Gwendoline L'Avance (Adamson) Barringer (1882 - 1960)

Born 29 Jul 1882 in Harrowville, Province of South Australia

Ancestors

Wife of Herbert Page Barringer — married 18 Nov 1910 in Christ Church, North Adelaide, South Australia, Australia

Died 25 Aug 1960 at age 78 in Unley Private Hospital, Malvern, South Australia, Australia

Biography

BARRINGER, Gwendoline La Vence (nee Adamson) (1882-1960)

She was born in Adelaide and descended from an early pioneering family in South Australia. Her grandmother was Miss Wesley La Vence who came to Australia with her parents in a sailing ship in 1839. Her 12th birthday was celebrated on the long voyage to Australia. She married Mr. James Kentish, who was the son of an English nobleman. They had three children, Katie, Bessie and Bert. Katie married and became Mrs. Adamson, and so Gwen inherited the family name of La Vence.

Gwen Barringer studied art at the South Australian School of Design under H. P. Gill and Archibald Collins, and also from Sir Hans Heysen. She devoted herself to still life and landscapes in watercolour.

Extract 'Pam' Magazine, June, 1926:'Miss Gwen Barringer's exhibitions are always a delight to the eye, as well as a financial success. Her May one, svhich was opened by Lord Stradbroke, was exceptionally fine, and she has added a thousand to her bank balance as its result. Another of her pictures-a gorgeous study of rhododendron in watercolour, has been purchased for the Art Gallery.

She was a Fellow and Vice-President of the Royal S.A. Society of Arts for a number of years and had been on the executive council for more than 30 years, she was also a member of the selection committee.

Gwen Barringer died in 1960 after a long illness. In an obituary in 'The Advertiser' (27th August, 1960), Elizabeth Young wrote:

'Gwen Barringer was one of South Australia's most distinguished artists. During her long career as painter and teacher she contributed a great deal towards the development of art in this State.

She was a stimulating and creative personality. What she learnt she made her own and was able to pass on to others.

Her lasting love of flowers and gardens gave a sensitive delicacy to her painting of flower pieces, for which she was well known, and of blossom trees.

Gwen Barringer gave sincerely and of her best to art in South Australia. Her death will be a serious loss to the Royal South Australian Society of Arts.'

The sum of £150 was a bequest left by the late Gwen Barringer for three prizes of £50 each to be awarded at the Royal S.A. Society of Arts Spring Exhibition for the best and most decorative flower painting-in watercolour and in the traditional manner.

She held many one-woman shows in Melbourne and Sydney as well as Adelaide, and had several pictures in the Adelaide Gallery and one in Melbourne.

Kenneth Wilkinson, writing in the Sydney Morning herald in 1932, said of her work : 'Here is a completely fresh and original outlook. Choice of subject matter, composition, colour scheme..... all have a distinctive personal touch that stamps the pictures as unmistakeable.' George Bell, in the Melbourne Sun, said in 1928 'By this exhibition Mrs Barringer shows herself as a very capable water colourist, with a tendency to lyricism.' The late Hebert Herbert said 'She paints trees in blossom splendidly - one of the most difficult tasks a landscape painter could ever have to undertake.'

Research Notes

No children registered in SA

Sources

• "SUCCESSFUL WOMAN ARTIST" News (Adelaide, SA : 1923 - 1954) 3 September 1923: 8 (HOME EDITION). Web. 7 Nov 2019 <http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article129846436>.
• Wikipedia contributors. "Gwen Barringer." Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, 21 Sep. 2019. Web. 7 Nov. 2019. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gwen_Barringer
• South Australia Births 1842-1928 (FindMyPast, https://www.findmypast.com : accessed 15 May 2021) database entry for Adamson, Gwendoline La Vence (Birthdate: 29 July 1882, Father: Adam Adamson, Mother: Kate Emma Kentish, Birthplace: Harrowville) Reference: District: Norwood, Book/Page: 288/76. Now part of St Peters.
• South Australia Marriages 1842-1937 (FindMyPast, https://www.findmypast.com ; accessed 15 May 2021) database entry for Adamson, Gwendoline Larance (Age: 28, Status: Single, Father: Adam Adamson) and Barringer, Herbert Page (Age: 24, Status: Single, Father: Leonard Barringer) on 18 November 1910 at Christ Church North Adelaide, Reference: District: Adelaide, Book/Page: 245/520.
• South Australia Deaths 1842-1972 (FindMyPast, https://www.findmypast.com : accessed 15 May 2021) database entry for Barringer, Gwendoline Lavence (Death Date: 25 August 1960, Marital Status: Divorced, Age: 77y, Relative: Herbert P Barringer (Husband), Residence: Malvern, Death Place: Malvern) Reference: District: Adelaide, Book/Page: 911/5249.