painter and art teacher, the eldest daughter of Charles Benham and Mary Ann, née Hoare, was born at Canterbury, Kent, on 2 May 1837. She came to South Australia with her parents in the Tiberias in 1855. At the South Australian Society of Arts’ 1859 exhibition Miss Benham exhibited two of her drawings, The Gleaner and Russia in 1812 . She sent eight works to the January 1863 exhibition, the artist being identified only as 'Benham’ and the media unspecified. A design for the society’s medal – for which Hill , Berger , Weidenbach , Minchin and Schramm were also competing – and a head (possibly a sculpture) were possibly by her brother, William Hoare Benham (1833-1919), who won a prize for sculpture in 1868. The rest, mainly copies, were undoubtedly her work: The Princess Helena (Peace) , The Naughty Boy , The Late Prince Consort (after 'Mayall’), The Convent Shrine , Sly Boots (after 'Weyall’) and The Child’s Prayer . According to Ambrus, Miss A.M. Benham, an Adelaide bird painter, gave the noted botanical artist Rosa Fiveash (1855-1938) her first art lessons.
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- Writers:
- Staff Writer
- Date written:
- 1992
- Last updated:
- 1989
