Mostly Cats

Ola Cohn (1892-1964), Australian artist, author & philanthropist best known for her work in sculpture in a modernist style & famous for her Fairies' Tree in the Fitzroy Gardens, Melbourne, Australia. This title includes a section on The Fairies' Tree, in which the artist reminisces on her preparation & carving of the iconic tree. Contents in five sections: Early Life; I Decided on My Career; An Island of Interest; The Fairies' Tree; As Time Goes By. With a foreword by the author. Ola Cohn was born in Bendigo, Victoria. She went to school at Girton College in Bendigo & then studied drawing & sculpture at the Bendigo School of Mines. She continued her studies in Melbourne at Swinburne Technical College & then at the Royal College of Art in London. On her return to Melbourne in 1930 she established a studio at Grosvenor Chambers (9 Collins Street, Melbourne) and later moving to Gipps Street, East Melbourne. Cohn's works in bronze, stone & wood are held in many state & regional galleries. Important works include the Fairies' Tree in the Fitzroy Gardens, Melbourne which she sculpted between 1931 & 1934 and donated to the children of Melbourne. She was President of the Melbourne Society of Women Painters & Sculptors from 1948 to 1964, a founding member of the Australian Sculptors Society & an active member of the Victorian Artists' Society, the Victorian Sculptors' Society & Melbourne Contemporary Artists. From the introduction: "I have written this book for sheer love of my fellow creatures, and I dedicate it to my dear friend and fellow artist Marjorie McChesney Mathews who shares this love".