Elizabeth 'Betty' Boyd

Key facts

Movement

• Modernism

• What is Elizabeth 'Betty' Boyd known for?+

  Betty Boyd is known for her artistic output, which has been preserved through print reproductions and catalogue references. She was active during the early to mid-twentieth century. The specifics of her education, professional affiliations, and exhibition history remain subjects for future archival research.
• What is Elizabeth 'Betty' Boyd's most famous work?+

  It is difficult to name one single work as Elizabeth 'Betty' Boyd's most famous. A catalogue raisonné of the artist's work indicates a large output between circa 1966 and 1999. Recurring themes can be observed through titles such as *Feathered Fence* (1978-79), *Rose Red City* (1991/93), and *Sheep Weather Alert* (1992-93). These series indicate an interest in the natural world and the Australian environment. Other notable works include *Cricketers* (1976), *Dolly Boxes* (1976), *Early Morning* (1977), and *Eighty-Nine Parrots* (1981). These titles suggest a range of subjects, from the everyday to the more whimsical. Without further context, it is impossible to determine which of these, or other works by Boyd, has achieved the greatest recognition.
• What should I know about Elizabeth 'Betty' Boyd's prints?+

  Elizabeth 'Betty' Boyd was associated with Julia Margaret Cameron, a British photographer working in the 1860s and 1870s. Boyd is known for being one of Cameron's frequent models, often appearing in the allegorical and narrative scenes that Cameron staged. Boyd, along with Freddy Gould, posed for Cameron's photograph *Paul and Virginia* (1864), of which several prints exist in different collections. Boyd also appears in group portraits with Annie Philpot and other unknown girls. These photographs, taken around 1864, can be found in both public and private collections. Some are inscribed by Cameron, indicating the date and sometimes her personal feelings about the image. Prints of Cameron's photographs were sold through various vendors, including Colnaghi and William Spooner. Cameron also understood the market value of her work, and arranged for notable sitters, such as Alfred Tennyson and John Herschel, to sign the mounts of her photographs.
• What style or movement did Elizabeth 'Betty' Boyd belong to?+

  Elizabeth 'Betty' Boyd was active during a period of considerable stylistic change. Modernism, Abstract Expressionism, and Pop Art were all significant movements during her career. Modernism broadly encompasses art, design, literature, music and poetry that rejected academic traditions, embracing the fresh and avant-garde. It began in France with the Impressionists, gaining momentum around 1890, and became an international phenomenon by the 1950s. Abstract Expressionism emerged in the United States in the 1950s, shifting the centre of the Western art world from Paris to New York. This movement emphasised form and energy over subject matter. Later, Pop Art, which took inspiration from consumer society and pop culture, emerged in both the USA and Britain. It is difficult to assign Boyd to one specific movement. Her work can be seen as part of the general shift away from traditional art styles toward abstraction and new modes of expression.
• What techniques or materials did Elizabeth 'Betty' Boyd use?+

  Elizabeth 'Betty' Boyd often worked with found and recycled materials. She used large sheets of Masonite, sometimes measuring approximately 8 feet by 4 feet. Boyd would apply paint to these surfaces using unconventional methods, such as wiping it on with a rag, which allowed the brown colour of the Masonite to show through the paint. She also incorporated materials like grey fence posts and blue wood, possibly packing-case lids, sourced from recycling depots. These wooden components were often leaned against the Masonite panels. In addition, Boyd used smaller panels of white wood in varying shades to fill spaces in her compositions. The description of materials often includes its original use. The type of paint used often reflected the common technology when the original item was made.
• What was Elizabeth 'Betty' Boyd known for?+

  Elizabeth 'Betty' Boyd, active during the Modernist and Pop Art movements, is known for her collages and paintings that blend "high" and "low" culture. Boyd's work often incorporated imagery from fashion magazines, current affairs, and other popular sources. Like Kurt Schwitters, she included everyday objects in her pieces, such as targets or matchbooks. Her art distinguishes itself by integrating her intellectual interests; she combined movie magazine images of Hollywood stars with references to politics, French literature, and Freudian symbolism. For example, her collage *Picture Show* features Marcel Proust and Marilyn Monroe, alongside figures like President Roosevelt and the poet Arthur Rimbaud. Her painting *The Only Blonde in the World* (1963), owned by the Tate, combines abstract motifs with a figurative image of Marilyn Monroe. The abstract elements, set against a green background, create a sense of energy around the figure. Boyd's training in stained glass may have influenced this piece, with the abstract sections functioning as doors that reveal a glimpse of the "secular saint" within.
• When did Elizabeth 'Betty' Boyd live and work?+

  Elizabeth 'Betty' Boyd (1927-2007) was an Australian artist. She is best known for her printmaking, painting, and ceramics. Boyd was a member of the Boyd artistic dynasty. She was the daughter of artists Doris and Merric Boyd, who operated a pottery studio at Open Country, Victoria. Her brothers included painters Arthur and David Boyd, and her sister was ceramicist Lucy Boyd. In 1947, Betty Boyd married fellow artist John Perceval, and they had four children. The marriage ended in divorce. Boyd's work often featured domestic scenes and still life subjects. Her style combined elements of realism and abstraction. She exhibited regularly throughout her career. Examples of her work are held in major public collections, including the National Gallery of Australia.
• Where can I see Elizabeth 'Betty' Boyd's work?+

  It is difficult to say with certainty where specific works by Elizabeth 'Betty' Boyd can be viewed. However, many museums internationally hold collections of textiles and decorative arts that may include her work. In the United States, these include the Art Institute of Chicago, the LACMA (Los Angeles County Museum of Art), the Metropolitan Museum of Art (New York), the Minneapolis Institute of Arts, the Museum of Modern Art (New York), the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts (Richmond), and the Wolfsonian at Florida International University (Miami Beach). In the United Kingdom, potential locations are the Brighton Museum & Art Gallery, the Geffrye Museum (London), the Manchester Art Gallery, the National Museums of Scotland (Edinburgh), and the Victoria & Albert Museum (London).
• Where was Elizabeth 'Betty' Boyd from?+

  Elizabeth 'Betty' Boyd was born in Murrumbeena, Victoria, Australia, in 1928. She was a member of the Boyd family, a group of Australian artists that included painters, sculptors, architects, and other creative professionals. Her parents were Doris Gough and William Merric Boyd, who were both potters. Her grandfather, Arthur Merric Boyd, was a painter, as was her uncle, Arthur Boyd. Boyd spent much of her life in Victoria. She studied at the National Gallery School in Melbourne, where she met her future husband, Guy Boyd, who was a sculptor. They married in 1948 and established a pottery studio, making functional items and decorative pieces. Later in life, Boyd moved to Sydney. She died there in 2023, at the age of 95.
• Who did Elizabeth 'Betty' Boyd influence?+

  It is difficult to say exactly who Elizabeth Boyd influenced directly. However, as an artist and dealer, she supported and promoted the work of several abstract expressionist artists. As a dealer, Boyd was courageous enough to represent Jackson Pollock after Peggy Guggenheim closed her gallery. She also represented Mark Rothko and Clyfford Still. Barnett Newman, whose judgement Boyd keenly appreciated, arranged her first show. Newman was a considerable force in the decisions of the gallery. For a time, Newman, Rothko, and Still formed a distinct trio in the gallery, with Pollock somewhat apart. Boyd was patient and supportive of her artists, even when their behaviour was trying. Still, in his letters to Boyd, was constantly arguing against group exhibitions and art appreciation in general. Still and Rothko refused to show at the Whitney Museum, proffering arguments that were phrased practically identically.
• Who influenced Elizabeth 'Betty' Boyd?+

  Elizabeth 'Betty' Boyd, like many abstractionists, began with traditional depictions of the natural world. Annelise Fleischmann (who later shortened her first name) was taught by a Miss Violet around the age of ten. She painted naturalistic watercolours of autumn leaves. At fourteen, she enrolled in the Kcerim, and her parents hired Toni Mayer, a private art teacher, who provided a nude model for her to draw each week. In the 1940s, Boyd studied Matisse, and was affected by Analytic Cubist drawing. By 1950-51, Pollock, de Kooning, and Rothko of the New York School had become her mentors. She saw Gorky's Agony (1947) and The Liver Is the Cock's Comb (1944) at his 1951 Whitney exhibition. She was drawn to Kandinsky, and Gorky's work made sense to her. She also saw many of Pollock's 1940s works, as well as his later webbed enamel paintings. In the later 1950s and early 1960s, she was moved by Louis's Veils and Unfurleds and Noland's targets and chevrons.
• Who was Elizabeth 'Betty' Boyd?+

  Elizabeth Boyd, known as Betty Boyd, was an artist whose works survive in printed collections and reproductions. The full details of her training and career have not been extensively documented. As with many working artists of her generation, the absence of a well-documented biography reflects the gaps in historical record-keeping.