Constance Stokes: Difference between revisions

Eric Stokes died unexpectedly in 1962, an experience which left Constance bereft; a long-time friend said that she never really recovered.{{sfn|Summers|2009|pp=171–173}} Faced with a substantial mortgage to service, and encouraged by [[Phyl Waterhouse]], Stokes returned to work: paintingtoward a solo show at [[Leveson Street Gallery]]. TwoOn years29 later,November she1964 the exhibition of over forty works opened, herwas firstfavourably one-womanreviewed showand insold overwell, thirtyso years.that ItStokes comprisedreceived 43four worksthousand guineas.<ref>{{Citation |author1=Summer, withAnne |title=The lost mother : a story of art and love |publication-date=2009 |edition=Large print |publisher=Read How You Want/Accessible |isbn=978-1-4596-4635-3}}</ref> With the 27 paintings priced dearly, at upwards of 150 [[guineas]]., Thethe exhibition was a success both financially and critically:. Stokes earned over 4000 guineas, and theThe exhibition attracted praise from art historian and critic [[Bernard William Smith]].{{sfn|Summers|2009|pp=174–175}} Throughout the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s, she painted and held shows; this later phase of her work was based on a stronger, if lighter, colour palette and reflected the influence of the art of [[Henri Matisse]], whom Stokes admired.{{sfn|McCulloch|2006|p=911}}<ref name="NGV1993">{{cite book|last=Clark|first=Jane|title=Constance Stokes 1906–1991 |type=exhibition catalogue|publisher=National Gallery of Victoria|location=Melbourne|year=1993}}</ref> There was also a change in her subject matter, from "classically conceived" still lifes, groups of figures and nudes, to more decorative themes.{{sfn|McCulloch|2006|p=911}} Stokes' works continued to be well received,{{sfn|Summers|2009|p=164}} having been included in the 1975 exhibition ''Australian women artists'' at the University of Melbourne, and the [[Regional Galleries Association of Victoria]]'s 1977 touring exhibition ''The heroic years of Australian painting, 1940–1965''.{{sfn|McCulloch|2006|p=911}} Stokes' last painting was ''Alice Tumbling Down the Rabbit Hole'', painted around 1989; she died in Melbourne in 1991.{{sfn|McCulloch|2006|p=911}}

The standard reference work, ''McCulloch's Encyclopedia of Australian Art'', describes Stokes as "a leading figure in the modernist movement in Victoria".{{sfn|McCulloch|2006|p=911}} Not all critics regard Stokes' work so favourably, however. Art historian Christopher Heathcote acknowledges the recognition of Stokes' work by her contemporaries, but goes on to say that "strong staff support [at Melbourne University] for a few lesser practitioners, such as Constance Stokes&nbsp;... hardly aided the appreciation of the better local work."{{sfn|Heathcote|1995|p=180}} Though she appears in McCulloch's guide, few other reviews of Australian art recognise Stokes. Exceptions, according to feminist writer [[Anne Summers]], include [[Ursula Hoff]]'s ''Masterpieces of the National Gallery of Victoria'' and [[Janine Burke]]'s ''Australian Women Artists. One Hundred Years 1840–1940'', both of which refer to the well-travelled painting ''Woman Drying Her Hair''.{{sfn|Summers|2009|pp=154–155}} While academic artists and art historians such as Bernard William Smith and Joseph Burke praised Stokes' work during her lifetime, she faded into relative obscurity. There is, however, a strong [[secondary market|art market for resale]] of her works.{{sfn|Summers|2009|p=177}}