While women continue to break new ground throughout our modern world, a few remarkable Bayside artists were responsible for blazing the trail in Australia’s art scene a century ago.
Her Own Path tells the stories of five early 20th century women, who each have a strong connection to Bayside, and were among the first professional women artists to emerge in Australia.
They were all trailblazers in their own way and achieved levels of success in their craft through innovation and tenacity in a male dominated world.
Each week we will explore their stories, inspirations and their connections to Bayside.
Janet Cumbrae-Stewart (1883-1960)
Janet Cumbrae-Stewart was born on a 7-acre property ‘Montrose’ in Were Street, Brighton to a wealthy family.
She was classed as one of the best pastellists of the world at the time and by the 1920s became one of the first women artists to rise to a level of public appreciation to equal that of male artists.
She is most known for her female nudes in pastels, however she regularly exhibited portraits and landscape architectural studies, both of European and Australian subjects. Queen Mary bought several of her works.
