IRONSIDE, ADELAIDE ELIZA (1831-1867), painter, was born on 17 November 1831 in Sydney, the only surviving child of James Ironside, commission agent, and his wife Martha Rebecca, née Redman. Educated by her mother, she wrote patriotic prose and verse for the Sydney press, influenced by Rev. John Dunmore Lang. In 1855 she designed a banner and presented it to the Volunteer Corps of New South Wales. She studied languages with Rev. Matthias Goethe and was esteemed by Daniel Deniehy. At Lang's suggestion in April 1855 she and her mother sailed for London. In January 1856 on reaching Italy Adelaide found that among 'these seers of the Beautiful, the spirit of the Pure and mystical School of Umbria became almost Divine'.

In Rome Adelaide began 'a siege and a battle' to become an artist and worked up to eighteen hours a day. She was visited by the Prince of Wales ...

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Source:

Australian Dictionary of Biography