Dr Mary Mackay (1931–2017)

Abstract

Mary Helena Mackay (n ee Short) was an Australian art historian, researcher, teacher, printmaker, collector and feminist. She was an original and innovative thinker whose pioneering research in Australian art greatly enriched the field. She defended women’s rights and called out injustices when she saw them. Her legacy will live on through her publications, her many contributions to the world of art and in the memories of her students, colleagues, family and friends who benefitted from her intellect, generosity and passion. Mary gained First Class Honours in Art History at the Power Institute, University of Sydney in 1979. Her Doctorate, The Geological Sublime: A New Paradigm, in which she studied the impact of new geological research promoted by scientists on theorists of the sublime in art, presented an original reading of the representation of the landscape by artists working in colonial Australia in the nineteenth century. She showed how the writings of Edmund Burke and Immanuel Kant influenced interpreters of Australian nature while bringing into focus Darwin’s theory of evolution, which had stemmed in part from emerging knowledge concerning geological formations and fossil remains. She analysed the ways in which the reactions of settlers to the Australian bush, coast and desert were interpreted through a sublime reading of the landscape that was highlighted by reference to the emotions of awe, horror and disbelief. She studied the illustrations and writing of British printmakers who journeyed to the Australian interior such as Samuel Calvert and John Skinner Prout and George French Angus. Before completing her doctorate in 1991, Mary worked as a research assistant and tutor while completing her graduate studies before her appointment at the Power Institute. She was promoted to Senior Lecturer before retiring in 2005. Mary was born in North Sydney and educated at the Dominican convent school at Moss Vale. A thoughtful, well-read student, Mary briefly considered entering holy orders, before enrolling at secretarial college. Following the completion of her training she secured a position as a legal stenographer with Sly and Russell Solicitors, where she met, Donald Gordon Mackay, whom she married in 1955. She combined motherhood with work and study following the birth of her four sons, Richard, Anthony, Lawrence (deceased) and David. Applying skills as a