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1919-1925 - England and Italy On 13th August 1919, Mayo sailed for England on the Orient Line RMS Ormonde, arriving in London on 7th October. Unable initially to enter the Royal Academy of Sculpture, Mayo enrolled at the Royal School of Art (or Polytechnic) in November 1919. She left there in April 1920 to become an assistant in the St John’s Wood studio of John Angel. Disappointment in the studio led Mayo to take her application directly to the Academy’s Council. It was later recorded: ... Armed with photographs of her models she set forth, and this time was successful in gaining the attention of Sir Thomas Brock, R A, whose word was law where the Academy (Sculpture) School was concerned. When Sir Thomas had inspected the photographs he at once recognised that here was a sculptor of rare ability - one who would do credit to the Academy School, even if she was but a woman!....[8] On 14 December 1920 Mayo was admitted to the Royal Academy Sculpture School. In her later years she claimed that she had been the first woman sculptor to have done so. Contemporary newspaper clippings reveal she was the first woman in the previous ten years to have been admitted. She achieved great success at the Royal Academy, winning awards which facilitated her travelling through Italy and France to study Classical and Renaissance art and architecture. |
Lectures on sculpture by R.A. Flaxman, London: John Murray, 1829. One of Daphne Mayo’s books in the Collection. |
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The collection holds many postcards which reflect the influence this trip had on her development as a sculptor, particularly her public works. It also enabled Mayo, on her return to Brisbane, to specifically articulate the inherent connection between sculpture and architecture and the value of public art patronage for large monumental works. | |||||||||||
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She was awarded the Royal Academy’s Landseer Scholarship and Bronze Medal in 1921 for ’a model of a boy’, as well as two Silver Medals in 1922. She also was granted the Gold Medal and the Edward Stott Travelling Scholarship in 1923 for the Return of the Prodigal Son. This enabled Mayo to travel to Rome to study. | |||||||||||
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Mayo spent much time in the British Museum during her stay in London. She was particularly inspired by the Elgin Marbles. Her Horse Head, Grecian Woman and her headless Female Figure show the influence. She also received acclaim in the London press for her other successes at the Royal Academy. These reports filtered back to Queensland. Original newspaper clippings in the collection evidence her growing professional reputation. [Refer UQLF119, Box 41] |
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A Significant Woman of Her Time
