ETHEL CARRICK (FOX) (1872 - 1951)

Ethel Carrick (Fox) was born on 7 February 1872 into a wealthy family in Uxbridge, Middlesex, England. One of ten children, Ethel Carrick was educated at home however she first encountered art whilst attending drawing lessons with Francis Bate at the Brook Green Studio in London. In 1898 Ethel Carrick enrolled as a student at the Slade School. Under the tutelage of Fred Brown and Henry Tonks, Ethel Carrick began exhibiting, winning the Melvill Nettleship Prize in 1903 for figure composition.

Remaining interested in art and the growing trend for paintingen plein air, Ethel Carrick left London for the plein air artists' camp in St Ives in Cornwall. It would be here that Ethel Carrick met her future husband, Emanuel Phillips Fox. E Phillips Fox was almost ten years older than Ethel Carrick however this did not seem to bother the pair and they quickly became close friends. It was obvious to critics and friends around them that the pair were starting to influence each other's art. A critic from the London Morning Post attending the 1904 show at the Felix Art Club noted how many similarities existed between the two artists. It was also evident that the couple were adopting a more French style in anticipation of their move to France.

Following their wedding in 1905, Emanuel Phillips and Ethel Carrick moved to France and made their new home in the Cité Fleurie (A block of artists' studios located on the Parisian Left Bank). Ethel Carrick Fox later remembered what a diverse and interesting group of artists occupied the block describing it as 'quite a cosmopolitan little colony of hard working artists who have apartments in the same building, thirty different nationalities being represented.'

Their marriage would not be without its fair share of struggles. Emanuel Phillips was born in Australia into a Jewish family who although were not practising, had hoped that Emanuel Phillips would find a young Jewish girl from Melbourne and settle down. Ethel Carrick had been born in the England, was baptised an Anglican and was raised in a comfortable middle class environment. Ethel Carrick was also in her thirties and considered well beyond her child bearing days. Women during the Edwardian era typically had children when they were nineteen to twenty two. Thirty was considered old to bear children, anything older was considered almost impossible and bad for the mother's health.

Nevertheless, Emanuel Phillips and Ethel Carrick fell in love, as much with the idea of living and working together in Paris as they were with each other. It was noted by many how dominant Ethel Carrick was in the relationship. With Emanuel's family so far away, Ethel Carrick replaced Emanuel's mother as the most influential person in Emanuel's life. Ethel's sister, Hilda Carrick even stated that Ethel was 'one of the most dominant personalities I have ever known - quite different from any other member of the family'.

Ethel Carrick Fox found Paris inspiring and she regularly painted leisure scenes in the gardens located close to the Fox's apartment. Playing children and resting well-dressed women often featured in these scenes of middle class bliss. Ethel Carrick Fox's works were collected by other artists as well.Luxembourg Gardens, Paris c1906 was owned by Rupert Bunny.

Both Emanuel Phillips Fox and Ethel Carrick enjoyed travelling and made trips to Venice, Spain and the north of Africa. Ethel Carrick Fox's subject matter changed with her new surroundings. Instead of idyllic park scenes, Carrick Fox began to paint bustling market places and beachside resorts and in 1908 and 1913 the Fox's returned to Australia. Indeed Ethel Carrick was beginning to outshine her husband not only finding critical acclaim, she also found a market that wanted her works. This had an impact on Emanuel Phillips and by their trip in 1913, their relationship had begun to show signs of strain. Instead of visiting Emanuel's family, Ethel Carrick stayed at the theosophical retreat in Sydney.

Theosophy was popular during the early 20th century. It was a safe haven for women who found the more traditional, female excluding religions non inviting. Ethel Carrick was attracted by the feminist identifying President of the World Theosophist Movement, Annie Besant. Her belief in this religion was reflected in the ordered world she created on canvas. This was in stark contrast to nihilistic movements such as Dada and Surrealism. Theosophy maintains that a knowledge of God may be achieved through intuition, special relations or even through ecstasy. It is therefore more of a philosophy rather than a religion. Theosophy maintains that all religions contain elements of the 'Ancient Wisdom'. Certain wise men held the knowledge of spiritual power and were therefore enlightened and were capable of accessing a transcendent spiritual reality.

Portrait of Ethel Carrick Fox c1912.
(c) State Library of Queensland

From Australia, Emanuel Phillips and Ethel Carrick Fox travelled to Tahiti and were there at the outbreak of World War 1. Upon returning to Australia the Fox's found themselves trapped by circumstance and despite their personal problems, they found a great deal of satisfaction in raising money for the French Red Cross. Their efforts contributed to provide a lorry which would act as a field ambulance. They also organized a charity art exhibition at the Athenaeum Hall in Melbourne (Ethel Carrick Fox acted as the Honorary Secretary for this event). Such was Ethel Carrick Fox's dedication to the cause that she painted gum leaves gold and sold them to people in the street.

Despite being English by birth, Ethel Carrick Fox even wrote the words for a song with the aim of raising money for the Australian troops.

Emanuel Phillips and Ethel Carrick Fox's marriage may have been rocky before the war, however the war (like art had before) provided them with a common goal. Unfortunately, Emanuel's health began to deteriorate. A smoker his entire life, Emanuel Phillips began to cough consistently and sleep became almost impossible. Several doctors examined Emanuel but did not diagnose his condition correctly. His mood became grimmer and he was increasingly irritable. The entire Fox household began to argue more frequently and Ethel Carrick Fox found the situation so overwhelming she left for Sydney and threw herself into her painting.

During this period of separation Ethel Carrick Fox heard nothing from Melbourne until she received a telegram she had been dreading, it urged her to return to Melbourne. Emanuel Phillips condition had finally been correctly diagnosed, her was suffering from the final stages of lung cancer.

Ethel Carrick Fox returned immediately to Melbourne where she found her husband barely conscious. On 8 October 1915 Emanuel Phillips Fox died and despite his Jewish heritage, he was buried in the Anglican section of Brighton Cemetery.

Instead of this is tragic event uniting Ethel Carrick with her in-laws, she was now considered a childless woman who abandoned her husband when he needed her most. As Emanuel's condition had not been correctly diagnosed it is highly unlikely Ethel Carrick would have left is she had understood how bad the situation was.

The grief and guilt Ethel Carrick Fox was left with threw her into the deepest depression she would ever experience. Not being able to sleep or eat, painting became a struggle. Once known for her incredible strength of will and ambition, Ethel Carrick returned to Sydney to once again join her friends at the Theosophist retreat. Being near friends and like-minded people, Ethel Carrick Fox slowly recovered. Painting helped her to remember her ambition and without her husband, Ethel Carrick focused on travel, her lifestyle becoming semi-nomadic from this point on.

Ethel Carrick Fox took up the cause of promoting her late husband's art in his birth country. Emanuel Phillips Fox may be considered a well established artist in Australian art history however at the time of his death he was little known outside of Europe and it was in large part thanks to Ethel Carrick that he found a place in Australian art history at all.

Ethel Carrick Fox continued to move mostly between Paris and Sydney. She even lived on a houseboat in Kashmir for a short period. This period of her life may have awarded her a sense of freedom that someone as independent as herself would have revelled in however in returning to Paris she discovered, much to her shock that times had changed. Older forms of Post-Impressionism were no longer considered controversial. Art, just like the rest of Europe, was still attempting to come to terms with the brutality and loss of World War 1 and a more severe forms of art now flourished.

Despite her sales diminishing, Ethel Carrick Fox did not change her signature style. She still had a small, loyal collector base who preferred her soft romantic scenes that provided the viewer a degree of escapism after the horrors of the war. Ethel Carrick did eventually come to terms and appreciate the likes of Matisse and Derain, however Cubism and Surrealism remained vulgar in her eyes and were never movements she sympathised with.

Ethel Carrick Fox continued to paint and travel. In 1928 she was awarded the Diploma of Honour at the Bordeaux International exhibition for one of the few studio pictures she painted titled Summer is here, Manly Beach 1913. During the later years of her life she maintained a studio near the Circular Quay end of George Street where she also gave art lessons.

Having outlived her husband by several decades, Ethel Carrick fox passed away on 17 June 1952 in Melbourne, just days after she had returned from Paris.