Dora Toovey in the Press

Dora Toovey in the Press

Brisbane Courier, 6/8/1932, p.18: Art and Artists. Royal Art Society

In these days so difficult to artists, it is not surprising that some are not painting at their best; considering the small encouragement they receive, one wonders, indeed, how they have had the courage to continue. If the annual exhibition of the Royal Art Society is, on the whole, below the average, the work of several artists claim attention. The president, Mr. Lister Lister, is a consistent painter, who remains unaffected by the changes of time, his work 'being as sound as ever. Though he has failed to obtain complete success in a large composition, some of the small landscapes by James R. Jackson are very attractive, and the work of Eric Langker has considerable charm. Charles Bryant, who was recently elected a member of the Royal Society of British Artists, sent out three seascapes which are effectively painted. Among the best of the small landscapes are those by G. K. Townshend and Dora Toovey (Mrs. James R. Jackson). ...

The Australian Home Beautiful, 1/5/1933, p.31-37: The Home of an Artist

By Nora Cooper. Illustrated with photographs by H. Cazneaux

To describe the home of an artist is never an easy matter. ....

Then there is his wife, Dora Toovey, small, swift and capable, who goes about her myriad occupations with a divine and tireless gaiety. So full of creative energy is she, that even being the wife of a successful painter, and the mother of Jacqueline, has not destroyed her impulse or power to paint. Her pictures have a misty poignant beauty of their own, quite different from her husband's vigorous and sun-filled landscapes.

And last, but not least, there is Jacqueline, aged four. While one might hesitate for a moment to select with scrupulous care just the one word or phrase which might best portray for the reader the personality of father or mother, with regard to Jacqueline there can be no hesitation at all. Her untroubled confidence in the essential beauty and rightness of ther world, and in the power of her two small hands to grapple with any or all of its problems, might well be the envy of graver folk than she. ...

Australian Women's Weekly, 12/8/1933, p. 15: Painters at the Art Exhibition

Our women cannot complain at the way their work is hung at the Royal Art Society's Exhibition at the Education Gallery. Some of the most interesting and attractive pictures bear the signature of women artists, some well known, and others who are just looming in the Art firmament. ... Clever Dora Toovey has a number of sympathetic Australian paintings, "Chinaman's Beach," "Golden Willows," "Balmoral," "Rushcutters Bay," a particularly charming study, but her Spanish pictures of "Toledo" and "Granada" are less happy in their interpretation of the spirit behind the scene. ...

Sydney Morning Herald, 10/8/1937: Art Season Now in Full Swing. Many Women Exhibitors

Sydney's Art Season is now at its height with four major exhibitions ... Critics agree that the standard of work by women exhibitors has improved, while women generally have shown their appreciated of good pictures by attending the various exhibitions in good numbers. More women artists are exhibiting work at this year's Royal Art Society show than ever before...

A Mother Who Paints

Dora Toovey, wife of the well-known artist, Jimmy Jackson, shows a landscape in oil entitled 'Back o' Barrington'. It is a fine painting, and compares well with works of some of the well-known men landscape painters exhibiting works at the show, such as Lister Lister and Eric Langker.

Dora Toovey admits she has learnt a great deal about art from her husband. In a year or two she intends to devote more time to painting. At present, her hands are occupied looking after her two young children, a boy and a girl. The boy is still a baby.

She painted 'Back o' Barrington' with the baby more or less in her arms. She thinks you cannot look after very young children and be a painter. You will either have badly brought-up children or poorly-executed paintings. When the children are old enough to enter into family life and do things themselves, it is different.

Dora Toovey thinks artists make excellent husbands, for the reason that their art keeps them out of mischief, especially if they are good artists. ...

Sydney Morning Herald, 13/4/1938, p. 24: New Gallery Opened

The work of two Sydney women artists is represented at the exhibition of Sydney Harbour, coastal, and river paintings, which was opened by Mr. Stuart F. Doyle yesterday afternoon, at the Castlereagh Fine Art Gallery, in Rowe Street. This is the first exhibition to be held at the gallery. Miss Frances O. Ellis is showing two watercolours, "Evening at Narrabeen" and "The Boat Builder;" and Miss Dora Toovey (Mrs. James R. Jackson), whose husband is also exhibiting several pictures, is showing a painting of Pearl Bay, Middle Harbour.

Sydney Morning Herald, 4/5/1938 p.10:

Art Exhibition - Miss Dora Toovey

One of the main virtues of Dora Toovey's pictures is that they do not pretend to be more than they are. This painter, who is the wife of the well-known artist, James R. Jackson, reproduces landscapes directly and simply with no attempt at elaborate composition. At times this sincere, if not very sophisticated, method produces exceedingly pleasant results. In "Balmoral" for instance, the paint has been applied with gracious freedom, the colour is clear, and there is an agreeable sense of movement in the little while sails scudding across the blue water.Other paintings depict Burragorang Valley, Gloucester, and various aspects of the Sydney harbour and coastline. Miss Toovey has included also a series of paintings which she did in Spain before the civil war. The exhibition will be opened tomorrow afternoon by Sir Claude Reading.

Sydney Morning Herald, 5/5/1938, p. 21: Heard Here and There

Dora Toovey (Mrs. James R. Jackson) tells an interesting story of how she has improved in speed with her painting.

When she first began, she and her husband would go out together to paint a landscape, and he would be finished almost before she had set up her palette.

"Now I do a number of my pictures in one afternoon, or two mornings," she said ''Because of the swiftly-changing light, it is impossible to paint for more than two hours at a time."

Miss Toovey's "one man" exhibition at the Rubery Bennett Galleries in Hunter Street will be opened to-day by Sir Claude Reading, the director of the Commonwealth Bank. As Miss Toovey was working at the Commonwealth Bank when she first studied art, it seems appropriate that he should perform this ceremony.

In the exhibition are many pictures painted by the artist during the two years she spent in Spain with her husband, before the civil war, and some of the buildings depicted have since been destroyed.

Miss Toovey thinks that oils are a better medium for Australian landscapes than watercolours, as they are more direct and are also more appreciated by Australians. "We should be pioneers of art styles, not imitators," she said.

Sydney Morning Herald, 6/5/1938, p.7: Cubes and Angles in Art. Banker's Observations. Miss Toovey's Show

Sir Claude Reading, opening an exhibition of oil paintings by Miss Dora Toovey (Mrs. James R. Jackson) at the Rubery Bennett Galleries yesterday, commented upon the absence of anything "extreme" in Miss Toovey's art. "I do not pretend to understand what I call the 'Art of Euclid,' which consists of cubes and angles, and is reflected in many modern paintings," he said. "It means nothing to my inartistic eye." It was a particular pleasure for him to open the exhibition, as Miss Toovey had taken up art while on the staff of the Commonwealth Bank, he added. Her pictures were a tribute to the diligence with which she had studied and to her skil

l.

Sydney Morning Herald, 14/2/1939, p. 5: Gone to Melbourne

Mrs James R. Jackson, wife of the artist, and herself a well-known painter under her maiden name of Dora Toovey, who with her two children, Jacqueline and Murray, left yesterday for Melbourne, where she will make her home for at least nine months.

Mrs Jackson, who has hitherto specialised in landscapes proposes to study portrait painting with W. B. Mcinnes or Max Meldrum at the National Gallery School.

Sydney Morning Herald, 16/10/1941, p.5: At Art Show

Miss Dora Toovey and Mr. Erik Langker, the landscape artist, looking at Miss Toovey's picture, "Ebb Tide," at the annual exhibition of the Royal Art Society last night, when the annual social evening was held. Miss Toovey has exhibited pictures for more than 16 years.

The Sun, 18/5/1948: 3 art shows on view in Sydney

.... Making the journey to the Mosman Town Hall, where the North Shore Art Society is now holding its second annual exhibition, one finds a collection of pictures ...

Exhibitors include Lance Solomon, Erik Langker, Howard Ashton, Albert Sherman, James R. Jackson, H. Hanke and Dora Tovey [sic: Toovey].

Sunday Herald, 104/1949, p. 13: Social News and Gossip

The wedding of Mrs. Dora Jackson, of Mosman, and Mr. George Scott, of Lindfield, whose engagement was announced yesterday, is expected to take place next month. Mrs. Jackson is well known as a painter under her maiden name of Dora Toovey; her fiance became an Officier d'Academie of France in 1937.

Sunday Telegraph, 22/1/1950:

Artists Lyall Trindall, Dora Toovey, and Jo Wolinski were among competitors for the Archibald Prize who attended the first public showing of the paintings at the Art Gallery yesterday. Women viewing the pictures chose their favorites and some hoped to purchase them. ...

The Sun, 24/1/1952: More Women Try for Archibald Prize

Wen judging of The Archibald Prize takes place tomorrow a record number of paintings from women artists will be among the pictures for selection. Each year the number of women competitors for the prize increases and this time entries have come from housewives, office girls, factory workers as well as professional women painters from all over Australia, the Director of the National Art Gallery of NSW Mr. Hal Missingham said today.

Although women painters from all over Australia submit entries only one woman has ever won the coveted prize. She is Miss Nora Heysen, who was awarded the prize in 1938 for her portrait of Madame Elink Schuurman. Daughter of the well-known South Australian artist Mr. Hans Heysen, Miss Heysen is submitting two portraits this year. Her sitters were the headmaster of Scots College, Adelaide, Mr. N. [M. G.] Gratton and Mr. [C. C.] Gheysens, a wool broker and composer of music.

Inspired by Miss Heysen’s success, Sydney artist Miss Dora Toovey has sent paintings to the prize for the past [15] years. “When I saw that [it] was possible for a woman to win, I decided to do my hardest too and went straight to Melbourne where I studied for a diploma in portraiture at the Melbourne National Gallery,” Miss Toovey said. Professor F. A. Bland, dressed in his robes [illegible] member of the Senate [of] Sydney University is [the] subject of Miss Toovey’s portrait for this year....

The Bulletin, 2/7/1952: Art

Three current Sydney exhibitions — the Royal Art Society at Anthony Horderns’, the Contemporary Group at Farmer’s Blaxland Galleries and the Fellowship of Australian Artists at the Education Department Galleries — haven’t produced any masterpieces, but there are at least score of paintings with which one might live and enjoy their company. .... Among the Royal exhibitors, Dora Toovey has soft little impression in “Silhouette, Nambucca” ...

Sydney Morning Herald, 25/9/1952, p. 6: Women Exhibitors attend Royal Art Society Party

The Bulletin, 28/1/1953: Artbursts

... Some of the most striking portraits the Archibald exhibition are by women or have women for their subject. Mary Edwards’s painting of Doris Fitton is a dramatic portrayal of that very individual lady s appearance and personality. Amalie Colquhoun’s full-length child portrait, “Jennessee Blakie” (although not really suitable for this exhibition) is most attractive. “Sister A. Pulsford, of the North-West,” by Dora Toovey, and “Mrs. M. B. Cox,” by Mary Brady, both show insight. ...

Daily Mirror, 26/10/1953: Leading R.A.S. painters aid art exhibition

The first art exhibition at the Forum Club will be opened today by the president of the Board of Trustees of the National Gallery (Mr. B. J. Waterhouse). Leading members of the Royal Art Society have contributed a characteristic collection of oils and watercolors. ...

Dora Toovey shows a lively appreciation of light without forcing contrasts in her study of “The Stockton Ferry, Newcastle.” ...

Sydney Morning Herald, 9/6/1954, p. 7: Preview of Royal Art Society's Autumn Show

Northern Star, 19/10/1954, p. 5: Paintings Arriving for Exhibition

Delivery is starting to be made in Lismore of paintings which will compete in the Arts Council's second Art Prize Exhibition from October 25 to 30. Being air-freighted from Sydney are two oil paintings of local interest by Dora Toovey. They are "Return of Fishing Fleet, Evans Head," and "Flood - Erosion, Richmond River, Kyogle." ...

Australian Womens Weekly, 17/8/1955: Our £ 2,000 Art Award. Record number of paintings entered for the prize

.... Sydney painter Dora Toovey is helped by the sitter for her portrait in delivering her prize entry ....

Canberra Times, 17/11/1960, p. 3: Portrait of Professor Bland unveiled by PM

The Prime Minister, Mr. Menzies, yesterday unveiled a portrait of Professor F. A. Bland, a former Chairman of the Joint Committee of Public Accounts.The portrait was painted by Dora Toovey. .. Unveiling the portrait, in the Senate Committee Room, Mr. Menzies said he hoped it was a good picture because it was to be a portrait of a good man. ...

The Canberra Times, 8/7/1970, p.3: Art prize

Sydney artist Dora Toovey has won the $2,000 Portia Geach memorial award for 'Self in Landscape', one of three paintings she entered.

Sydney Morning Herald, 25/7/1978: Painter sees Senator Bonner as a 'visionary'

"Its my Dreamtime", Senator Neville Bonner exclaimed when he first saw his new portrait. The portrait, which shows him wearing a white skivvy and brown leather jacket against a background of blue sky and a field of wheat, has won for its painter, Dora Toovey, this year's Portia Geach Memorial Award.

Miss Toovey, who lives in Mosman, was presented with the $2,750 award in Sydney yesterday. ...

"I had to paint him as an outdoor man, especially with that Dreamtime feeling about him," Miss Toovey said while she and the Queensland Liberal Senator posed for photographers. He had what she described as a "visionary quality" which had to be recorded.

Senator Bonner recalled that the Minister for Immigration and Ethnic Affairs has spoken to him about Miss Toovey's wish to paint him. "She didn't wait for me to contact her, she contacted me," said the Senator. A series of sittings followed which were squeezed in between trips to and from Canberra.

The chairman of the judging panel for the 1978 award, the artist John Coburn, said it was the outstanding portrait of the 126 paintings, which had been entered or the competition. ...

The Australian, 25/7/1978, p. 4 : Dora's senator in dreamtime gives her dream double

On Dora Toovey's win of the Portia Geach Prize with a portrait of Senator Neville Bonner

Daily Telegraph, 25/7/1978: Good oil pays off for Dora

Courier-Mail, 25/7/1978: Portrait of a senator