Fan

Thea Proctor was a prominent tastemaker and promoter of modern design in Australia. She studied at the Julian Ashton Art School in Sydney from 1896 where she focused on drawing and compositional design. Travelling to London 1903, she briefly studied at St John’s Wood School and then took private lessons with Australian artist George Lambert, who would become a close friend and mentor. In London, Proctor mixed with a circle including William Orpen and expatriate Australian artists including Tom Roberts and Charles Conder.

Conder inspired her interest in painting fans, which she began exhibiting from 1907. Typical of this genre, her fan designs present romantic, idyllic depictions of an ideal, leisured world, while reflecting Proctor’s interest in historical costume. Additional influences included the drawings of Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres, Japanese prints, a love of ballet and theatre.