Erica McGilchrist

Erica McGilchrist OAM (10 February 1926 – 9 May 2014) was an Australian artist and founder of the Women's Art Register.

Early life

McGilchrist was born in Mt Gambier, South Australia and was a ballerina until she was in her twenties when she attended art classes at RMIT. In 1951 she held the first of over forty solo exhibitions. She held the first art therapy sessions at Kew Mental Hospital in the early 1950s.

Work

In the 1950s she designed sets and costumes for the Ballet Guild and continued to paint.

The 1960s saw her win a scholarship and a grant to pursue postgraduate study in Germany and several works were chosen for postage stamp design.[1]

With the advent of second wave feminism in the mid seventies Erica was at the forefront of promoting and recording women's art. She was a co-founder of Women's Art Register and served as convenor from 1978-89. Her contributions to women's art were recognised in 1992 when she was awarded the Medal of the Order of Australia.[2] She is represented in institutional and public galleries as well as private collections in Australia, UK, Israel and USA.[3][4]

Major retrospectives were held in 1995 at Caulfield Arts Complex and in 2014 at Heidi Museum of Modern Art.[1]

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References
  1. McGilchrist. "Design and Art in Australia".
  2. "Erica Margaret McGilchrist". honours.pmc.gov.au. Retrieved 21 July 2019.
  3. "Erica McGilchrist". Heide Museum of Modern Art. 10 September 2015. Retrieved 20 July 2019.
  4. "Erica McGilchrist | Artists | NGV". www.ngv.vic.gov.au. Retrieved 20 July 2019.
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