B. 1875 – 1950 

Born in New Zealand, Ada May Plante moved to Australia in 1888. Nicknamed ‘Venus’ for her brilliant red hair, she studied at the National Gallery School under Bernard Hall and Frederick McCubbin, winning prizes for drawing in 1894, 1895 and 1896. From 1902 to 1904, she studied at the Academy Julien in Paris with fellow artist Christina Baker. 

In the 1920s, she lived in a house in East Melbourne which she and her sister rented to artists like Adrian Lawlor. During this period, her style shifted towards Post-Impressionism and in 1932, she was a founding member of the pioneering Melbourne Contemporary Group, whose members included George Bell, Arnold Shore and Isabel Tweddle. 

Described as a perfectionist, shy and intensely private, Plante spent the closing years of her life living with Christina Baker in Research. Represented across public collections, her work is characterised by a lightness and harmony, offset with seemingly casual strokes of pure colour. 

To read a more in-depth biography of the artist, click here.