Design and Art Australia Online

Sketcher, watercolourist and chalk colourist, Ida Amelia was the second of eight children of Henry Smith Darling (1825-1909) — an Adelaide tailor, gold prospector, and eventually property owner — and his wife Rosina née Orsmond/Osmond (1824-1897). Born in Westminster, Middlesex, 19 July 1846, she emigrated with her family on the Sibella, arriving in Port Adelaide on 16 July 1848 only days before her second birthday. The family was one of the earliest to settle in Medindie, living in a cottage in the Main North Road which contained a gallery of Darling’s artwork. A student of the School of Design, [Royal] South Australian Society of Arts, Darling regularly won prizes for her drawings in the Society’s annual exhibitions. In 1868 the Adelaide Observer cited her work, particularly her coloured sketch Children with Flowers, as proof of the efficacy of the School’s instruction. She also exhibited outside the 'student’ class as a 'lady amateur’ (Statton 1986). Darling’s prize-winning pictures included: Jessie (1867), Grace (1867), Mercy (1867), The Athenian (1869), Messiah (1871), Purity (1871), and Forgiveness (1871). The Athenian stands out as a departure from the biblical or moral subjects of the other works, and may be a portrait. Any works extant appear to be in private hands. Darling died at the family cottage 18 January 1875 at the age of twenty-eight. She is buried in North Road Cemetery, Adelaide.

Writers:

Dr Diana Kostyrko

Date written:

1992

Last updated:

2016