Alice Marian Ellen Bale

Alice Marian Ellen Bale, known as A.M.E. Bale, (11 November 1875 – 14 February 1955) was an Australian artist.

Alice Marion Ellen Bale
Self portrait
Born	(1875-11-11)11 November 1875 Richmond, Victoria, Australia
Died	14 February 1955(1955-02-14) (aged 79) Melbourne, Australia
Nationality	Australian
Known for	Painting

Early life and education

 

Portrait of A. M. E. Bale, 1920s

Bale was born in Richmond, Victoria,^[1] on 11 November 1875 ^[2] the daughter of Marian^[3] and naturalist William Mountier Bale.^[4] She was an only child, and her family had houses in both Kew and Castlemaine.^[3]

She studied art under Frederick McCubbin and Lindsay Bernard Hall at the National Gallery School 1895–1904.^[5]

Career

Bale came to prominence as an artist in Melbourne in the 1920s and 1930s, developing a reputation as one of Australia's pre-eminent flower and still life painters.^[5][6]2016 A.M.E. Bale Travelling Scholarship and Art Prize, Glen Eira City Council</ref> Distancing herself from her fellow female artists who were more aligned with the suffragette movement, Bale preferred to work hard within the constraints of the traditional structures of the art world, and never left Victoria.^[3] An active member of the Pickwick Club of Kew, she would gather with young members, some of whom were fellow Gallery School students, for weekly discussions where they adopted the personas of Charles Dickens' characters. There she developed an intimacy with fellow club member Norman Brown, which came to an end by 1906 with Brown's departure and Bale's reluctance to leave her ordered family life.^[3]

As a painter Bale did landscapes and portraits but was best known for her flower studies.^[3] She was able to sell her paintings and exhibit in not just Australia but also London and Paris.^[3]

She exhibited with the Melbourne Society of Women Painters 1917–1955.^[7]

Other activities

Bale edited the Victorian Artists' Society's journal VAS before her efforts to reform the society in 1917 and 1918 and an election loss got her ousted as a troublemaker.^[3] Her friend Jo Sweatman, the last remaining female office bearer, was ousted also a few months later on an electoral technicality. They became foundation members of the Twenty Melbourne Painters Society,^[3] Bale holding the position of secretary until her death.^[8]

In collections

• Art Gallery of New South Wales,^[9]
• National Gallery of Victoria.^[10]
• Castlemaine Art Museum^[11]

Awards

She was a finalist in the Archibald Prize in 1922,^[12] and 1924,^[13] while 1932 Ernest Buckmaster's portrait of her was a finalist in the Archibald.^[14]

Death and legacy

Bale died on 14 February 1955^[2] in Melbourne.^[1]

Scholarships and prizes

In 1977 Peter Wegner was awarded the A.M.E. Bale residential painting scholarship under Sir William Dargie,^[15] awarded by Glen Eira City Council, which he undertook from 1978 to 1980.^[16]

AME Bale Travelling Scholarship and Art Prize

Bale established the biennial A.M.E. Bale Travelling Scholarship and Art Prize through her will to support Australian artists in perpetuity. The prize "is intended to encourage, support and advance classical training of emerging artists (in their early to mid-career) at any stage of life, who are pursuing the study and practice of traditional art and who desire to study the works of old masters".^[6][8]

Three prizes are awarded:^[6]

• Major Award for a Travelling Scholarship (A$50,000) since 2011^[17]
• A.M.E. Bale Art Prize in the medium of oil and/or acrylic (A$5,000)
• A.M.E. Bale Art Prize for Works on Paper (A$5,000)

References

1. McGrath, Joyce. Bale, Alice Marian Ellen (1875–1955). Australian National University. Retrieved 19 October 2017. {{cite book}}: |website= ignored (help)
2. Victoria, Australia, Cemetery Records and Headstone Transcriptions, 1844–1997
3. Rankin, Gwenyth (2006). "Rethinking the creative space: Feminism and the 'forgotten' artist". Australian Feminist Studies. 21 (51): 379–388. doi:10.1080/08164640600926107. S2CID 146275296 – via Taylor & Francis.
4. "William Mountier Bale (1851–1940)". Victoria Museum. Retrieved 17 July 2017.
5. Perry, Peter (2011), A M E Bale : her art and life (Limited ed.), Castlemaine Art Gallery and Historical Museum, ISBN 978-0-9757388-7-0
6. "AME Bale Travelling Scholarship and Art Prize". Glen Eira City Council. Retrieved 26 May 2022.
7. Peers, Juliette (1993), More than just gumtrees : a personal, social and artistic history of the Melbourne Society of Women Painters and Sculptors, Melbourne Society of Women Painters and Sculptors in association with Dawn Revival Press, ISBN 978-0-646-16033-7
8. Guidelines 20 March 2017 at the Wayback Machine, AME Bale Art Prizes, www.gleneira.vic.gov.au
9. "Works by A.M.E. Bale :: The Collection :: Art Gallery NSW". www.artgallery.nsw.gov.au. Retrieved 24 August 2019.
10. "A. M. E. BALE | Artists | NGV". www.ngv.vic.gov.au. Retrieved 24 August 2019.
11. "A.M.E. Bale, Self Portrait". Castlemaine Art Museum Collection Online. Retrieved 18 September 2021.^{[permanent dead link]}
12. "Archibald Prize Archibald 1922 finalist: Portrait Miss Jo Sweatman by A M E Bale". www.artgallery.nsw.gov.au. Retrieved 24 August 2019.
13. "Archibald Prize Archibald 1924 finalist: Miss Clive Walsh by A M E Bale". www.artgallery.nsw.gov.au. Retrieved 24 August 2019.
14. "Archibald Prize Archibald 1932 finalist: Miss AME Bale by Ernest Buckmaster". www.artgallery.nsw.gov.au. Retrieved 24 August 2019.
15. "Peter Wegner, b. 1953". National Portrait Gallery. 2018. Retrieved 26 May 2022.
16. "Peter Wegner" (PDF). Australian Galleries. 9 March 2022.
17. (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 16 December 2011. Retrieved 29 May 2018.

External links

• Papers of the Bale family, State Library Victoria
• A. M. E. (Alice Marian Ellen) Bale [Australian art and artists file], State Library Victoria
• Flowers / A. M. E. Bale, State Library Victoria