Maude Edith Gum 'Adelaide Foothills' Watercolour, c1925-1930

Maude Edith Gum (Australia, 1885 - 1973)
Title: Adelaide Foothills
Watercolour on paper, signed lower right 'M.E. Gum'

A beautifully rendered early watercolour painting of Adelaide Foothills, c1925-1930, mounted in a recycled pine frame.

Measurements: Frame - 42cm x 47cm (artwork - 20cm x 26cm)

Condition: Good condition with no evident rips, staining or restoration the the artwork. Colours are still vivid with no fading or discolouration.

Biography: Maude Gum was born at Amyton in the Upper North of South Australia in 1885. She began painting in her early twenties at an elementary class and in 1915 moved to Adelaide and studied art under James Ashton, R.D.S. Her talent developed quickly and in 1923 she won a scholarship and three gold medals. One, was the British Gold Star awarded periodically by the Drawing Society of England for a still life painting. The others were South Australian awards of merit. Heartened by these achievements, Maude went to Sydney in 1925 for eight months to further her studies in Will Ashton's studio.
In 1926 she held her first exhibition at the R.S.A.S.A. Gallery, which was opened by Sir William Sowden, a Past President of the Board of Governors of the S.A. Museum and Art Gallery. During 1926 she became a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts and subsequently served on the Council for 12 years.
Maude Gum became an Art teacher at "Wilderness" private school in Walkerville, a position she held for 25 years until her retirement. She also acted as relieving art teacher for 12 months each at the Methodist Ladies College and Walford House.
She held two further one-man shows in the R.S.A.S.A. Gallery and participated in joint exhibitions in two city galleries.

In 1967, Gum was made an Honorary Life member of the S.A. Society of Arts at the same time as the late Sir Hans Heysen. In 1969, a Melbourne enthusiast held an exhibition of Maude Gum's paintings in the Malvern Fine Art Gallery, Melbourne, from which her "James Ashton's Studio" was purchased by the Academy of Art in Canberra.