1868, Ipswich, Qld – 1961, Brisbane

Elizabeth Dickson (Bessie) Gibson initially studied at Brisbane’s Central Technical College under R Godfrey Rivers. After the Gibson family travelled abroad in 1901–02, she then returned to Europe in 1905 to continue her studies. By 1906, Gibson had settled in Paris, living in the Montparnasse district and making regular visits to England. In Paris, she enrolled at the Académie Colarossi, where she studied under New Zealand-born Frances Hodgkins; she also trained at Castelucho’s and studied miniature painting under Mademoiselle Debillemont-Chardon. Gibson exhibited regularly at the Paris Salon from 1913 to 1939, and at London’s Royal Academy of Arts. In 1939, Gibson moved to England just prior to the German occupation of France, and returned permanently to Brisbane in 1947.