Rosemary Madigan (1926–2019) was one of Australia's most respected sculptors. Born in Adelaide, she was one of the five children of geologist Cecil Madigan, who'd been a member of Douglas Mawson's 1911–13 Antarctic expedition and who later conducted significant explorations in the Simpson Desert. Her childhood home was filled with photographs of icebergs, and with her father's collection of artefacts, both of which sparked her 'desire to get close to objects'. She left school in her early teens and in 1940 went to Sydney to study sculpture at East Sydney Technical College. She was awarded the NSW Travelling Scholarship in 1950 and moved to London to undertake a diploma in carving at the John Cass College. She spent some time in Europe and India before returning to Adelaide in 1953. After her move to Sydney in the 1970s, Madigan reconnected with her art school acquaintance Robert Klippel and formed a richly creative personal partnership that lasted until Klippel's death in 2001. In later life Madigan lived in Yass, where she continued to work into her nineties.
Gift of Patrick Corrigan AM 2004. Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program.
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