Moroccan Idyll

Hilda Rix Nicholas's Moroccan oils are fascinating early experiments in the post impressionist technique learned by the Australian artist in the ateliers of Belle Èpoque Paris of Henri Matisse. But they are not the only legacy of the time she spent in Tangier in 1912 and 1914. Together with her sister Elsie, Hilda wrote postcards and letters to their mother Elizabeth in London.

Published here in detail for the first time, Jeanette Hoorn draws upon the letters written from Tangier by the Rix sisters to illuminate the artwork and the amazing travel adventures of these two Edwardian women. Adorned with sketches and drawings, the letters provide vivid descriptions of the people and landscape of this cosmopolitan North African city. Her study brings to life the experiences of Hilda and Elsie Rix in North Africa before World War I, presenting a critical reading of Orientalism and how the two women came to understand a place and a culture very different from anything they had previously known.

About the Author

Jeanette Hoorn is Professor of Visual Cultures and Director of Gender Studies in the School of Culture and Communication at the University of Melbourne. Her books include Reframing Darwin: Evolution and Art in Australia (The Miegunyah Press, 2009); Australian Pastoral: the Making of a White Landscape (2007); and Body Trade: Captivity, Cannibalism and Colonialism in the Pacific (with Barbara Creed, 2001). She has recently started work on a new project on the representation of animals and the emotions in the visual arts and literature with Barbara Creed and Deidre Coleman.