Barbara Tribe

Barbara Tribe (1913–2000) was an Australian-born artist who spent most of her career in Cornwall. She is regarded as a significant twentieth-century portrait artist, working both in painting and sculpture.[1][2]

Barbara Tribe

FRBS
Born(1913-06-20)20 June 1913
Sydney, Australia
Died21 October 2000(2000-10-21) (aged 87)
Penzance, England
Resting placePaul Cemetery, Penzance
Known forSculpture, painting, printmaking

Personal life

Tribe was born in the suburb of Edgecliff, Sydney to English parents.[1] In 1935 Tribe was awarded a travelling scholarship which allowed her to travel to England, where she lived and worked for the rest of her life.[1] Tribe married John Singleman, an architect and potter, in 1947.[1][2] They bought the former Baptist Sunday School building (later known as 'The Studio') in Sheffield, Cornwall in 1947 and moved there shortly afterwards.[3]

Education

Tribe first studied at the Sydney Technical College from 1928 to 1933, joining when she was 15 years old.[1] After travelling to England, Tribe first attended the Kennington City & Guilds School of Art in 1936–1937 before being accepted into the Regent Street Polytechnic School of Art.[1]

Artwork and career
Bust of William Birdwood, 1st Baron Birdwood by Barbara Tribe in the Western Front Gallery at the Australian War Memorial.

Tribe's work was heavily influenced by her travel experiences.[4] During her time at the Sydney Technical College, she studied under English born sculptor, Raynor Hoff, and her figure work at this time was heavily influenced by him.[5][6] After she received her diploma, she worked as Hoff's assistant and worked on the Hyde Park war memorial in Sydney with him.[1] Between 1931 and 1934 Tribe often exhibited with the Society of Artists before holding her first solo show in 1934.[2]

In the mid to late 1930s, Tribe and fellow Australian artist and actor Jean Elwing convinced Selfridges to provide studio space, and the young artist was also given parties by the store.[7]

In 1943, Tribe was commissioned by Australia House, London to produce busts of seven distinguished airmen from Australia.[8] Also in the 1940s, she began exhibiting at the Royal Academy of Arts and the Royal Society of British Sculptors.[2]

Tribe entered a piece titled Embryo into the renowned The Unknown Political Prisoner exhibition (14 March–30 April 1953).[9]

During the Second World War, Tribe worked for the Inspectorate of Ancient Monuments, recording vulnerable historic buildings.[10][2] Tribe took up a part time teaching post at the Penzance School of Art after the war, and continued to teach there for over 40 years, retiring in 1988.[3][2]

Tribe was a member of Newlyn Society of Artists and St Ives Society of Artists.[9]

Selected awards and commissions

Tribe received much recognition within her lifetime, including the following,

  • Bronze medal for Sculpture, Sydney Technical College, 1933[1]
  • New South Wales Travelling Art Scholarship, 1935.[5][6] Tribe was the first woman to receive this award.[2]
  • Jean Masson Davidson Medal, Society of Portrait Sculptors, London, 1998[3]

Selected exhibitions

Tribe exhibited widely throughout her career including the following,

  • Solo exhibition, Fine Art Gallery (Anthony Horden & Sons), Sydney, 1934[2]
  • Summer Exhibition, Royal Academy of Arts, London, 5 May–26 August 1951[11]
  • Group Exhibition by the Staff of the Penzance School of Art, Newlyn Art Gallery, July 1982[12]
  • Alice to Penzance, the Mall Galleries, London, 19–29 July 1991[13]
  • This vital flesh: the sculpture of Rayner Hoff and his school, Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney, 26 November 1999–16 Jan 2000[14]
  • Australian paintings 1895-2002 and the European influence, Nevill Keating Pictures Ltd., London, July–August 2002[15]
  • The Elements within Sculpture, Lauraine Diggins Fine Art, Melbourne, 4 June–15 July 2011[16]

Works held in public collections

Artwork by Barbara Tribe are held in several public collections, including the following works,

Title Year Medium Gallery no. Gallery Location
Bust of Frank McIlwraith 1937 patinated bronze 2009.48 National Portrait Gallery Canberra, Australia
Dang, Child of Thailand 1971 bronze DONMG 1991.1022 Doncaster Museum and Art Gallery Yorkshire, England
Dr Joan M Redshaw AM 1982 terracotta 2016.21 National Portrait Gallery Canberra, Australia
Dr Lloyd Rees 1966 bronze 257.1981 Art Gallery of New South Wales Sydney, Australia
Field Marshal the Lord Birdwood 1938 patinated plaster 2009.47 National Portrait Gallery Canberra, Australia
Figure 1950 mountain ash 222.2015 Art Gallery of New South Wales Sydney, Australia
Kookaburra 1987 bronze BRSRW.0857 Royal West of England Academy Bristol, England
Lovers I 1936–1937 (cast 1981) bronze 192.1982.a-b Art Gallery of New South Wales Sydney, Australia
Medusa 1930–1931 (cast 1991) bronze 409.1996.a-b Art Gallery of New South Wales Sydney, Australia
Medusa 1931 (cast late 1970s) bronze 2001.41 National Gallery of Victoria Melbourne, Australia
Rear Gunner RAAF (Warrant Officer Norman Williams) 1943 plaster 220.2015 Art Gallery of New South Wales Sydney, Australia
Squadron Leader R. H. Gibbes 1943 plaster 219.2015 Art Gallery of New South Wales Sydney, Australia
The spirit of the sea 1933 plaster & wood 221.2015 Art Gallery of New South Wales Sydney, Australia
Zamenof - terracotta - Potteries Museum & Art Gallery Stoke-on-Trent, England

Legacy

Tribe specified in her will that some of her works were to be sold in aid of setting up the Barbara Tribe Foundation. Administered by the Art Gallery of New South Wales, the aim of the foundation is to promote sculpture in Australia.[3]

An archive relating to Barbara Tribe is held by the National Art Archive at the Art Gallery of New South Wales.[2]

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References
  1. Gray, Sara (2019). British women artists: a biographical dictionary of 1,000 women artists in the British decorative arts. United Kingdom. ISBN 978-1911121633. OCLC 1085975377.
  2. "Barbara Tribe :: The Collection :: Art Gallery NSW". www.artgallery.nsw.gov.au. Retrieved 8 November 2019.
  3. "Barbara TRIBE | Cornwall Artists Index". cornwallartists.org. Retrieved 8 November 2019.
  4. McDonald, Patricia R. (2000). Barbara Tribe : sculptor. Edwards, Deborah., Stones, Anthony. Sydney, NSW: Craftsman House. ISBN 9057035529. OCLC 44128013.
  5. Sayers, Andrew, 1957- (2001). Australian art. Oxford. ISBN 0192842145. OCLC 45829435.CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  6. McDonald, John (16 March 2017). "Rayner Hoff: Life and Art celebrates the work of Australia's greatest sculptor". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 8 November 2019.
  7. Batchelor, Denzil (18 February 1938). "SUCCESS OF SYDNEY GIRL SCULPTOR: Barbara Tribe's London Studio". Sydney Morning Herald. p. 11. Retrieved 8 November 2019.
  8. Deutsch; Français; 日本語; 中文; Español; Italiano; 한국어; العربية; us, Contact. "Squadron Leader R. H. Gibbes, (1943) by Barbara Tribe". www.artgallery.nsw.gov.au. Retrieved 8 November 2019.
  9. "From the archive: Pioneering Women | Royal Society of Sculptors". sculptors.org.uk. Retrieved 8 November 2019.
  10. "Barbara Tribe, National Portrait Gallery". www.portrait.gov.au. Retrieved 8 November 2019.
  11. Deutsch; Français; 日本語; 中文; Español; Italiano; 한국어; العربية; us, Contact. "Figure, (1950) by Barbara Tribe". www.artgallery.nsw.gov.au. Retrieved 8 November 2019.
  12. 100 years in Newlyn : diary of a gallery. Hardie, Melissa. Penzance: Patten Press in association with Newlyn Art Gallery. 1995. ISBN 1872229174. OCLC 33207040.CS1 maint: others (link)
  13. Australian National Bibliography: 1992. National Library of Australia. 1992. p. 653.
  14. "Works shown in the exhibition "'This vital flesh': the sculpture of Rayner Hoff and his school" :: The Collection :: Art Gallery NSW". www.artgallery.nsw.gov.au. Retrieved 8 November 2019.
  15. Deutsch; Français; 日本語; 中文; Español; Italiano; 한국어; العربية; us, Contact. "Dr Lloyd Rees, (1966, 1981) by Barbara Tribe". www.artgallery.nsw.gov.au. Retrieved 8 November 2019.
  16. "The Elements Within Sculpture". Lauraine Diggins Fine Art. 16 February 2012. Retrieved 8 November 2019.
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