Dora Toovey's CV

Curriculum Vitae of Dora Toovey

1898 Born 28 December in Bathurst

1902 Ithaca House in Bathurst sold


1910 Attends SCEGGS School, Darlinghurst/Sydney

1914 Father Captain Toovey joins Great War

late 1910s attends a business college

1919 Starts working at Commonwealth Bank

1920s Studies at Royal Art Society with James R. Jackson and Antonio Dattilo-Rubbo

1924 Marries James R. Jackson

1927 Travels with James R. Jackson to Italy, France and Spain

1927 Meets Augustus John in France and studies with him

1928 Paints in Spain and Balearic islands with James R. Jackson

1929 Daughter Jacqueline born in Sydney

1931 Builds Lanyon Flats at Lavender Bay

1932 Oversees building of home in Battle Boulevarde, Seaforth (featured in Australian Home Magazine with photos by Harold Cazneaux in May 1933).

1933 Seaforth home leased to Ken Patrick and wife Heather Winn

1933 Travels and lives with family in camps at Lanyon near Canberra, Murrumbidgee, and Higgins property Gloucester

1934 Macquarie Galleries exhibition

1936 Son Murray born

1938 Studies portraiture with William Beckwith McInnes in Melbourne


1938 Exhibition at Rubery Bennett Galleries, Sydney

1939 Lives at Walker Street North Sydney

1940 Jacqueline and Murray Jackson attend Wenona
 School

1943 Archibald Prize finalist with portrait of Lieutenant A.R. Cutler, V.C.

1944 Paints at the trial of William Dobell on his portrait of Joshua Smith which had won the Archibald Prize

1947 Divorce from James R. Jackson

1948 Archibald Prize finalist with portrait of Hugh Laming

1950 Marries George Scott, teacher and former headmaster of Cleveland Public School, living at 23 Parriwi Road, Mosman

1951 Wynne Prize finalist

1950 Archibald Prize finalist with portrait of aviator Nancy Bird Walton

1953 Paints in Snowy Mountain region


1955 Archibald Prize finalist with portrait of Prof. Emeritus Griffith Taylor, Antarctic explorer


1956 Archibald Prize finalist with portrait of artist Lloyd Rees


1957 Painting of Wynyard Park


1960 Portrait of Sir Herbert Schlink for the Ski Club of Australia


1961 Archibald Prize finalist with portrait of Roy Fluke (now in the Art Gallery of NSW collection)


1964 Joins Beauty Point branch Liberal Party


1965 Paints Robin McKellar, wife of politician Michael McKellar


1966 Trip to Central Australia


1967 Painting of aboriginal nativity Mother and Child Christmas card


1970 Wins Portia Geach Memorial Award with Self Portrait in Landscape


1974 Trip with son Murray to South America (Peru)


1975 James R. Jackson dies


1978 Wins Portia Geach Memorial Award with portrait of Senator Neville Bonner


1980 Possibly trip with Julia and Jacqueline Jamieson to Birdsville track


1980 17 April: Grand Artists' dinner in honour of 13 distinguished artists of 80 years of age. Apart from Dora Toovey, the guests of honour were Lloyd Rees, Douglas Dundas, Desiderius Orban, George Finey, Sali Herman, Rubery Bennett, Noel Kilgour and Robert Emerson Curtis. Not able to attend were Grace Cossington Smith, Erik Langker, Maximilian Feuerring and Ronald Steuart.

Other guests included Margaret Olley, John Coburn, Roy Fluke, Guy Warren, Alan D. Baker, John Santry, Peter Laverty, Joshua Smith


1986 Dies 13 July and buried under her married name Dora Scott at Mona Vale Cemetery, Sydney, NSW


Dora Toovey's works are represented in

  • National Gallery of Australia

  • Art Gallery of New South Wales

  • Art Gallery of South Australia

  • National Gallery of Victoria

  • Queensland Art Gallery (Portrait of Sir Raphael Cilento, c. 1967)

  • Manly Art Gallery & Museum

  • Mosman Art Gallery

  • Newcastle Art Gallery

  • National Portrait Gallery

  • University of Sydney (Portrait of Francis Arnaud Bland; Portrait of Prof. Emeritus Griffith Taylor, Antarctic explorer)

  • Parliament House, Canberra

  • Lismore Regional Gallery (Cox's River sketch, 1959)

  • Bundaberg City Collection


Prizes

  • 1962 and 1963 Prizes at Ryde

  • 1963 Katoomba

  • 1965 Northside Festival

  • 1967 Royal Art Society New South Wales

  • 1970 Portia Geach Memorial Award with Self portrait in landscape (now in the collection of the Art Gallery of NSW)

  • 1978 Portia Geach Memorial Award with a portrait of Senator Neville Bonner