Identity area
Reference code
Title
Date(s)
- 1919-1977 (Creation)
Level of description
File
Extent and medium
96 letters, 10 postcards
Context area
Name of creator
Biographical history
Artist. Born 17 March 1895 at Yeronga Brisbane. Died 2 December 1988 at South Hobart, Tasmania.
Repository
Archival history
Immediate source of acquisition or transfer
Content and structure area
Scope and content
There are 96 letters and 10 postcards dating from 3 Aug 1919 to 22 Oct 1977, but also including many undated letters and some fragments.
Lloyd Rees and Daphne Mayo knew each other from their studies at the Brisbane Technical College. Rees and Mayo corresponded before Mayo left for London. When Mayo left on the ship, the Ormonde in Sydney in 1920, Rees was there to farewell her. They continued to correspond while Mayo was overseas and became engaged, by mail, in 1922. At this time Rees was living in Paramatta at a guest house called 'Bondo'. This address appears in several of his letters to Mayo. After their engagement, Mayo asked Rees to join her in England. Rees wrote several letters to Mayo while onboard the Esperance Bay. During their time in London and later in Italy they would spend their days pursuing their own studies and interests. Mayo gave Rees the nickname "Georgie". Many of his letters are addressed to "Mary" (his nickname for her) and signed "Georgie". In 1923 Daphne Mayo won the Rome Prize, a travelling scholarship to Rome, and the Royal Academy School of Art gold medal for sculpture. Despite Mayo offering to pay for Rees to stay on and travel with her, at her expense, Rees returned home to Australia, arriving in March 1925. Not long after his return, Mayo's brother Richard Mayo died. Before she returned to Australia, Mayo broke off her engagement to Rees via mail. After a short time in Sydney, she returned to live in Brisbane. They continued to write to each other for years to come. There is also some correspondence from Marjorie Rees, nee Pollard, who married Lloyd Rees in 1931.
There are some small drawings by Rees: Folder 1 - One letter from 6 May 1923 has a hand drawn stamp by Rees; Letter from 27 Jul 1923 has two b&w photographs and a sprig of wattle (or some other plant) -- Folder 2 - Undated letter with hand drawn colour picture of his "garret" at 'Bondo'.
Appraisal, destruction and scheduling
Accruals
System of arrangement
Chronological.
Box 3
Folder 1: Correspondence from Lloyd Rees from 3 Aug 1919 to 19 Jan 1925. (32 letters and 1 postcard).
Folder 2: Correspondence from Lloyd Rees, undated. (25 letters and 5 postcards). Undated letters and postcards possibly from around 1923 to 1924 while Rees was living in 'Bondo' in Paramatta, and still engaged to Mayo.`
Folder 3: Correspondence from Lloyd Rees, 3 Dec 1944 to 22 Oct 1977. (39 letters (7 undated or fragments), 4 postcards)
Conditions of access and use area
Conditions governing access
Unrestricted access.
Conditions governing reproduction
Copyright applies. Contact the Fryer Library.
Language of material
- English
Script of material
Language and script notes
Physical characteristics and technical requirements
Finding aids
Allied materials area
Existence and location of originals
Existence and location of copies
Related units of description
Notes area
Note
Box 3 Folders 1-3
Alternative identifier(s)
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Description control area
Description identifier
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Rules and/or conventions used
Status
Final
Level of detail
Dates of creation revision deletion
Created, Linda Justo, 22-Sep-2020.
Language(s)
Script(s)
Sources
Rees, L., & Butel, E. (1985). Peaks and valleys : An autobiography. Sydney: Collins.
McKay, J. (1983). Daphne Mayo : A tribute to her work for art in Queensland. Kangaroo Point, Qld.: Friends of Daphne Mayo.