Kiffy Rubbo

Kristin "Kiffy" Dattilo Rubbo (1944–1980) was an Australian gallery director and curator.

Early life and education

Rubbo was born in Melbourne to artist Ellen Rubbo and professor of microbiology Sydney Dattilo Rubbo. She had three siblings, academic architect Anna Rubbo, bookseller Mark Rubbo (b1948) and artist and filmmaker Michael Rubbo (b1938).[1] Their mother was a painter regularly exhibiting in New South Wales and Victorian state galleries and her Italian-born grandfather Antonio Dattilo Rubbo was an artist and art teacher who taught in schools including the (Royal) Art Society of New South Wales where he was also a council-member.[2] Her father also had an interest in the arts, especially painting, sculpture and the theatre.[3] Rubbo graduated with a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Melbourne in 1965.[4]

Career

Rubbo returned to the University of Melbourne in a professional capacity in 1971 appointed as the director of the Rowden White Library and the inaugural director of the Ewing and George Paton Galleries where the Women's Art Register was first established.[5][6][7] The 1974 exhibition A Room of One’s Own: Three Women Artists (co-curated with Lynne Cook and Janine Burke) helped initiate the Melbourne women’s art movement, and in the following year Burke[8] commissioned by Rubbo curated the national touring exhibition Australian Women Artists – 1840–1940.[9]

In August 2014 Rubbo's curatorial legacy was celebrated in a symposium Kiffy Rubbo: Curating the 1970's hosted by University of Melbourne. The keynote lecture, Kiffy Rubbo, Women Curators and Australian Art Galleries, delivered by Frances Lindsay, former Deputy Director, National Gallery of Victoria, founding director of the Victorian College of the Arts Gallery and Honorary Senior Fellow at the University of Melbourne.[10] The papers from the symposium were edited by Janine Burke and Helen Hughes and published in 2016.

Personal life

Rubbo was married to architect Dennis Carter. They had three children, Bridie, Darcy and Barny.[11] In 1980, at just 36 years old, she committed suicide.[12][13]

References
  1. Coslovich, Gabriella (2018-01-26). "How brothers Mark and Michael Rubbo have spurred each other's creative careers". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 2019-05-06.
  2. Oakley, Carmel (1955-06-01). "Biography – Antonio Salvatore Dattilo Rubbo – Australian Dictionary of Biography". Adb.anu.edu.au. Retrieved 2017-08-25.
  3. Rasmussen, Carolyn (2002). "Rubbo, Sydney Dattilo (1911–1969)". Australian Dictionary of Biography.
  4. "Degrees and Diplomas Conferred 1965". University of Melbourne Calendar 1967-1968 (PDF). Melbourne: University of Melbourne. 1968. p. 722.
  5. "Meredith Rogers 1951-". National Portrait Gallery.
  6. Vivian, Helen, ed. (2008). When You Think About Art: The Ewing and George Paton Galleries 1971–2008. Macmillan Art. ISBN 1921394021.
  7. Anne Sanders, 'Visual Arts', The Encyclopaedia of Women & Leadership in Twentieth-Century Australia, Published by the Australian Women's Archives Project 2014, ISBN 978-0-7340-4873-8, http://www.womenaustralia.info/leaders/biogs/WLE0448b.htm, accessed 21 January 2018.
  8. "Literary Awards".
  9. "Kiffy Rubbo, National Portrait Gallery". Portrait.gov.au. 2017-06-26. Retrieved 2017-08-25.
  10. "Kiffy Rubbo: Curating the 70s | The Melbourne Newsroom". Newsroom.melbourne.edu. 2014-08-29. Retrieved 2017-08-25.
  11. Harris, Sarah (23 September 2015). "Bridie Carter on growing up in North Melbourne". The Weekly Review.
  12. Burke, Janine; Hughes, Helen, (editor.); Burke, Janine, (editor.); ProQuest (Firm) (2016), Kiffy Rubbo : Curating the 1970s, Scribe Publications, ISBN 978-1-925307-86-3CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) CS1 maint: extra text: authors list (link)
  13. "Bridie Carter tells: The heartbreaking truth about my family tragedy". Who. Retrieved 2020-03-15.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.