B. 1897 — 1990 

Elise Bluman was born in Germany, where she studied at the Berlin Academy of the Arts and the Royal Art School Berlin under impressionist Max Liebermann. In 1938, she fled Nazi Germany with her husband and two children, spending four years in Europe before settling in Perth, Australia.

In Perth, Blumann applied her knowledge of European modernism – the German Expressionists, Matisse, Picasso, Kandinsky and Chagall – to the landscape. She was struck by the quality light and alien plants in Perth, producing a series of views of Swan River. A conduit for modernist ideas and attitudes, she was an active member and founder of the Perth Art Group. 

As well as portraits of the land, Blumann travelled into the north of Western Australia where she recorded a number of aspects of Aboriginal life. Her work lives on in public collections including at the National Gallery of Australia and Art Gallery of Western Australia.

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