Bertha Merfield

Bertha Merfield (1869–1921) was an Australian painter and muralist. She was a founding member of the Twenty Melbourne Painters Society.[1]

Bertha E. Merfield
Born	(1869-01-30)30 January 1869 West Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
Died	20 September 1921(1921-09-20) (aged 52) Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
Nationality	Australian
Education	Slade School, National Gallery School
Known for	Painting

Biography

Merfield was born in West Melbourne, Victoria on 30 January 1869 to Thomas and Isabella (née Wardman) Merfield.[2][3] She studied at the Slade School in London, England and the National Gallery of Victoria Art School.[4] In 1916[5] her mural for the Cafe Australia in Melbourne received public acclaim.[4] The building was demolished in 1938.[5]

She was a member of the London Society of Mural Decorators and Painters in Tempera.[6] Merfield was also a founding member of the Twenty Melbourne Painters Society.[1]

Merfield died on 20 September 1921 in Melbourne.[4]

References

1. "Members". Twenty Melbourne Painters Society Inc. Retrieved 7 April 2018.
2. "Family Notices". Age (Melbourne, Vic. : 1854 - 1954). 1 February 1869. p. 2. Retrieved 28 January 2020.
3. "Birth Certiicate: Merfield, Bertha Elizabeth". Births deaths and marriages Victoria. Retrieved 28 January 2020.
4. "Bertha E. Merfield b. c.1869". Design & Art Australia Online (DAAO). Retrieved 7 April 2018.
5. "Balcony and mural in the main dining hall, Café Australia, Melbourne". Walter Burley Griffin Society Incorporated. Retrieved 7 April 2018.
6. "An Australian Decorative Artist, Miss Bertha Merfield". The Lone Hand. 1920. Retrieved 7 April 2018.

External links

• Balcony and mural in the main dining hall, Café Australia, Melbourne
• Catalogue of an exhibition of decorative panels by Miss Bertha E. Merfield
• Resource list on Trove (National Library of Australia) for Merfield, Bertha E. (1869-1921)