Featured Artist

ADELPHE KING (formerly Smith)

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Our new Featured Artist has been a member of the Guild since 1964, its foundation year. She became a voice for change, challenging her contemporaries to abandon the culture of copying and to be original and 'Just a bit different'. Through education and exhibiting her work, Adelphe King did much to promote onglaze painting in Western Australia.

Adelphe grew up in W.A. in an artistic family; her mother was an accomplished watercolourist. She was first introduced to china painting while still at school by Flora Landells, one of Western Australia's most noted early art teachers and the Foundation Patroness of the Guild.

The deprivations of the Second World War made obtaining china painting supplies difficult and so it wasn't until the mid 1950s that Adelphe returned to china painting enrolling for lessons with Mrs Landells. It was during this period that she met and became friends with Amy Lakides, later becoming a student of Amy's for a time and remarking "My painting improved tremendously under her guidance."

By 1961 Adelphe had embarked on her own teaching career.

For many years Adelphe taught from her studio in Nedlands, encouraging her students to develop their own designs and ideas.

In the early 1970s after completing an Associateship in Art Teaching at the W.A. Institute of Technology (now Curtin University), Adelphe took up a position teaching art at Trinity College, Perth. She taught there for over 12 years with Trinity naming a Studio after her in recognition of her contribution to the College.

     Butter Dish by Adelphe King

In 1980, after completing a four year course, Adelphe gained the Certificate in On-Glaze Painting, acknowledging the help given her by mentor and course co-ordinator - Chris Laidman.

Adelphe participated in many exhibitions, too numerous to mention individually, but at a time when the trend in china painting was moving towards the decoration of dinnerware with conformist motives, she became the voice for change. Outspoken about the culture of copying within the china painting elite, Adelphe dared to paint abstract designs rather than follow mainstream trends, all the while determined to prove to sceptics that china painters could paint 'fine art'.

Taken from a 1978 magazine article, Adelphe wrote:

"We can learn a great deal from the past. No one loves a piece of hand-painted antique porcelain more than I do, and I would dearly love to own a piece of Bischoff's work, but let's give our art form an injection of 20th century blood; let's be original and just a bit different."

The Violinist by Adelphe King

onion design by Adelphe King

Celebrated painter and author, Heather Tailor wrote of Adelphe King.......

"She is without doubt one of the most important figures in the history of china painting in Western Australia. When all the other porcelain painters were busy copying pretty American style painting techniques she dared to be different and instigated a modern creative approach to the art. Her vision never wavered, she persuaded prominent art organisations to exhibit china painting when most regarded it as nothing more than 'elderly ladies painting pink roses on cups and saucers' and encouraged younger women to take up art studies and to explore ideas, experiment and expand their horizons."

Adelphe King retired to York W.A. with her husband Walter, where she remains an active member of the York Society, fostering Heritage and the Arts of the local community.

above : plate 'Reflections'
above right: Seascape Platter

shown right: abstract landscape Vase
shown far right: forget-me-not bottle 

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