Shay Docking

1928 - 1998

Biography

1928    Born in Warrnambool, the youngest of seven children of a clergyman father and musician mother.  Family moved to Boort in 1939
1947    Commenced art studies at Swinburne Technical College
1952    Married Gil Docking who had just graduated from Arts at Melbourne University 
1953    Resumed intensive landscape painting while travelling throughout Victoria with Gil who was now Education Officer at the National Gallery of Victoria in charge of circulating exhibitions to 50 cities and towns throughout Victoria. Revisited the Western District and made sketches and watercolours of Tower Hill
1954    Further studies at the National Gallery School
1958    Moved to Newcastle after Gil was appointed the first Director of Newcastle City Art Gallery
1965    Moved to Auckland after Gil was appointed the Director of the Auckland City Art Gallery.  The extinct volcanoes of the area inspired a large body of paintings and pencil drawings which explored in depth the volcano as a metaphor
1971    Returned to Australia. Lived in Sydney.  Gil worked at the Art Gallery of New South Wales
1975    From Tower Hill to One Tree Hill; Two Decades of Painting by Shay Docking opened at the Warrnambool Art Gallery and travelled to six other regional galleries
1983    The monograph, Shay Docking: The Landscape as Metaphor with text by Ursula Prunster in association with the artist, published by AH & AW Reed, Sydney
1987    Tower Hill and other Volcanoes, a survey exhibition held at Warrnambool, Bendigo and Swan Hill Galleries
1990    Shay Docking Drawings by Lou Klepac, with an essay by Hendrik Kolenberg published by The Beagle Press, Sydney
1998    Died in Sydney aged 69

Her work is represented in the National Gallery, Canberra, all State galleries, many Regional galleries and University collections throughout Australia and New Zealand