Mavis Elizabeth Lightly
Mavis Elizabeth Lightly (nee Allen) 1911–1998 is a Western Australian artist and art teacher.
Mavis Lightly was born in Collie on 2 December 1911 and died on 12 December 1998 and was an inaugural foundation member of the Busselton Society of Arts.[1]
Mavis was the granddaughter of an engineer from the well-known Irish engineering firm, W.H. Allen. They provided engines from Belfast to mining companies in Queenstown, Tasmania, and Cue, Day Dawn and Collie in Western Australia.
Her father immigrated to Australia as a 16-year-old with his father, who in an ironic twist of fate died from snakebite soon after arrival.
Her father ended up in Collie selling engines and then ran a family garage in Busselton in the 1920s. Mavis was brought up in the family home behind the garage[2].
As a five-year old Mavis drew drew a compelling picture of a Model-T Ford on the classroom blackboard which remained up for nearly a year.[3]
At age 15 she was privately tutored by an English artist by the name of Baker. She left school then and as the eighth child by eight years she was looked after by other family members and not allowed to work.
This reflected the social and cultural norms at the time and the low expectations of women.
She married at 20, farming in the Vasse region and raising two children, Ian and Lynette.
After the Second World War, Mavis moved from the farm to Busselton becoming a serious painter and a student of Margaret Johnson. She used oil and with two small children had a passion for drawing on paper with charcoal being interested in all subjects - landscape, still life, and portraits. Margaret recognised Mavis had some talent and took an interest in her.
Ms Johnson was a member of the West Australian Society of Arts and taught Mavis Lightly at the Busselton Technical School.
Mavis had her first Art Exhibition in 1952 in the Country Women’s Association Hall Busselton with 25 oils[4], before the Busselton Arts Society was formed and every item was sold at prices ranging from five to 18 guineas. This was followed by several other exhibitions.
Her early work could more than hold their own, even after art classes by Wim Boissevain and Robert Juniper and she developed her own style and her style has been retained largely due to that early influence of Margaret Johnston where Mavis learnt the basics of distance, composition, colour, coordination and application.
Boissevain and Juniper are considered WA Art Royalty and their influence extends far beyond their extensive body of work because they also had longevity as art teachers.
The strong loyalty and admiration Mavis Lightly felt towards her female teachers and mentors like Johnson rather than men, demonstrates how early Australian women artists supported and nurtured each other.
In the first 'Art in the Park', the longest running exhibition of its kind in Western Australia, held in Mitchell Park Busselton from the 19th to the 24th January 1960, Mavis Lightly had one oil and eight water colour works for sale, with her highest priced, an oil called 'Winter Pattern' selling for eight guineas, the second most expensive piece of art on offer[5].
Mavis Lightly won the $500 Tom Wardle Prize for oils at the 1968 Busselton Art Society Competition, reputed by Society Patron, Sir Claude Hotchin to be the richest art prize offered outside the Perth metropolitan area . Her entry, 'Still Life' 370 x 475 mm is part of The Busselton Art Society collection, the largest private art collection in the South West of Western Australia.[6]
Mavis also taught art, always all ladies, This reflects the economic necessity of women artists of the time supplementing the household income from other sources than pure art sales. History repeating itself, much like how Margaret Johnson had taught Mavis Lightly decades before.
A fine example of her florals White Camellias 1962 watercolour on paper is held in the Fairview Art Collection of Subiaco owned by Thomas Murrell in Subiaco.[7] The work is significant as it reflects the artists unique still life style and her depth of tonal colours.
The framing reflects the frugal nature of the period. A busy time as a farming mother raising toddlers, with a husband often away, and money more likely to be directed to other activities rather than framing.
References[edit]
- ↑ Sparrow, Isobel (2012). Recollections: The History of Art - Busselton Art Society Incorporated. A History Blend of Remarkable WA Artists and Their Art. Busselton: Isobel Sparrow. p. 9. Search this book on
- ↑ Tickle, Margaret (1 November 1985). "Mavis Lightly Biographical Information". City of Busselton Oral History Project. City of Busselton. Unknown parameter
|url-status=ignored (help) - ↑ Tickle, Margaret (1 November 1985). "Mavis Lightly Oral History Interview". City of Busselton Oral History Project. Busselton Historical Society. Unknown parameter
|url-status=ignored (help) - ↑ 'Exhibition of Pintings by Mavis Lightly Catalogue 1952
- ↑ 'Busselton Society of Arts Catalogue of Exhibits, January 1960
- ↑ Murrell, Thomas (1 March 2020). "Isolation and limited opportunities leave WA's female artists largely invisible". The West Australian. p. 105. Unknown parameter
|url-status=ignored (help) - ↑ "Mavis Elizabeth Lightly - West Australian Artist 1920s to 1990s". Fairview Art Collection. Unknown parameter
|url-status=ignored (help)
attribution Parts of this a copyrighted by the Fairview Historic Home and released under a Creative Commons attribution license: https://fairviewofsubiaco.com.au/flora-and-botanicals/
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