Adelaide Eliza Ironside

At the age of 23, she moved to Italy with her mother to train as an artist. She developed an interest in frescoes and aspired to return to Australia to paint the walls of public buildings. She painted several portraits—her subjects included the Prince of Wales and William Charles Wentworth—along with paintings that drew on Biblical themes and the style of the Pre-Raphaelites and the Nazarene movement. Ironside died of tuberculosis in Italy in 1867 at the age of 35, after which her art largely faded into obscurity; many of her paintings are now lost.

The field of work recorded is painting. John Dunmore Lang is recorded as an influence. Work by Adelaide Eliza Ironside is recorded in the collections of Art Gallery of New South Wales. Distinctions recorded are Victorian Honour Roll of Women.

• Name — Adelaide Ironside • Born — 17 November 1831 • Birthplace — Sydney, Australia • Died — 15 April 1867 • Place of death — Rome, Italy • Field — Painting

Adelaide Eliza Ironside was born in Sydney on 17 November 1831 to parents James Ironside, a Scottish immigrant who worked as a commission agent, and Martha Rebecca (Redman). After her parents separated when she was young, she was educated at home by her mother. She developed an interest in art, languages, and literature. Ironside was taught German and Latin by Matthias Goethe, and was likely taught painting by the portrait artist J. A. Wilson. She had a close relationship with the republican writer John Dunmore Lang, who also influenced her political views. She eventually began to write patriotic and republican poetry and articles for local newspapers. She published approximately 20 poems in the radical newspaper The People's Advocate and New South Wales Vindicator. In 1854 she exhibited a series of sketches, a collection of paintings of Australian flowers, and a painting titled Madonna and Child at the Australian Museum Exhibition. The following year, her portfolio of 43 works, titled Australian Wildflowers, was exhibited at the Exposition Universelle in Paris. In April 1855, at the age of 23, Ironside moved to Europe with her mother to train as a painter. After spending a period in London, they settled in Rome in a neighbourhood near the Spanish Steps that was home to many English-speaking immigrants. Ironside began training as an artist, becoming the first artist born in Australia to train as an artist overseas. In 1858, she began studying fresco painting in Perugia. There, she studied with a Camaldolese monk at the Church of San Severo. She aspired to return to Australia and paint frescoes on the walls of public buildings in Sydney, and was particularly keen to paint the walls of the Great Hall at the newly established University of Sydney. However, efforts by Lang to secure a government subsidy to fund Ironside's studies were unsuccessful; his request for a grant of £200 was rejected by the New South Wales Legislative Assembly in 1860. In 1859 Ironside produced her first major work, a painting titled The Pilgrim of Art Crowned by the Genius of Art. In 1861, at the invitation of Pope Pius IX, Ironside began studying frescoes painted by Fra Angelico at the Convent of San Marco in Florence. She was also permitted to make copies of artworks held in the Vatican's collections. That year, she completed her next major painting, Marriage at Cana in Galilee. She hoped to sell the painting to an Australia buyer who would exhibit it in a public building, but a subscription organised by Lang raised just £32.10 of the £1000 she had hoped to secure. Ironside expressed frustration towards Australia for its lack of recognition of her art. The following year, Ironside began a tour of England and Scotland, but began to suffer a decline in her health. In 1863, she was admitted to the Accademia dei Quiriti, and the following year she completed her final painting, Manifestation of Christ to the Gentiles. She died in Rome of tuberculosis on 15 April 1867 at the age of 35.

Adelaide Eliza Ironside is recorded as having received Victorian Honour Roll of Women. Recorded at birth as Adelaide Eliza Scott Ironside.