Boyd Family
The Boyd family is an Australian artistic dynasty. Members of the family over several generations have established themselves as painters, artists, illustrators, sculptors, potters, ceramists, writers, architects, graphic designers, and musicians.
Family tree
The family is descended from four diverse immigrants to Victoria:
- William à Beckett (1806-1869), lawyer and Chief Justice of Victoria, arrived New South Wales, 1837, with his wife Emily à Beckett, née Hayley, and three young sons.
- John Mills (c1810-1841), convict and brewer, transported to Van Diemen's Land 1827, married Hannah Hale 1836, arrived Port Phillip District 1837.
- Major Alexander Boyd (1792-1869), paymaster of the 11th Regiment of Foot (The North Devonshire Regiment of Foot), arrived Van Diemen's Land in 1845, possibly with his wife Susan Boyd, née Brown.
- Dr Robert Martin (1798-1874), medical practitioner and squatter, overlanded from Sydney in 1839 to take up land at Mount Sturgeon near Dunkeld, Victoria and Heidelberg. His wife Lucy Martin, née Gear, and family came from Sydney to join him soon after.
These four families were joined by marriages of their children in the young colony of Victoria in the 1850s:
However, the Boyd artistic dynasty can be said to really begin with the 14 January 1886 marriage of Emma Minnie à Beckett (known as Minnie) and Arthur Merric Boyd. Both were already established painters at the time of their marriage.
- They had five children, four of whom became prominent in the Australian artistic world:
The artistic tradition continued into the next generations:
- The children of (William) Merric Boyd and Doris (nee Gough) Boyd were:
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- Lucy Evelyn Gough Boyd (born 1916), ceramist, married Hatton Beck (1901-1994) [3], ceramist, potter, sculptor.
- Their children are:
- Laurence Hatton Beck (1940-), layman
- Robert Hatton Beck (1942-), potter/ceramist, married Margot Gardner (daughter of painter Freidl Gardner) and they had two children.
- Paul Hatton Beck (1948-), musician
- Their children are:
- Polly Boyd (1946-), artist and painter
- Jamie Patrick Boyd (1948-), painter and sculptor
- Lucy Ellen Boyd, painter
- Their children are:
- Lenore Anne (1953-), sculptor, married (1) Ron Eades, and had two children, and. Lenore married (2) Stuart Stephenson, and had three children.
- Sally Deidre (1956-), painter and sculptor, married Bruce Bellman (1951-), and had five children.
- Derry Catherine (1957-), owner-operator of a graphic, web, and multimedia business, married (1)Vuthichai Satianyot (also known as Yap Guan Soon), and (2) Michael Evans. Derry and Michael had three children.
- Kirstin Doris (1960-), writer of children's literature, married (1) John Murray, graphic designer, and had three children. Kirstin married (2) Ken Harper, drama teacher, playwright, gymnast, and circus trainer.
- Benjamin Merric Elwyn (1963-) had one child.
- Charlotte Beatrice Magdalen (1968-), potter and ceramist, married John O'Donohue, digital technician. They had two children.
- Martin Duncan Gough (1970-), writer and Spanish translator, married Paulina Derbez, violinist, and had one child.
- Their daughters are:
- Amanda, painter and costume designer
- Lucinda, model and painter
- Cassandra, painter and illustrator
- Mary Elizabeth Boyd (1926-), painter, married (1) John Perceval, painter, potter, and sculptor, and had four children. Mary married (2) Sir Sidney Nolan, painter, and became Lady Mary Nolan.
- Mary and John's children are:
- Matthew, painter, married Jutta, and had three children.
- Tessa, painter
- Celia, painter
- Alice, painter, had four children.
- The children of Penleigh and Edith Boyd were:
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- Pamela Boyd (b & d 1913)
- John à Beckett Penleigh (Pat) Boyd (1915-1980), painter and test pilot, married Anne Davey.
- Robin Gerard Penleigh Boyd (1919-1971), architect and writer, married Patricia Madder.
- The children of Helen and Neven Read are:
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- Gayner Read (1936-1988), painter.
- Susan Read (1938-)
- Andrew Read (1942-)
- Prudence Read (1947-)
External links
References
- Brenda Niall, The Boyds: A Family Biography, Melbourne, Melbourne University Press, July 2002.
ISBN 0-522-84871-0