Ann Judith Fletcher (30 June 1886 - 30 July 1970), known in later life as Judith Paszek, was a portrait and fashion photographer from Sydney.
Early life
Fletcher was born on 30 June 1886 in Katoomba, New South Wales.[1] Her parents were Ann Marian Fletcher nee Clarke, an embroiderer who made the velvet bag to hold The Ashes urn, and John Walter Fletcher, a teacher, cricketer, and police magistrate, who is known as the 'father of Australian football' for his role in introducing soccer to Australia. She had five siblings including Nora Kathleen Fletcher, a nurse who led the British Red Cross in France and Belgium as principal matron in World War I, and John Fletcher a cricketer and Queensland politician.[2] Fletcher grew up in Katoomba until the family moved to Greenwich in Sydney, where she stayed until she was married in 1934.[3]
Career
She had a photography studio in Sydney's North Shore, where she worked from 1905 until 1930.[1] The first few years in her studio and practiced and refined her skills as an amateur art and at-home portrait photographer, particularly focussing on portraits of women and children, and exhibited her work in photographic salons.[4] She turned professional in 1908, with a focus in portraiture fashion and artistic photography.[1][4] She opened a studio in the city of Sydney in 1909 at 313 George Street, above the tailor Chorley and Co.[4][5]
Fletcher advertised her art photography using full page portraits of celebrities and socialites in Sydney Ure Smith's Art in Australia publication.[6][4] As well as portraiture, Fletcher also worked in fashion photography. She
Fletcher associated with other artists, including Arthur Streeton, May and Mina Moore.[6] She had a particularly close association with Frank Bell, a photographer from Manly, she supplied him with his equipment, and helped him to develop his technique.[4]
On 28 August 1934 Fletcher married Gerard Paszek,[12] a Polish violin maker. After she married she relocated first to Mount Kuringai, and then to Glenorie where she lived for the rest of her life.[3] Her family stated that Paszek was a possessive man who would not let Fletcher out of his sight. She stopped connecting with former colleagues after her marriage.[4]
Fletcher died on 30 July 1970 in Glenorie, New South Wales, aged 84 years old.[13]
^"Advertising". The Daily Telegraph. No. 14, 223. New South Wales, Australia. 10 July 1925. p. 11. Retrieved 29 December 2024 – via National Library of Australia.
^"No title". The Sun. No. 4913. New South Wales, Australia. 5 August 1926. p. 13. Retrieved 29 December 2024 – via National Library of Australia.
^"No title". Sydney Mail. Vol. XXV, no. 649. New South Wales, Australia. 3 September 1924. p. 23. Retrieved 29 December 2024 – via National Library of Australia.
^"Women's supplement". The Daily Telegraph. No. 14, 599. New South Wales, Australia. 23 September 1926. p. 6. Retrieved 29 December 2024 – via National Library of Australia.
^"SYDNEY DISPLAY". The Sydney Morning Herald. No. 30, 810. New South Wales, Australia. 1 October 1936. p. 22. Retrieved 29 December 2024 – via National Library of Australia.
^"Annie Besant: An interview with A. G. Stephens". The Home : an Australian quarterly. Vol. 2, no. 2. Sydney: Art in Australia. 1 June 1922. Retrieved 25 December 2024 – via National Library of Australia.
^"Family Notices". The Sydney Morning Herald. No. 30, 156. New South Wales, Australia. 28 August 1934. p. 8. Retrieved 29 December 2024 – via National Library of Australia.
^"Ann Judith Paszek". The Sydney Morning Herald. 1 August 1970. p. 120. Retrieved 14 December 2024 – via Newspapers.com.