Roma Thompson grew up in the Melbourne suburb of Mentone in a large rambling house skirt by bushland. From an early age she was interested in art, bolstered by parents who exposed her to art and encouraged her pursuits, allowing her at fifteen to leave school for art classes at the Melbourne Technical College, now RMIT.

Thompson’s practice moved between fine art, graphic and textile design. She worked within the Australian textile industry, taught at universities and exhibited with the George Bell School, developing a style that put form to the rhythms of nature. In the original oil painting, ‘No. 2 Plant Growth’, she evokes the surge of bushland she grew up within, pairing a floral shrub back to shards of colour. The effect is harmonic; nature is transformed into a stained glass window.

As is the George Bell School’s legacy, Thompson is a master of form. She represents a distinct and highly collectable voice in Australian modernism with representation at Geelong Gallery, Queensland Art Gallery and the National Gallery of Australia. For collectors of female artists, abstraction and the George Bell Circle, Thompson’s ‘No. Plant Growth’ is the offer of new life.

Roma THOMPSON (1919 - 2020)
'No.2 Plant Growth' c. 1990
oil on board
Image Size: 65 x 45 cm
Dimensions: 76 x 56 x 2 cm
Signed: Signed bottom left: R Thompson; Title inscribed on verso: No. 2 Plant Growth.
Comes with Letter of Provenance

Condition: Very Good: Describes a work of art's image as Excellent, but may show some small signs of surrounding wear to paper or frame. There are no tears to paper margin or disruption to the paint surface.

(c) The Artist or Assignee