Lot 13

Private collection, Melbourne

First Australian Exhibition of Women's Work, Exhibition Building, 23 October - 20 November 1907, cat. no. 433 as 'Embroidered painted panel' (label verso)

In 1906 the Governor-General's wife, Lady Alice Northcote, announced the intention of holding an 'Australian Exhibition of Women's Work'. Lady Northcote appointed each state Governor General's wife to form representative bodies in their state, ensuring that the exhibition was given every possible opportunity for exposure. Special efforts were made to involve women from all over the states, to give these women the same opportunities for showing their work. Each state selected the best examples to be showcased in Melbourne.

The 'Australian Exhibition of Women's Work' opened in 1907 at the Exhibition Building in Melbourne, bringing together thousands of visitors. The exhibition was divided into sections, including fine art, photography and needlework amongst others. The needlework section was the largest, mostly due to its popularity as a skill domestically, and was promoted as offering the greatest potential economic independence for women, with a strong emphasis on the self-employed needleworker.

Sarah Riley from Victoria was included within this exhibit as entry number 433, with her depiction of 'Saint Frideswyde' on an embroidered painted panel, and also entry 434 with an embroidered tablecloth. Little is known of Sarah beyond this exhibition, although she was one of few needlework entrants chosen to exhibit more than one example. (1)

The exhibition had a profound impact on the community and secured numerous reviews and commendations. As one female journalist commented:

"The exhibition has had an effect more intimate and almost more important … than its educational significance. It has welded our Melbourne women together … There will be, in the future, among all these people and bodies a knowledge and appreciation of each other that has never before existed. The Exhibition has been the means of breaking down innumerable barriers … Each department of the Exhibition has been controlled and managed by a committee of women who have represented all classes and condition of workers … and the result will be that, in the future, in every sphere of women's activity, there will be a greater community of interest … than ever before."
'Vesta' (Stella Allen), What the Exhibition has Done, Argus, 2 December 1907, p. 7

In celebrating the exhibition's centenary, the Castlemaine Art Gallery and Historical Museum developed a significant exhibition and catalogue in 2007 to commemorate this historical event for women artists, bringing together a selection of pieces across all mediums. Both the original exhibition in 1907 and this commemorative exhibition in 2007 demonstrate the immense talent and underappreciated skill amongst Australia's women artists that once was, and in some ways still is, overlooked.

Hannah Ryan
Art Specialist

(1). Hannon, G., Portrait of an Exhibition, Centenary Celebration of the First Australian Exhibition of Women's Work 1907, Castlemaine Art Gallery and Historical Museum, 2007, p. 36