Joan Purves studied painting and drawing at various art schools including Dattilo Rubbo, Julian Ashton’s, John Ogburn’s and the Polytechnic in London.
Teachers have included Brian
Dunlop, John Olsen and Ross
Davis. She studied art in France,
Italy, Belgium, Spain, USA, Austria
and Morocco and sketched in
Provence in 1999.
Her work has been hung in major
exhibitions since 1960 and is
represented in private collections in the UK, USA and most states of Australia.
In 1968, Joan Purves was on the original organising committee that went on to establish what was then known as the Woollahra-Waverley Arts Centre at 266a Grafton Street Bondi Junction.
In honour of Joan’s commitment and efforts in making the Arts Centre a reality 49 years ago, an Executor of Joan Purves’s Estate in association with what is now called the Waverley-Woollahra Art School, has established an art prize of $2,500 to be awarded each year to a student of the School.
Joan Purves was born in Fiji on 5 November 1920 and died aged 95 on 28 September 2016.
About Joan
A promotional brochure for Joan's 1978 solo exhibition at Kabuki Galleries in Paddington, Sydney says:
"Joan's works have been exhibited in mixed exhibitions and include:
1st prize: 1976 Art Gallery Society of NSW Art Competition
1st prize: Castle Hill Art Show exhibition for "White Azaleas" (oil - traditional)
Highly commended: Grace Bros Women's Art Competition
Royal Easter Show Art Exhibition (Moore Park) 1970
Mosman Art Prize Exhibition 1967
Lane Cove Art Exhibition 1969
Rockdale Art Exhibition 1970
1st solo exhibition: Bondi Junction 1975"
Joan at her 1978 solo exhibition at Kabuki Galleries which used to be at 17 Glenmore Road Paddington
In November 2002 an exhibition
of works held in Westpoint
hosted by Joy Matthews and
opened by Tim Hill of Hill on Hargrave Gallery, resulted in
the sale of 12 works.
The photos above were included in the catalogue of an auction held on 4 February 2017 at which more than 42 paintings and drawings of Joan's sold. All sale proceeds and additional Estate subsidies from that auction have been paid into The Joan Purves Art Trust.
Lachlan Macdonald of Cooley Auctions kindly donated his time to conduct the successful 2017 auction
Wentworth Courier 13 December 2017. Reproduced with permission
Above: extract from Waverley Woollahra Art School's 2018 brochure of classes and events
