Historical information

Alice Blanch Chehovski was born in Queensland to a Russian mother and Polish father. When her father died leaving three small children to bring up on her own, her took them back to Russia to visit her own parents. In the following fateful year, Stalin came into power and the family was trapped by Russia closing its borders. At the age of twenty three, 1944, Alice entered Moscow's Institute of Decorative Arts and Applied Arts to study ceramics. Neither the subject of ceramics nor the academic drawing in fine pencil inspired her. At that time Moscow was surrounded by German troops, Russian culture was inhibited by the war and generally speaking it was not the time for arts. Alice said 'My soul and my hands were needed as a volunteer, to help the wounded soldiers survive'.
Alice struggled through a lifetime of hardship and triumph before returning to her native land of Australia in 1981 at the age of 60.

Significance

This lithographic print is one of a set of ten produced at Dunmoochin at the time of Clifton Pugh.

Physical description

Lithographic print in black and white detailing the Artist's Gallery at Dunmoochin, located within bush surrounds at Cottles Bridge

Inscriptions & markings

Bottom left of print: ed. no. '4/10' and work title. Bottom right of print: artist signature 'Alice Blanch '04'