GOVETT, NELLIE (1882-1965)

"Hydrangeas" (c.1930)
oil on board
30 x 25cm
signed lower right
*private collection, Sydney
 
Helena 'Nellie' Govett is a forgotten Australian Tonalist. Born in Melbourne, Nellie began painting at age seven, and later studied at the National Gallery Schools. She was registered under an assumed name, due to her disapproving parents. She studied under the legendary Australian Modernist, and godfather of Tonalism in Australia, Max Meldrum, between 1931-1950. Tonalism was an important early Twentieth Century movement in Australia, adopted by Meldrum from his American contemporaries, and taught to a generation of Australian artists, such as Clarice Beckett, Percy Leason, Colin Colahan & Albert Newbury. Their minimalist, misty approach to realism influenced a shift in Australian Modernism. Nellie subsequently introduced her young son, James William Govett (1910-2008), to Tonalism by bringing him along to Meldrum's classes. James would become an influential Modernist & Portraitist in the preceding years. Nellie was twice an Archibald finalist in 1929 & 1938, and held solo and joint exhibitions with her son at important galleries such as the Athenaeum. In 1993, a retrospective of their work was held at Soroptomist House, South Yarra, Victoria.