- Source: Jo Sweatman
Estelle Mary (Jo) Sweatman (1872-1956), was an Australian painter. She was a founding member of the Twenty Melbourne Painters Society.
Early life and training
Sweatman was born in South Yarra 1872. She took drawing classes at a suburban ladies' college, and was recommended by her teacher to join the National Gallery School, where she studied for two years under Frederick McCubbin. She also studied painting while at the school with Bernard Hall.
Career
Sweatman taught at Melbourne Girls Grammar, where Clarice Beckett was one of her pupils.
She was initially involved with the Victorian Artists' Society but her support for Max Meldrum eventually led to her being ousted along with friend A.M.E. Bale. She started her career painting portraits but her love of nature and a move to Warrandyte prompted a concentration on landscape, as reported of her 1929 exhibition at the Melbourne Athenaeum in The Cairns Post;Miss Jo Sweatman, the Melbourne artist, is one who delights to paint the beauties of nature as she finds them on a bush track. There is no gainsaying that some of these bits of sunlight and shade round the gum trees make very attractive landscapes. In Miss Sweatman's recent exhibition at the Athenaeum there were on view "White Gums" and views of more distant tree topped ranges. Warrandyte, a little township on thc Yarra, has for some time been the happy hunting ground of artists, for it has many a beauty spot, and here Miss Sweatman has gone for some of her best bush scenes. Figures and flowers were included in the exhibition but probably most people would covet most one of the bush scenes which are so truly Australian.Building her house 'The Kipsy' next door to fellow artist Clara Southern, they both took an active role in developing the artistic community in Warrandyte, Victoria. She helped establish annual art exhibitions with the Warrandyte Women's Auxiliary Association, serving on a committee of resident artists as secretary.
Sweatman was a founding member of the group, Twenty Melbourne Painters Society, that was formed by students and followers of Australian Tonalist Max Meldrum. Sweatman was considered to be one of Australia's most famous painters of wattle.
In 1922 Sweatman was a finalist for the Archibald Prize for her Portrait Miss A.M.E. Bale. The same year A.M.E. Bale was a finalist with her portrait of Miss Jo Sweatman. Sweatman died in 1956.
Exhibitions
South Australian Society of Arts 9th annual exhibition, November 1906
Victorian Artists' Society 18th annual exhibition, East Melbourne Galleries, October 1913
Group exhibition, Athenaeum Gallery, July 1919
Australian Art Association annual exhibition, Athenaeum Gallery, 1–15 October 1920
Group exhibition (Jo Sweatman, A.M.E. Bale, Bernice Edwell), Athenaeum Gallery, November 1923
Twenty Melbourne Painters Society, Queen's Hall, November 1924
Twenty Melbourne Painters Society, Athenaeum Gallery, 15–29 September 1925
Solo exhibition, Decoration Gallery, May 1926 (catalogue)
Twenty Melbourne Painters Society 8th annual exhibition, Athenaeum Gallery, 14–25 September 1926
Jo Sweatman & A.M.E. Bale, Athenaeum Gallery, 28 March - 9 April 1927
Twenty Melbourne Painters Society 10th annual exhibition, Athenaeum Gallery, September 1928
Twenty Melbourne Painters Society 11th annual exhibition, 24 September - 5 October 1929
Solo exhibition, Athenaeum Gallery, April 1929
Australian landscapes, Athenaeum Gallery, 9–20 May 1933
Solo exhibition, Athenaeum Gallery, 30 April - 11 May 1935 (catalogue)
Solo exhibition, Athenaeum Gallery, May 1937 (catalogue)
Solo exhibition, Athenaeum Gallery, 18–29 May 1943
Solo exhibition, Athenaeum Gallery, 22 May - 2 June 1945
Twenty Melbourne Painters Society, Athenaeum Gallery, 3–14 September 1946
Solo exhibition, Athenaeum Gallery, May 1947
Collections
Hamilton Gallery,
Castlemaine Art Museum,
National Gallery of Victoria.
References
External links
Resources for Jo Sweatman on Trove, National Library of Australia
Images of Jo Sweatman's paintings on MutualArt
Jo Sweatman Australian art and artists file, State Library Victoria
Jo Sweatman [manuscript] biography by Margaret Stephensen, State Library Victoria