Florence Turner Blake

Florence Turner Blake was an Australian artist and benefactor who studied under Julian Ashton and Tom Roberts in Sydney and Henry Tonks in London. She was influenced by Charles Conder and Lucien Pissarro, and became known for her delicate and whimsical water-colour paintings on silk fans. She exhibited with the Society of Artists, Sydney, and sold her works to the National Art Gallery of New South Wales and the National Gallery of South Australia. She also traveled extensively in Europe and Asia, and collected artworks from various countries. She left almost the whole of her estate, valued at 54,214 pounds, to the Art Gallery of New South Wales, the largest bequest it had received up until that time. She was also a generous supporter of various charities and causes, such as animal welfare, education, and health. She was a woman of independent spirit and artistic talent, who lived a rich and adventurous life.