Roma Thompson
, b. 1919
Roma Thompson, illustrator, was born in 1919, in Mentone, Melbourne, Victoria. Brought up as an only child in a large house on five acres, her parents fostered her appreciation and interest in art. At fifteen she was allowed to leave school and undertake formal fine arts training at the Melbourne Technical College from 1935 to 1939, whilst working from a studio in the loft of her parents’ bushland house. Upon graduation from Melbourne Technical College she worked as a graphic artist and textile designer for several small textile firms in Melbourne. At the time the Australian textile industry was a burgeoning industry that employed artists whose work reflected the Australian environment, often incorporating Aboriginal designs and motifs.
From 1942 to 1950 Thompson attended George Bell’s Thursday Night Life Classes in Melbourne. In 1945 she began exhibiting with the George Bell group and the Melbourne Contemporary Art Society. She married Ronald Centre in 1945 and they had two children. From 1963 she taught tapestry and design at the Caulfield Technical College, Melbourne.
Source:
Profile at the daao.org.au (accessed: February 3, 2018).
Bio prepared by Margaret Bromley, University of New England, mbromle5@une.edu, brom_ken@bigpond.net.au
Records in database:
