Bessie Gibson:an artistic life

Bessie Gibson:an artistic life

Thanks to the generosity of the Gibson Family , the Bessie Gibson exhibition is currently on display at the Tweed River Art Gallery , Murwillumbah.

Elizabeth Dickson ( Bessie ) Gibson ( 1868 - 1961), born May 16 Ipswich,Queensland. She began her studies at Brisbane Technical College ( 1899 - 1905) under Godfrey Rivers.

In 2005 she visited Edinburgh and settled in Paris early 1906 which was funded by her open minded family , with the intention of a three-year study trip. She lived in Montparnasse till 1939, except for frequent trips to Britain. Studying at Castelucho and Colarossi ateliers and briefly studying miniature painting under Mlle Debillemont-Chardon, which she excelled.

She returned to Australia in 1947 and began to exhibit in Sydney and Melbourne.

Due to increased interest in women artist in the 1970's she became better known and her work is now in several state galleries, private collections and the national gallery of Australia.

Gibson's artworks include miniatures of friends and family on faux ivory in oil

paint , watercolor portraits, landscapes and interiors and impressionist wood panel oil paintings. While Gibsons artworks have an economy of scale they have not lost their impact

Her miniature paintings, which were privately commisioned and helped to finance her continued artistic practice,gained early recognition. The intricacy of these miniature paintings display her technical ability to gesturally portray the likeness of her subject and their scale invites an intimacy with them drawing the viewer ever closer.

In contrast her larger portraits are pushing and pulling the viewers attention , her dry brushed oil strokes seem to attempt to mimic the visual stylization of her watercolor studies. There is an attempt at transparency and building of layers and in many sections of these painting you can see the “base drawing” pushing through since there is a lack of coverage on the canvas.

Post 1920 Gibson focused on oil paintings which were unsuccessful possibly due to the before mentioned technical approach which unfortunately make the works look rushed, messy and incomplete .Her pochades on small panels do have considerable charm, but the tonal application of paint does not reflect nineteenth century French experimentation after the late 1860s.

The Tweed River Art Gallery has displayed Gibson's artwork in a Climate controlled 'C' shaped room. Which invites the view to journey through Gibson's life and artistic exploration . Booklets are provided by the gallery which give further insight into the artworks on display , Gibson herself and gives recognition to those responsible for the exhibition. Comfortable seating ,excellent lighting , hanging compostion and choice of wall paint make the overall experience pleasurable and do justice to this collection.