Dorrit Black

Dorothea Foster Black (23 December 1891 – 13 September 1951) was an Australian painter and printmaker of the Modernist school, known for being a pioneer of modernism in Australia and for her Cubist style. In 1931 she established the Modern Art Centre in Margaret Street, Sydney, which was the first gallery in Australia to devote itself to modernism, and one of the first galleries in Australia to be established by a woman.

Early life and education Dorothea Foster Black was born on 23 December 1891

In 1927, Black went by herself to London, England, and attended the Grosvenor School of Modern Art, where she experimented with colour linocut printing while studying under Claude Flight.

Black was influenced by Flight to use bold geometrical patterns and harmonious colour schemes. In 1928, she studied at André Lhote's Academy in Paris. Black was influenced by Lhote's "compostional principles of geometric order". In 1929, she briefly worked with Albert Gleizes. By the time she returned to her home country in late 1929, Black had become an active proponent of the Cubist style, and brought the styles back to Australia with her. The making of linocuts allowed Black to abstract her subjects by eliminating detail and emphasising structure. Abstraction allowed her to communicate sensation. The Bridge was painted in jewel-like colours such as aquamarine and "shimmering peacock" and was Australia's first Cubist landscape. It was painted in Sydney.

The Modern Art Centre, Sydney Black was interested in creating an environment that would enable others to work in the new style. She established the Modern Art Centre in Margaret Street, Sydney, in 1931, the first gallery in Australia to devote itself to modernism. It was also one of the first galleries in Australia to be established by a woman.

Return to Adelaide On returning to Adelaide, Black taught part-time at the South Australian School of Art. She was a member of the South Australian Society of Arts and the Contemporary Art Society.

The Art Gallery of South Australia purchased her work Mirmande (1928) in 1940.

Death and legacy Black died in the Royal Adelaide Hospital on 13 September 1951, at the age of 59, after a car accident. Her body was cremated following a Unitarian service.

Women were trailblazers of Modernism in Australia, and Black is recognised as "a prime force in educating Australians in the appreciation of modern art".

Her work is represented in the collections of the National Gallery of Australia as well as in many state and regional galleries, and in the Victoria and Albert Museum, London. A travelling retrospective of her work was organised by the Art Gallery of South Australia (AGSA) in 1975, who presented a major exhibition of her work from 14 June to 7 September 2014,

She was represented in Know My Name exhibition in the National Gallery of Australia, Canberra, in 2020 and also in the 2025 exhibition co-presented by AGSA and the Art Gallery of New South Wales (AGNSW) and entitled Dangerously Modern Australian Women Artists in Europe, 1890-1940.

In May 2026, AGSA acquired a rare landscape painting by Black, titled Sicilian mountain, to add to its collection of around 70 works by her. A bidding war led to the price of A$675,000, the highest price ever fetched at auction for a work by her; the previous record of A$86,000 was achieved in 2014 by a London auction house for a print of her linocut The eruption.

The Dorrit Black Building, built for the University of South Australia (now part of Adelaide University) in 2005, incorporates ceramic kilns, glassblowing equipment, darkrooms for photography, studios for textile art, painting, and drawing. Designed by John Wardle Architects and Hassell, the building received a commendation in the New Buildings Category of the RAIA State Awards in 2006.