Janet Agnes Cumbrae Stewart (1883 - 1960)

Janet Agnes Cumbrae Stewart

Janet Agnes Cumbrae Stewart was an Australian painter. She spent the 1920s and 1930s painting in Britain, France and Italy. Cumbrae Stewart's work is today held in the State collections of Victoria, New South Wales, South Australia and Queensland, the National Gallery of Australia, and several regional galleries including the Mornington Peninsula Regional Gallery and the Bendigo Regional Gallery. Although Cumbrae Stewart may not be viewed today as having pushed the boundaries of art, she certainly did push the boundaries of acceptability of women in art. She was one of the first Australian women artists to be considered equal to her male counterpart, and indeed greatly respected by them, which paved the way for future generations of women to be taken seriously in this field, and so rightly deserves to be recognised by history. For her handling of the medium too, she should be acknowledged. Few, if any, artists have come close to her ability with pastels in expressing the subtle modulations of tone and form of the human body, which despite being considered a feminine material, is notoriously difficult to master.

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