Amalie Sara Colquhoun
An Australian painter who captured the rugged beauty of her homeland while also leaving a luminous mark on Ballarat's churches with her stained glass.
1894–1974 (age 80)·Australian artist·Birthday: March 20·The Lost Generation
Biography
Amalie Sara Colquhoun was a force of Australian art, moving with equal conviction between the easel and the architect's plan. Born in 1894, she trained in Melbourne and Sydney, developing a style that embraced both the intimate detail of portraiture and the vast, sun-drenched drama of the Australian landscape. Her work found audiences in England and across Australia, securing her place in national and state collections. But Colquhoun's vision was not confined to canvas. In a remarkable second act, she turned her artistic eye to light and faith, designing and overseeing the construction of vibrant stained glass windows for three Ballarat churches, a legacy that still colors the city's sacred spaces. Alongside her husband, she also nurtured future artists through the Melbourne school they founded, ensuring her influence would ripple through generations.
The Lost Generation
1883–1900
Came of age during World War I. Disillusioned by the carnage, they rejected the certainties of the Victorian era and built modernism from the wreckage — in art, literature, and politics.
Amalie was born in 1894, placing them squarely in The Lost Generation. The events that shaped this generation — world wars, depression, and rapid industrialization — shaped the world they entered and the choices available to them.
#1 When Amalie Was Born
The biggest hits of 1894
Amalie's Life & Times
The world at every milestone
1894Born
President: Grover Cleveland
1899Started school
President: William McKinley
1907Became a teenager
Financial panic grips Wall Street
President: Theodore Roosevelt
1910Could drive
Halley's Comet makes its closest approach
President: William Howard Taft
1912Could vote
Titanic sinks on its maiden voyage
President: William Howard Taft
1915Turned 21
The Lusitania is sunk by a German U-boat
President: Woodrow Wilson
1924Turned 30
First Winter Olympics held in Chamonix, France
President: Calvin Coolidge"It Had to Be You" — Isham Jones
1934Turned 40
Gas: $0.19/galPresident: Franklin D. Roosevelt"Stars Fell on Alabama" — Jack TeagardenBest Picture: It Happened One Night
1944Turned 50
D-Day: Allied forces land at Normandy
Gas: $0.21/galHome: $3,400Min wage: $0.30/hrPresident: Franklin D. Roosevelt"Swinging on a Star" — Bing CrosbyBest Picture: Going My Way
1954Turned 60
Brown v. Board of Education desegregates US schools
Gas: $0.29/galHome: $8,925Min wage: $0.75/hrPresident: Dwight D. Eisenhower"Little Things Mean a Lot" — Kitty KallenBest Picture: On the Waterfront
1964Turned 70
Civil Rights Act signed; Beatles arrive in America
Gas: $0.30/galHome: $13,450Min wage: $1.25/hrPresident: Lyndon B. Johnson"I Want to Hold Your Hand" — The BeatlesBest Picture: My Fair Lady
1974Turned 80
Nixon resigns the presidency
Gas: $0.53/galHome: $22,600Min wage: $2.00/hrPresident: Gerald Ford"The Way We Were" — Barbra StreisandBest Picture: The Godfather Part II
Key Achievements
- Her paintings are held in the permanent collections of national and state galleries across Australia.
- Designed and supervised the creation of stained glass windows for three major churches in Ballarat, including St Andrew's Kirk.
- Co-founded and taught at a successful art school in Melbourne with her husband.
- Exhibited her work internationally, including showings in England.
Did You Know?
She was one of the few female artists of her era to also work as a stained glass designer and project supervisor.
Her stained glass work can be seen in churches of different denominations: Presbyterian, Uniting, and Methodist.
She studied under some of Australia's leading painters, including Max Meldrum in Melbourne.
“I paint the light as it falls on the gum leaves and the granite hills.”
