Nicholas, Hilda

Born September 1, 1884 in the city of Ballarat, Australian state of Victoria, in the family of Henry Finch Rix and Elizabeth Sutton .

In childhood, she studied music and drawing with her sister Elsie. She studied at the Melbourne School Melbourne Girls Grammar . She took painting lessons from Mr Mather before she went to study at the National Gallery of Victoria Art School , where she studied in 1902-1905. Her teacher was a leading participant in the Heidelberg school Frederick Maccabbin . Hilda's classmates included Jessie Traill , Norah Gurdon , Ruth Sutherland , Dora Wilson, and Vida Lahey . Some of the drawings made by the young student as a student were included in the annual exhibitions of the Victorian Society of Artists and Austral Salon .

In 1907, some of her fellow artists advised Hilda to continue her education with various masters, and she went to Europe. Arrived in Paris, where she worked with Australian artist . She studied at the Académie Delécluse Academy and attended the Grand Chaumiere Academy. Together with her mother and sister she traveled to France and Italy, spent the summer at the in northern France, along with other Australian artists. Around 1909, Hilda Ricks met Wim Brat , a student architect from a wealthy Dutch family. He asked mother Ricks for permission to marry her daughter, and Mrs. Ricks agreed. However, the happy engagement was upset because of Hilda's relationship with Wim's mother. The artist continued to work in Europe and exhibited at the Paris Salon in 1911 (along with other Australians - Arthur Streeton and George Bell ).

In the period from 1912 to 1914, Hilda Ricks twice visited North Africa . The first time she joined the American artist Henry Tanner and his wife, Miss Simpson, on a trip to Morocco in January 1912. They also traveled to Spain, where Ricks got acquainted with the work of Velazquez. For about three months, Hilda worked in Tangier , showing in 1913 several of her paintings at the Paris Salon and in the society of French artists Société des Peintres Orientalistes Français . She returned to Tangier in early 1914 with her sister Elsie. The sisters returned together from Africa to England, and then to France, where Hilda again spent the summer in Etaples .

The outbreak of World War I did not lead the Ricks family to evacuate to London in August 1914. At the same time, her mother and sister fell ill: Elsie died on September 2, 1914, mother Elizabeth - in March 1916. The following misfortune happened to the artist herself. Before leaving their Etaples College of Art, she met an Australian officer Captain George Matson Nicholas . They met again in September 1916 and married on October 7 in London. Three days later, Nicholas returned to service and died on November 14, 1916 during the Battle of the Somme in a battle near the city of .

In March 1918, Hilda left England and on May 10 arrived in Melbourne . There, with the support of the artist Henrietta Gulliver and members of the women's art club Women's Art Club , the artist began a new stage in her professional career. She began to exhibit and receive good reviews from colleagues and critics. Several of her works were acquired by the National Gallery of Victoria . Accompanied by her friend Dorothy Richmond ( Dorothy Richmond ) went to work in the countryside of New South Wales, where she spent a lot of time in the small town of Delegate on the border with Victoria , creating a lot of work. In Australia, the artist held several solo exhibitions, including an exhibition in Sydney in August 1923.

In 1924, Hilda Nicholas, traveling again with Dorothy Richmond, went to France, intending to exhibit her work in Europe. Arriving in Paris in June, she rented a studio in Montparnasse , which previously belonged to French artist Rosa Boner . An exhibition of works at the prestigious Georges Petit Galerie Gallery in Paris in January 1925 was a great success, which led to the successful sale of her paintings. Then other exhibitions took place, including in England at the International Society of Sculptors, Painters and Gravers and at the Royal Academy of Arts . In December, another exhibition of hers was held in England at the Beaux Arts Gallery . In England, Hilda Nicholas created one of the most unusual works, which also became her biggest canvas - , with a height of almost 2 meters and a width of 128 centimeters, which is a portrait of a young woman in fashionable clothes of the eighteenth century. In 1926, Hilda again participated in the London exhibition of the Royal Academy of Arts, she was also represented at the Société Nationale des Beaux-Arts Spring in Paris. At the end of 1926, Hilda and Dorothy returned to Australia.

At home, the artist bought a car, part of which was filled with art supplies, and traveled around the country with Dorothy Richmond, creating landscapes ranging from Canberra to Queensland . In the 1920s, Hilda Nicholas met the Wright family of farmers and on June 2, 1928, married Edgar Wright in Melbourne , and the couple settled in their own estate called Knockalong , near Delegate . Hilda continued to exhibit under the name Nicholas, although she was already known as Ricks Wright. Her friend Dorothy Richmond married Edgar Wright's cousin Walter, and settled in the same region. Hilda Wright held a number of exhibitions, her last personal exhibition was held in 1947. By this time, the artist’s health began to deteriorate, and the craving for painting was fading. She was presented with her son at an exhibition in Sydney in 1954: she showed her paintings, her son - sculptural works.

Died August 3, 1961 in the city of Delegate , New South Wales. After the death of the artist, several of her memorial exhibitions were held.

Many of the works of Hilda Ricks Wright fell into private collections, a significant part was lost as a result of a fire in their family estate after her death in the 1960s. The work of the Australian artist is represented in most major art galleries in Australia, including the Art Gallery of South Australia , the National Gallery of Australia and the Queensland Art Gallery . Some works are in art museums in Europe.

Personal life

In 1916 she met and married George Nicholas ( George Matson Nicholas ), becoming a widow a month later, when he was killed on the Western Front of World War I.

In 1928 she married Edgar Wright , whom she met during her travels in the early 1920s. Their only child - son Rix Wright ( Rix Wright ), born in 1930, became a famous sculptor .

• Hilda rix nicholas
• HILDA RIX NICHOLAS - works
• Hilda Ricks Nicholas