1. Gladys Reynell was one of South Australia's earliest potters and is known for her bold modernist style and her preference for working with native clays.
11 Facts About Gladys Reynell
1. 2.
Gladys Reynell was the granddaughter of John Reynell, who is thought to have established the first commercial winery in South Australia, and the cousin of suffragist Elizabeth Webb Nicholls.
3.
Walter Reynell had inherited his father's large estate, and it was there that Gladys grew up and was home-schooled, before matriculating at Tormore House School in North Adelaide.
4.
Gladys Reynell initially studied medicine at the University of Adelaide but left to study art.
5.
In 1907, the painters Margaret Preston and Bessie Davidson established their own studio where they offered classes, and Gladys Reynell began studying painting there with Preston, who was to become a close friend.
6.
In 1918, towards the end of the war, Gladys Reynell and Preston began teaching pottery to soldiers at the Seale Hayne Neurological Hospital in Devon, where Rupert was a surgeon.
7.
Gladys Reynell died on 8 April 1919 in Reynella, a town in South Australia that his father had established.
8.
Gladys Reynell thus became one of Australia's earliest studio potters and the first person in South Australia to take part in all stages of the production of ceramics from finding clay deposits and building her own kiln all the way through the throwing, glazing, and firing stages.
9.
Gladys Reynell's pottery consisted mainly of earthenware bowls, cups, and other kitchenware decorated with designs of Australian animals and flowers.
10.
Osborne recovered his health enough to join the army during World War II, and the couple moved to Melbourne, where Gladys Reynell supported the war effort through jobs with the army pay corps and as a translator of French.
11.
Gladys Reynell's reputation was slow to take off, in part because she worked to a great extent isolated from the larger Australian art community.