Adelaide Elizabeth Perry

Taronga Wharf, 1939

The Balnaves Gift

Taronga Wharf (1939) displays Adelaide Perry’s skilled construction of built and natural elements within a strongly framed view.

Adelaide Perry was born in Beechworth Victoria in 1891 and trained at the National Gallery School in Melbourne under the instruction of Bernard Hall and Frederick McCubbin.

As a result of winning a Traveling Scholarship from the Melbourne National Gallery School, Perry travelled abroad in 1922 and studied for several years in Paris and London. On her return, Perry taught at the Sydney Art School with Julian Ashton and Thea Proctorand established her ownart school in 1933 where she instructed many leading artists of the time such as Paul Haefliger and John Passmore.

In addition to being a foundation member of the Contemporary Art Society, Perry exhibited widely in group and solo exhibitions and was a much loved teacher at the Presbyterian Ladies College in Croydon. Today her legacy lives on through PLC’s Adelaide Perry Gallery and their staging of the prestigious Adelaide Perry Prize for Drawing.