Karna Maria Birmingham (3 December 1900 – 5 July 1987)[1] was an Australian artist, illustrator and print maker.[2] She was best known for her numerous illustrations of children's books.[3]
Birmingham was born in the Sydney suburb of Mosman, the daughter of Irish doctor and published black & white artist.[4] Herbert Joseph Birmingham, and Karn Marie Nielsen, a Dane and her father's live-in maid. After completing school at Loreto, Kirribilli, Birmingham went on to study at the Julian Ashton Art School in Sydney from 1914 - 1920.[3]
Birmingham married twice, however both husbands died in tragic circumstances. Her first husband, John Robert Torney, who Birmingham married in 1934 died from suicide in 1935. Birmingham was married to botanist Arthur Alva Livingstone from 1940 living in Gosford until his death in 1951[5] by self inflicted gunshot wounds.[3]
In 1938, Birmingham contracted an eye disease, trachoma, which limited her sight and her career.[3]
After her husband's death, Birmingham returned to the Sydney suburb of Turramurra until moving to a nursing home in nearby Neutral Bay shortly before her death.[3]
^"Family Notices". The Sydney Morning Herald. No. 35, 302. New South Wales, Australia. 12 February 1951. p. 14. Retrieved 28 March 2017 – via National Library of Australia.
^"SOCIETY OF ARTISTS". Evening News. No. 16, 318. New South Wales, Australia. 2 October 1919. p. 10. Retrieved 28 March 2017 – via National Library of Australia.
^"In Review". Sunday Times (Perth). No. 1921. Western Australia. 18 November 1934. p. 9 (Second Section). Retrieved 28 March 2017 – via National Library of Australia.
^"Citations". Design & Art Australia Online. Retrieved 28 March 2017.
^"SOCIETY OF ARTISTS". Evening News. No. 16, 317. New South Wales, Australia. 1 October 1919. p. 6. Retrieved 28 March 2017 – via National Library of Australia.
