926 Archibald Prize winning painting ''Silk and lace'' by William Beckwith McInnes, acquired by the Art Gallery of New South Wales<ref name=":0" />
Paterson was the longest serving female office bearer in the Victorian Artists' Society, and a significant presence within the Melbourne Society of Women Painters and Sculptors.<ref name=":0" /> ''The Bulletin'' reviewing her 1931 exhibition at the Fine Art Galleries describes a "room devoted to Bulletin artist Esther Paterson...brightened by ''Battersea Park'' - here she has caught with considerable vividness a quick impression of sunlit grass with figures moving about on it. ''Afternoon, Essex,'' has something of the same evanescent quality."''<ref name=":4">{{Cite journal |date=18 November 1931 |title=Sundry Shows |journal=The Bulletin |volume=52 |number=2701 |pages=18}}</ref>'' She showed her portraits at the 40th annual exhibition of the Society in 1949 at Tye's Gallery, Bourke Street.<ref name=":2">{{cite news|date=1949-10-18|title=ARTIST GIVES DELIGHT WITH WATER-COLOURS|pages=8|work=Argus (Melbourne, Vic. : 1848 - 1957)|url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article22786090|access-date=2020-09-02}}</ref> Fellow artists exhibited included Florence Rodway, Ludmilla Meilerts, Violet McInnes, and Mabel Pye.<ref name=":2" />
In 1950 Paterson was awarded the honour of Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts, London (FRSA), showing her reach went beyond Australia to be known in England.<ref>{{cite news|date=1950-01-16|title=MELBOURNE ARTIST NOW FRSA|pages=8|work=Argus (Melbourne, Vic. : 1848 - 1957)|url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article22804744|access-date=2020-09-05}}</ref>
== Exhibitions == *1931, 3 November - 17 December: Group show with John Shirlow, Allan Jordan and Charles Nuttall. Fine Art Galleries, Melbourne<ref name=":3">{{cite news |date=3 November 1931 |title=Australian Artists : Work at the Fine Art Galleries |pages=5 |work=The Age}}</ref>''<ref name=":4" />'' *1949, October: 40th annual exhibition of the Victorian Artists Society, Tye's Gallery, Bourke Street.<ref name=":2" />
== Collections == National Gallery of Victoria<ref>{{Cite web |title=Esher Paterson|url=https://www.ngv.vic.gov.au/explore/collection/artist/|access-date=2026-02-03|website=National Gallery of Victoria|language=en-AU}}</ref>
== Selected works ==
{{Gallery |title=[http://search.slv.vic.gov.au/permalink/f/1cl35st/SLV_VOYAGER543514 Aussie girls] by Esther Paterson |width=160 | height=170 |align=center |footer=Images courtesy of State Library Victoria |File:Esther Paterson - Aussie girls cover.jpg |alt1=The front cover of an illustrated book of humorous World War I artwork by Esther Paterson |Front cover of Aussie girls |File:Esther Paterson - Aussie girls - In arms again.jpg |alt2=Artwork 'In arms again' from an illustrated book of humorous World War I artwork by Esther Paterson |'In arms again' |File:Esther Paterson - Aussie girls - naval reserve.jpg |alt3=Artwork 'Naval reserve' from an illustrated book of humorous World War I artwork by Esther Paterson |'Naval reserve' |File:Esther Paterson - Aussie girls - the manly girl.jpg |alt4=Artwork 'The manly girl' from an illustrated book of humorous World War I artwork by Esther Paterson |'The manly girl' |File:Esther Paterson - Aussie girls - A bird of paradise.jpg |alt5=Artwork 'A bird of paradise' from an illustrated book of humorous World War I artwork by Esther Paterson |'A bird of paradise' }}
== Publications ==
* '[https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/132754953 Beauty in the making]', ''Weekly Times Annual,'' 4 November 1916 * '[https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article Many beaux to her string]', ''Weekly Times Annual,'' 2 November 1918 * [https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/222565852 'Past and present'], ''Weekly Times,'' 27 December 1919 * [https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/243783156 'The little Volga boy'], ''Herald,'' 7 October 1922 * [https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/157064088 'How things do change'], ''Midlands Advertiser,'' 4 January 1929 * [https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/146453199 'Companions in arms'] (by J. A. Hetherington and D. H. Symmons), ''Table Talk,'' 10 July 1930 * [https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/243219077 'The little voyagers'] (with Betty Paterson), ''Herald,'' 23 December 1933 * 'Barnacle Bill' series, ''Australasian,'' [https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/142066214 9 July]; [https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/142069975 15 October]; [https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/142070155 22 October]; [https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/142072299 17 December], 1938 * [https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/11282645 '...Nor any drop to drink'], ''Argus,'' 17 February 1940 * [https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/11346798 'The kiddies have a wonderful time in this kindergarten'] (illustrated by Betty Paterson), ''Argus,'' 29 May 1943
'''With Hermon Gill'''
* [https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/141808750 'The Browns of Bangaroo'], ''Australasian,'' 28 August, 1937 * [https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/141809803 'This pets business'], ''Australasian,'' 25 September 1937 * [https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/141810156 'The show's grim moments'], ''Australasian'', 2 October 1937 * [https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/141810390 'Brent's last case'], ''Australasian,'' 9 October 1937 * [https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/141812708 'Bone studs and backbones'], ''Australasian,'' 18 December 1937 * [https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/144367254 'It must be done - and yet -'], ''Australasian,'' 29 January 1938 '''With Ethel Turner'''
* Nicola Silver (serial), ''Australian Woman's Mirror'' ** [https://nla.gov.au/nla.obj-395634804/view?sectionId=nla.obj-584428659&partId=nla.obj-396801539#page/n5/mode/1up 9 December 1924] ** [https://nla.gov.au/nla.obj-395000575/view?sectionId=nla.obj-399525597&partId=nla.obj-395007753#page/n7/mode/1up 16 December 1924] ** [https://nla.gov.au/nla.obj-395000746/view?sectionId=nla.obj-413991803&partId=nla.obj-395061311#page/n7/mode/1up 23 December 1924] ** [https://nla.gov.au/nla.obj-395103852/view?sectionId=nla.obj-414092768&partId=nla.obj-395114957#page/n7/mode/1up 30 December 1924] ** [https://nla.gov.au/nla.obj-395104047/view?sectionId=nla.obj-413502525&partId=nla.obj-395124992#page/n7/mode/1up 6 January 1925] ** [https://nla.gov.au/nla.obj-394931788/view?sectionId=nla.obj-489112086&partId=nla.obj-394952163#page/n7/mode/1up 13 January 1925] ** [https://nla.gov.au/nla.obj-394932670/view?sectionId=nla.obj-412129548&partId=nla.obj-394953659#page/n7/mode/1up 20 January 1925] ** [https://nla.gov.au/nla.obj-394937539/view?sectionId=nla.obj-412153796&partId=nla.obj-394956687#page/n7/mode/1up 27 January 1925] ** [https://nla.gov.au/nla.obj-394951305/view?sectionId=nla.obj-412188374&partId=nla.obj-394979740#page/n5/mode/1up 3 February 1925]
==Death and legacy== On 8 August 1971, Esther Paterson died at Middle Park and was cremated with Anglican rites. Her husband, George Hermon Gill, died two years later.<ref name=":5" />
==References== {{Reflist}}
==Further reading== * {{cite book |last1=Anderson |first1=Gae |title=Wielding the brush : Esther Paterson : a lifetime in Australian art |date=2016 |publisher=Allambie Press |location=Coogee, New South Wales |isbn=9780646955018}}
== External links ==
* {{AustLit}} * [http://search.slv.vic.gov.au/permalink/f/1cl35st/SLV_VOYAGER171717 Captain Cook's cottage] by Hermon Gill with drawings by Esther Paterson, ''State Library Victoria'' * [http://search.slv.vic.gov.au/permalink/f/1cl35st/SLV_VOYAGER543514 Aussie girls] by Esther Paterson, ''State Library Victoria'' * [http://search.slv.vic.gov.au/permalink/f/1cl35st/SLV_VOYAGER1512037 "Me" : a page from my diary] by Esther Paterson, ''State Library Victoria'' * [http://search.slv.vic.gov.au/permalink/f/1cl35st/SLV_VOYAGER1281991 Wartime stew, slightly sweetened] by Leila Pirani with drawings by Esther Paterson, ''State Library Victoria''
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Paterson, Esther}} Category:1892 births Category:1971 deaths Category:Cartoonists from Melbourne Category:20th-century Australian women artists Category:People from Carlton, Victoria Category:National Gallery of Victoria Art School alumni