Betty Paterson
Elizabeth Deans Paterson MBE (1894 – 5 July 1970) was an Australian commercial artist, cartoonist and illustrator. She was best known for her pictures of babies and young children.
Betty Paterson | |
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![]() Paterson in 1946 | |
Born | Elizabeth Deans Paterson 1894 Carlton, Victoria, Australia |
Died | 5 July 1970 75–76) Middle Park, Victoria, Victoria, Australia | (aged
Known for | Cartoon, book illustration, children's portraiture |
Life
Elizabeth Deans Paterson was born in Carlton, Victoria in 1894, daughter of Elizabeth Leslie (née Deans) and artist Hugh Paterson.[1] Her older sister Esther Paterson (1892–1971) was also a commercial artist, illustrator and cartoonist.[2] Their uncle was Scottish-born landscape painter John Ford Paterson.[3]
Paterson sent her first drawing to The Bulletin in response to a bet by cartoonist David Low. Her drawing was published, she won the bet and began her career contributing illustrations to magazines.[4]
At the time of her first marriage in 1923 to Kenneth Fossie Newman, Paterson had already made a name for herself for her drawings and portraits of children.[5] She was divorced by her husband in 1931 and given custody of their daughter, Barbara, who later became an artist.[6][7]
By the mid-1920s she and her sister Esther had established themselves as commercial artists who were "the cleverest designers in Australia" of posters, illustrated books, calendars and Christmas cards.[8] In 1922 they held a joint exhibition in Queen's Hall, Melbourne which was opened by Prime Minister Billy Hughes. Her drawings of young children were noted for their "fetching impertinence".[9] Her 1931 solo exhibition was opened by the Melbourne lord mayor, Harold Gengoult Smith,[10] while in 1935 the lady mayoress, Mrs A. G. Wales, did the honours.[11]
![](../I/Illustrated_front_cover_from_The_Queenslander%252C_April_8%252C_1937_(6167337223).jpg.webp)
Her work was published in many magazines, including The Australian Home Beautiful,[12] The Australian Woman's Mirror,[13] The New Triad,[14] and The Bulletin.[15] In the 1935 The Australian Woman's Mirror awarded an original drawing by Paterson each week to the person who made the best original contribution to the magazine.[16]
Portraits of Paterson by her sister Esther were finalists for the Archibald Prize in 1938 and 1939.[17]
Paterson was made a Member of the Order of the British Empire in 1966 for her service to art and the community.[18]
In 1952 she married Albion Wiltshire.[19] Paterson died on 5 July 1970 at Middle Park in Victoria.[20]
References
- Birth record of Elizabeth Deans Paterson, Registration number 9972/1894, Births Deaths and Marriages Victoria
- "Esther Paterson". Design and Art Australia Online. Retrieved 22 March 2022.
- "Paterson, Elizabeth Deans (Betty)". The Australian Women's Register. Retrieved 22 March 2022.
- "Artist's Career Began With Wager". The Courier-Mail. No. 1570. Queensland, Australia. 13 September 1938. p. 1 (Second Section.). Retrieved 22 March 2022 – via National Library of Australia.
- "Marriages, Mr. Kenneth Fossie Newman to Miss Elizabeth D. Paterson". Prahran Telegraph. Vol. 63, no. 3204. Victoria, Australia. 6 July 1923. p. 4. Retrieved 22 March 2022 – via National Library of Australia.
- "Betty Paterson Divorced". The Herald. No. 17, 002. Victoria, Australia. 13 November 1931. p. 1. Retrieved 23 March 2022 – via National Library of Australia.
- Paterson family; Paterson, John Ford; Paterson, Hugh; Paterson, Esther; Paterson, Betty; Gill, G. Hermon; Moore, William (1884). Papers of the Paterson family, 1884–1973.
- "Women and Commercial Art", The Australian Woman's Mirror, The Bulletin Newspaper, 2 (8), 19 January 1926, retrieved 23 March 2022
- "Melbourne Chatter", The Bulletin, John Haynes and J.F. Archibald, 43 (2213): 42, 13 July 1922, ISSN 0007-4039
- "The Woman's World". The Herald. No. 17, 029. Victoria, Australia. 15 December 1931. p. 17. Retrieved 22 March 2022 – via National Library of Australia.
- "The Herald Health Group". The Herald. No. 18, 255. Victoria, Australia. 18 November 1935. p. 14. Retrieved 22 March 2022 – via National Library of Australia.
- "The Australian Home Beautiful", The Australian Home Beautiful, United Press, 12 (5): 1, 1 May 1934, ISSN 0004-928X
- "The Two Better Patersons", The Australian Woman's Mirror, The Bulletin Newspaper, 12 (2), 3 December 1935, retrieved 23 March 2022
- "A Fairy Lost Her Slipper", The New Triad, [s.n.], 2 (2), 1 February 1928, retrieved 23 March 2022
- "Shadow Shows", The Bulletin, John Haynes and J.F. Archibald, 56 (2912): 40, 4 December 1935, ISSN 0007-4039
- "A Short Story with a Wireless Touch: Miss Milligan and the Downward Path", The Australian Woman's Mirror, The Bulletin Newspaper, 11 (10), 29 January 1935, retrieved 23 March 2022
- "Archibald Prize Archibald 1939 work: Miss Betty Paterson by Esther Paterson". www.artgallery.nsw.gov.au. Retrieved 22 March 2022.
- "Mrs Elizabeth Deans Wiltshire". It's an Honour. 1 January 1966. Retrieved 22 March 2022.
- "Social News and Gossip". The Sunday Herald (Sydney). No. 202. New South Wales, Australia. 7 December 1952. p. 27. Retrieved 22 March 2022 – via National Library of Australia.
- "Betty Paterson". Design and Art Australia Online. Retrieved 22 March 2022.
External links
- Miss Betty Paterson/The yellow gloves, 1938 portrait by Esther Paterson, held in the New England Regional Art Museum