Research Paper On Florence Broadhurst

Birth: 28 July 1899, Mungy Station, Queensland
Death: 15 October 1977, Sydney. She was bludgeoned to death with a large piece of timber in her Paddington studio, her fingers found broken, and her body battered. The murder was never solved, but there has been some speculation that she was a victim of the serial killer, John Wayne Glover.
Florence Broadhurst, known for her exquisite wallpaper and fabric designs which are world renowned today, was an Australian designer who grew up on a cattle farm in rural Queensland. She was the fourth surviving child of William and Margaret Broadhurst. There is not a known record of Florence Broadhurst’s schooling: education in Australia was introduced over two hundred years ago, so one could assume that she

had some sort of form of schooling, whether it be in a classroom setting or homeschooling. However, Florence and her sisters were very well educated; she sang very well, and her sister Priscilla played the piano. They played tennis and they were very tasteful young ladies, very into fashion. Little is known about Florence as she avoided interviews and questions, due to the fact that she would reinvent herself.
At the age of 19, Florence Broadhurst left her home in Queensland and joint a cast of eight people which included musicians, singers, transvestites and comedians on a fifteen month tour of Asia.

At this point in time, she changed her name to Bobby Broadhurst. In 1926, she established the Broadhurst Academy in Shanghai, offering tuition in violin, pianoforte, voice production, banjolele playing, modern ballroom dancing, classical dancing, musical culture and journalism. At the age of 28, she sustained a serious head injury in a car accident and moved to England. In 1929, she married a wealthy Percy Kann and once again reinvented herself as Madame Pellier. Florence changed her accent, her history and the scene to suit the character she was

playing.
In 1930, she created an upmarket dress salon, “Feminine Couturier”. Her salon was on Bond Street in London, a playground for the rich, famous and flirtatious. At this stage, Florence and Perry divorced, and then she moved back to Australia. She married Leonard Lloyd Lewis and had a child with him, named Robert Lloyd Lewis.
During World War II she joined the Australian Women's Voluntary Services, offering hospitality to Australian soldier.
In the 1960s, Florence revolutionised wallpaper. She introduced marvellous colours and designs, ignoring the traditional, conservative designs. She developed exotic birds and florals to psychedelic and oriental patterns.
She produced 114 landscape paintings, which were first known as "Paintings of Australia" in 1954 at David Jones Art Gallery, Sydney, then later in Brisbane and Canberra.

She was a foundation member of the Art Gallery Society of New South Wales and a member of the Society of Interior Designers of Australia, was a teacher of printmaking and sculpture at the National Art School and was also involved in a variety of charitable activities.
In 1977, after her death, her prints become a thing of the past: her works were almost forgotten. However, the company Signature prints, the custodians of her work have reincarnated Florence’s artworks, giving her designs an unexpected revival. The Powerhouse Museum in Sydney, holds a collection of her work. Many of her boldest wallpaper designs were still available, some reinterpreted as fabric prints by Akira Isogawa, Nicole Zimmermann and other leading Australian fashion designers, and even Cate Blanchett's family home, the set of Masterchef, and Trump Towers in New

York.
During her youth, Florence Broadhurst won many local dancing and performance eisteddfods. This could indicate that her parents were not struggling economically. Although was wasn’t featured on any television shows, in 2006 there was a movie made about Florence’s life, made by Gillian Armstrong. During this documentary, it was declared that Florence Broadhurst was hard of seeing and because of this, her creations were bold and incorporated such bright colours. This fact makes Florence’s life more irritating and alarming to people, moreover evokes a sense of affection in others. In 2006, a biography was written about Florence Broadhurst by Helen O’Neill, the first ever authorised biography of the design icon. Today, Florence Broadhurst is recognised worldwide for her groundbreaking wallpaper patterns: she left behind a trove of exquisite work.