Mary Cockburn Mercer | Queer Australian Art

Bio

Mary Cockburn Mercer (1882–1963) was an Australian painter prominent in the interwar period who became known for her decadent nudes. Born in Scotland, Mercer grew up in the Western Districts of Victoria, Australia until moving to Europe with her mother as a young teenager to complete her education. At seventeen Mercer ran away to Paris where she lived a bohemian life in Montparnasse, making friends with numerous artists including Pablo Picasso and Marc Chagall. During the 1920s Mercer worked at L’Académie Lhote in Paris as a studio assistant. During this time Mercer became intimate with Janet Cumbrae Stewart, a relationship that would reignite many years later in Melbourne, Australia. During Mercer’s time in France, much like other Australians including Grace Crowley and Dorrit Black, she was influenced by André Lhote’s teachings that promoted Cubism and combinations of basic geometric forms. Before returning to Australia in 1938, Mercer lived in Cassis, on the island of Capri, Spain, Tahiti and an island off Guam where she met the painter, Ian Fairweather. After returning to Melbourne, Mercer rented an apartment on Bourke Street where she lived and held art classes, her students included Lina Bryans and Colin McCahon. Mercer exhibited her work with the Contemporary Art Society, often shocking audiences with her frank depiction of sexuality. In 1953 Mercer returned to France where she would stay until she died in 1963.