General correspondence, 1908-1961

Component identifier:

Series 7

Content Summary:

This series comprises correspondence with friends and acquaintances, together with business correspondence relating to Hilda's work and her day-to-day life. Apart from correspondence with Howard Ashton (1937-1956), with whom Hilda developed a close friendship, there is only a small amount of correspondence with other artists. There are a small number of letters from Will Ashton, Bernard Hall and William Moore. There are photocopies of letters (the originals of which have been retained by the family) from Datillo Rubo (1919) and Rupert Bunny (1939).

The earliest letters relating to Hilda's career as an artist comprise letters from Charles Masson (1913-1928), one time Director of the Musée du Luxembourg in Paris and from A.G. Potin of the Galerie de Tableaux, Paris. Throughout the series there are letters from various galleries relating to exhibitions and sales of Hilda's work. Hilda's last exhibition was held in 1947 at the Sedon Gallery, Melbourne. There is correspondence with Will Ashton, W. R. Sedon and Sir Keith Murdoch relating to the exhibition.

While Rix was attending Geelong Grammar School, Hilda developed a friendship with the Headmaster, James Darling, and his wife, Margaret, and she continued to correspond with them well after Rix had finished his schooling. In 1949 Hilda presented a portrait of Darling to the school.

There are a large number of letters from friends and acquaintances including Lydia Crawford, Lucy Haase, Meg Line, Jill Lobb and Gwen Wilson (Henrietta Gulliver's daughters), Andy McLelland, June Potts, Mary Raphael (known to Hilda as 'Bunny') and Beatrice Tange (known to Hilda as 'Ticky').

Included in this series is a small group of early letters to Hilda's mother and to her sister Elsie (1908-1914).

Immediate source of acquisition:

The papers were donated by Hilda Rix Nicholas Wright's son, Rix Wright, in 2003.

Names:

Wright, Rix

Contents

Access and use