This dramatic fireplace was created in 1907 by Maude Vizard-Wholohan, a graduate of the South Australian School of Design. In the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, the school attracted mainly female students, who studied china painting, watercolour, woodcarving, embroidery and leatherwork. Based on the South Kensington system of art education, the syllabus was rigorously taught and resulted in a remarkable body of work by South Australian female artists.

Made of mahogany, ceramic tiles, pewter, cast iron and copper, the work features dramatic carved-dragon motifs alongside a pressed panel of a woman and child, while the wooden border contains scrolling snake-like motifs. The fireplace was shown as part of the Exhibition of Women’s Work, held in the Exhibition Building, Melbourne, in 1907. Visited by over 250,000 people over five weeks, the exhibition featured more than 16,000 works of art by Australian women.

Rebecca Evans, Curator of Decorative Arts & Design

The establishment of the government run Adelaide School of Design in 1881 saw enormous numbers of women educated in painting, repoussé, embroidery, and wood carving. Women were the main producers and buyers of hand-painted ceramics, often acquiring pieces to mark special occasions such as birthdays or weddings. A group of artists from the Adelaide School of Design were among those who exhibited at the First Australian Exhibition of Women’s Work in Melbourne in 1907. Artists including Marmie Venner, Maida Wright and Floy Hubble exhibited widely and were well known in their lifetimes.

Ingrid Goetz, Vernon-Roberts Assistant Curator of Decorative Arts & Design