B. 1911 – 1995 

Born in Mount Barker, South Australia, Dora Chapman was a respected painter, printmaker, potter and art educator. She began her artistic career painting from life – portraits, still lifes, scenes of nature and urban landscapes – before arriving in Sydney in 1944 to the rise of abstraction. 

While in Sydney, Chapman met and married fellow artist James Cant with whom she relocated to London for five years. When the couple returned to Australia in 1955, Chapman realised that abstraction had become stiflingly self-conscious and while she never abandoned the principles of realist art, her style drifted towards minimalism and expressionism. 

Alongside teaching art, Chapman dedicated much of her life to caring for and promoting the work of her husband. In the decades since her passing, she has come to be recognised as an innovative and distinct artist, finding representation across national collections. In the artist’s words “to discard images is to turn one’s back on living things”. 

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