Nornie GUDE (1915-2002) Eleanor Constance (Nornie) Gude was the daughter of Walter Gude, a leading musician, and highly regarded teacher. She grew up in Ballarat and was educated at Loreto College. From 1931 to 1936 Nornie Gude attended the Ballarat Technical Art School, a division of the Ballarat School of Mines. She was accepted into the School at the age of 15 because she was so advanced in painting. Nornie Gude studied at Ballarat for five years before progressing to Melbourne’s National Gallery of Victoria School. In 1936 Nornie Gude was studying at the Ballarat Technical Art School, and the National Gallery Drawing School in Melbourne. She won many art competitions, including first prize at the 1936 Melbourne Royal Agricultural Show for still life drawing, and in 1941 became the first woman to win the National Gallery Students Travelling Scholarship. In the 1936 Ballarat School of Mines Annual Report it was stated: "It is my pleasure to report a most successful year in the Technical Art School. I the Annual Poster Competition for Technical Schools, organised by Wiltshires Pty Limited, 16 prized valued at 33 pounds 8 shillings - out of 23 prizes valued at 56 pounds - were won by our students. As an artist Nornie Gude held no theories and was once heard to say, “You spend your first 20 years learning technique and the next 20 years losing it”. This item is part of the Federation University Art Collection. The Art Collection features over 1000 works and was listed as a 'Ballarat Treasure' in 2007.commercial artA large, original goauche poster produced for one of the regular poster competitions held during the 1930s (the exhibition stickers are still evident on the lower left hand side). It depicts a scene in the Ballarat Botanical Gardens. Written verso "Nornie Gude Technical Art School Ballarat" Exhibition Sticker "Exhibit NO 8545 Class No 1736art, artwork, gude, nornie gude, eleanor constance gude, ballarat, ballarat botanical gardens, statue, ballarat technical art school, alumni

Eleanor Constance (Nornie) Gude was born in 1915 in Ballarat, Victoria to Stella Rehfisch and Walter Gude, musician and violin teacher, and conductor of the St Patrick's Cathedral orchestra and choir in Ballarat. Her parents met when Stella was 27 and the 42-year old Walter was teaching her the violin. Nornie and her sister Gilda were both raised in Ballarat before moving to Melbourne on the eve of World War II. She was accepted into the Ballarat Technical Art School at 15 because of her advanced skill in painting, and trained there from 1931-1936. She won the esteemed MacRobertson Scholarship in art worth £100 a year. She later went on to the National Gallery School from 1936-1939, studying with Sidney Nolan and Charles Bush, and became the first woman to win the National Gallery Students Travelling Scholarship. Gude won many awards for her painting both while at school and throughout her career. Her work is represented in collections at the National Gallery of Victoria, Parliament House, and the Art Gallery of Western Australia, as well as regional collections in Ballarat, Geelong, Castlemaine Art Museum, and Bendigo.Portrait of Nornie Gude while a student at the Ballarat Technical Art Schoolnornie gude, ballarat technical art school, 1931-1936, women of note, artist, macrobertson scholarship, 100 pound per year, national gallery school, 1936-1939, sidney nolan, charles bush, first woman national gallery students travelling scholarship, parliament house, regional collections, ballarat, geelong, castlemaine, bendigo, national gallery victoria, eleanor constance gude