china painter, was born in Geelong, youngest of the seven children of Rev. James S.R. Royce, a Methodist minister, and only child of his second wife, Jane. The family moved frequently, accompanying her father on the ministerial circuit, until settling in Geelong on his retirement. In 1890 Florence matriculated at the Geelong Ladies’ College, by which time she had developed an interest in art; a prize was awarded to her entry in the Ballarat Juvenile and Industrial Exhibition the following year.
With the arrival of Rev. A.M. Thompson, who provided lessons, Royce commenced china painting, initially as a hobby, then as part of a long career teaching and producing works of art at Geelong. By 1910 she was not only offering private classes in china painting, watercolour painting and stencilling, but had commenced work as a 'teacher of ceramics’ at Gordon Technical College (which was to install a 'Revelation’ kiln for her use). She showed her work in exhibitions such as the Geelong Arts and Crafts in 1910, which included her floral wares as well as a vase depicting 'a jackass and wattle and an Australian landscape’.
Royce was dedicated to her art and remained highly aware of technical developments in china painting in both North America and Britain. In 1924 she embarked on an eighteen-month study trip through the two countries. Travelling through Vancouver, Chicago, New York and San Francisco, she was impressed by the 'colourful’ lustre and enamel wares made in the various studios she visited and produced a number of her own there. She visited several British manufactories, including those of Grimwade, Ruskin, Doulton and Wedgwood from which she collected a number of pieces. She was elected a member of the British Association of Ceramic Art and invited to exhibit 'two or three…vases of Australian design’ in the British Empire Exhibition at Wembley.
Although she never became highly commercial in her activities Royce’s output of painted wares was enormous. Her work embodied the same concerns and same degree of professionalism as many of her more commercial compatriots in Melbourne, yet she received little recognition beyond the local level. She continued to teach and paint in Geelong until moving to Perth shortly before her death in 1959.
- Writers:
- Filmer, Veronica
Note: Heritage biography.
- Date written:
- 1995
- Last updated:
- 2011
