B. 1906 – 1958

Ethleen Mary Palmer was an 20th century Australian printmaker and designer, best known for her finely worked linocuts and screen-printed works. Born in Johannesburg, South Africa, she settled in Sydney with her mother and sister in 1921.

Palmer showed an early talent for drawing and design during high school and upon winning a scholarship, she studied art and architectural drawing at Sydney Technical College. Following her studies, she spent two years working in commercial illustration before turning away from the field in favour of more independent, modernist printmaking. 

After a long period of illness, Palmer returned to art-making, presenting with her first linocuts with the Society of Arts and Crafts in 1933. She became known for her meticulous printing technique, which used repeated layers of colour to create subtle tonal variations. While her work was often compared to Japanese print traditions, Palmer always emphasised her own interpretation of these influences. In the late 1940s, she also began producing serigraphs, becoming one of the first Australian artists to use the medium in a wholly artistic context.

During her career, Palmer had held solo exhibitions in Melbourne, Adelaide and Sydney, and was represented in all major state galleries. Described by the Sydney Morning Herald as “Australia’s leading Linocut artist,” Palmer remains an important figure in the history of Australian printmaking.