Ruth Miriam Hollick (17 March 1883 – 7 April 1977) was an Australian portrait and fashion photographer who was one of Melbourne's leading Pictorialist[1] photographers during the 1920s.
Ruth Miriam Hollick was born in the Williamstown area of Melbourne, Australia, in 1883, the last of 13 children of Harry Ebenezer Hollick, a civil servant, and Frances Jane (Cole) Hollick. She was raised in the suburb of Moonee Ponds[2] and educated at the National Gallery of Victoria Art School (1902–06), where one of her teachers was the painter Frederick McCubbin, but she received no formal training in photography.[3]
Her professional partner, Dorothy Izard, was also her life partner.[3]
In 1950 Hollick and Izard embarked on their first overseas travel, visiting relatives and touring the UK. On their return they moved to Heidelberg.[4]
Photography career
There is evidence that Hollick was experimenting with photography in a home darkroom by 1907.[2] The following year, she set herself up as a freelance photographer who toured rural areas of the state of Victoria, making portraits of families, especially children.[3][5] She worked mostly outdoors in natural light with a field camera.[3]
By World War I, she had shifted into studio photography, initially working out of her parents' house in Moonee Ponds and later moving into Mina Moore's former studio in the Auditorium Building downtown, subsequently expanding still further into Chartres House.[3] It was in this period that Hollick developed a reputation for skillful use of both natural and studio lighting and for stylish compositions, often setting her subjects against plain backgrounds.[3][6] She specialized in portraits of society figures and celebrities, as well as fashion photography for use in advertisements.[2][3] For example, she took several pictures of the British aviator Amy Johnson on her 1930 world tour, including the official Australian portrait.[2]
For most of the 1920s, Hollick was one of Melbourne's two leading photographers, along with Pegg Clarke, and she exhibited her work both locally and internationally.[2][3] During this period she won at least six silver awards and numerous bronze awards in various shows.[3] Her photographs were regularly published in Art in Australia and other Australian magazines.[2] In recent years, her work has been included in at least two large-scale exhibitions of Australian photography.
Hollick gave up her downtown studios during the Great Depression and returned to working from Moonee Ponds. She retired from photography in 1950 and died in 1977 at Sandringham.[3]
^Warren, Lynne. Encyclopedia of Twentieth-Century Photography. Routledge, 2005, p. 87.
^ abcdefgWyk, Susan Van. "Ruth Hollick b. 17 March 1883". Design and Art Australia Online, 1995. Updated 2011, accessed 13 May 2016.
^ abcdefghijklHall, Barbara. "Hollick, Ruth Miriam (1883–1977)". Australian Dictionary of Biography, National Centre of Biography, Australian National University, vol. 14, 1996.
^"Hollick, Ruth (1883-1977)". TROVE. Retrieved 3 July 2018.
^Cato, Jack. The Story of the Camera in Australia. Melbourne: Institute of Australian Photographers, 1955.
^Kerr, Joan, ed. Heritage: The National Women's Art Book: 500 Works by 500 Australian Women Artists from Colonial Times to 1955. Craftsman House, 1995, p. 283.
Further reading
Van Wyk, Susan. The Paris End: Photography, Fashion & Glamour (National Gallery Of Victoria, 2009) — includes Hollick's work
ruth, hollick, ruth, miriam, hollick, march, 1883, april, 1977, australian, portrait, fashion, photographer, melbourne, leading, pictorialist, photographers, during, 1920s, born, 1883, march, 1883melbourne, australiadied7, april, 1977, 1977, aged, sandringham,. Ruth Miriam Hollick 17 March 1883 7 April 1977 was an Australian portrait and fashion photographer who was one of Melbourne s leading Pictorialist 1 photographers during the 1920s Ruth HollickBorn 1883 03 17 17 March 1883Melbourne AustraliaDied7 April 1977 1977 04 07 aged 94 Sandringham VictoriaNationalityAustralianOccupationPhotographer Contents 1 Education and personal life 2 Photography career 3 Selected exhibitions 4 Collections 5 References 6 Further readingEducation and personal life EditRuth Miriam Hollick was born in the Williamstown area of Melbourne Australia in 1883 the last of 13 children of Harry Ebenezer Hollick a civil servant and Frances Jane Cole Hollick She was raised in the suburb of Moonee Ponds 2 and educated at the National Gallery of Victoria Art School 1902 06 where one of her teachers was the painter Frederick McCubbin but she received no formal training in photography 3 Her professional partner Dorothy Izard was also her life partner 3 In 1950 Hollick and Izard embarked on their first overseas travel visiting relatives and touring the UK On their return they moved to Heidelberg 4 Photography career EditThere is evidence that Hollick was experimenting with photography in a home darkroom by 1907 2 The following year she set herself up as a freelance photographer who toured rural areas of the state of Victoria making portraits of families especially children 3 5 She worked mostly outdoors in natural light with a field camera 3 By World War I she had shifted into studio photography initially working out of her parents house in Moonee Ponds and later moving into Mina Moore s former studio in the Auditorium Building downtown subsequently expanding still further into Chartres House 3 It was in this period that Hollick developed a reputation for skillful use of both natural and studio lighting and for stylish compositions often setting her subjects against plain backgrounds 3 6 She specialized in portraits of society figures and celebrities as well as fashion photography for use in advertisements 2 3 For example she took several pictures of the British aviator Amy Johnson on her 1930 world tour including the official Australian portrait 2 For most of the 1920s Hollick was one of Melbourne s two leading photographers along with Pegg Clarke and she exhibited her work both locally and internationally 2 3 During this period she won at least six silver awards and numerous bronze awards in various shows 3 Her photographs were regularly published in Art in Australia and other Australian magazines 2 In recent years her work has been included in at least two large scale exhibitions of Australian photography Hollick gave up her downtown studios during the Great Depression and returned to working from Moonee Ponds She retired from photography in 1950 and died in 1977 at Sandringham 3 Studio portraits photographed by Ruth Hollick Miss Moira Rodgers Miss J Purves Smith Mrs Esmond LilliesImages courtesy of Ruth Hollick Collection State Library Victoria Selected exhibitions EditThe Paris End Photography Fashion amp Glamour 2007 National Gallery of Victoria touring exhibition Masterpieces of Australian Photography 1989 Amateur Photographer Overseas Exhibition London 1932 Melbourne Exhibition of Pictorial Photography 1929 only woman in show Chicago Photographic Exhibition 1927 Colonial Exhibitions of the Royal Photographic Society of Great Britain 1925 1927 London Salon of Photography 1920 2 3 Collections EditHollick s glass plate negatives and original prints are held in collections of the following institutions 3 Ruth Hollick Collection State Library of Victoria digitised image collection National Gallery of Australia Art Gallery of New South WalesReferences Edit Warren Lynne Encyclopedia of Twentieth Century Photography Routledge 2005 p 87 a b c d e f g Wyk Susan Van Ruth Hollick b 17 March 1883 Design and Art Australia Online 1995 Updated 2011 accessed 13 May 2016 a b c d e f g h i j k l Hall Barbara Hollick Ruth Miriam 1883 1977 Australian Dictionary of Biography National Centre of Biography Australian National University vol 14 1996 Hollick Ruth 1883 1977 TROVE Retrieved 3 July 2018 Cato Jack The Story of the Camera in Australia Melbourne Institute of Australian Photographers 1955 Kerr Joan ed Heritage The National Women s Art Book 500 Works by 500 Australian Women Artists from Colonial Times to 1955 Craftsman House 1995 p 283 Further reading EditVan Wyk Susan The Paris End Photography Fashion amp Glamour National Gallery Of Victoria 2009 includes Hollick s work Tsara Olga Ruth Hollick and early Australian fashion photography State Library of Victoria Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Ruth Hollick amp oldid 1154852742, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
