Wooden Tray hand carved by Marion St Clair (Clair) Layman

c. 1910
Overview

Wooden tray hand carved by Clair Layman

Historical information

Clair Layman was the granddaughter of George Layman who arrived from Augusta in 1834 and established a farm at Wonnerup, where he farmed until his death in 1841. Clair’s father, George Laymen Junior then took over the farm, built the heritage listed Wonnerup House in 1859 and was the local representative for the Western Australian Legislative Council from 1884 until 1888.

Clair Layman was born as Marion St Clair Layman in 1869, daughter of George Layman II and Amelia Harriet nee Curtis. She was educated at Wonnerup School and then at Bishops Girls College (1883-1885), Perth, Western Australia. She learnt chip carving in Hawaii in 1903 when on a holiday visiting her aunt Harriet and became well known in the southwest for her wood carvings and needlework.

After the death of her parents she decided to build a home in Busselton and with that object in view she came to Perth in 1927 and studied woodcarving for some months with William Howitt . In 1930 she moved permanently into her new Busselton home and her carving featured strongly in the furniture and fittings throughout the house.

Clair would have been influenced by designs featured in The Studio, one of the English Arts and Crafts journals of the day. She would have seen the interiors of homes in England in magazines and absorbed their sensibilities, which later emerged when designing her own home. However, the effects of the Arts and Crafts movement found its way to Clair most directly through the scholarship roles of William Howitt, Gordon Holdsworth and Henry Princep whose work drew heavily on the influence of William Morris and the Arts and Crafts movement in England as well as the Art Nouveau style.

She exhibited all over Australia and is reputed to have won prizes at Melbourne, Coolgardie and Fremantle.

Details

Details

Registration number
cwa-org-124-2021.77
Item type
Material
Width
368 mm
Height or length
535 mm
Contextual Information

This wooden tray was hand carved by Clair Layman (born Marion St Clair Layman), daughter of George Layman II and Amelia Curtis. Clair was the granddaughter of George Layman who arrived from Augusta in 1834 and established a farm at Wonnerup. Following his death in 1841, Clair’s father then took over the farm and in 1859 built the heritage listed Wonnerup House.
Clair attended school in Perth. After her graduation she became acquainted with Henry Prinsep, who at the time was Under Secretary for the Department of Mines, and his wife Josephine who entertained many well connected and well-known members of West Australian colonial society. Prinsep was a competent artist and photographer, and his artistic connections would have influenced the young Clair.
Clair travelled to Hawaii in 1903 where she learnt chip carving. Some years later, when spending time with relatives in Bridgetown, Clair took lessons in woodcarving and in later years studied woodcarving in Perth with William Howitt. She created a collection of works, the majority held by the National Trust, including the over-mantle at Wonnerup House for the occasion of her parents’ Golden Wedding Anniversary in 1909 and a tray showing distinctive chip carving which was made as a wedding present in 1910 for a relative, Helen Rose Lodge. She became well known in the south-west for her wood carvings and was believed to be the first Western Australian woman to work creatively using local timbers.

This tray is one of several pieces of Clair’s work in our collection. It was badly damaged by falling embers and soot in the 2018 fire at the Museum. Museum volunteers spent many hours restoring the tray to its current condition using a flicking process to extract the smoke and soot.

Place made
Busselton
Western Australia
Australia
Year
Primary significance criteria
Historic significance
Social or spiritual significance
Comparative significance criteria
Well provenanced
Related Objects

Related Objects

Busselton Historical Society

Busselton Historical Society

Organisation Details
View Collection
Item Feedback

Tray
Clair Layman can be seen in the second row of this photo, taken at her parents Golden Wedding celebration at Wonnerup in 1909, wearing a white dress and black broad brimmed hat.
GOLDEN WEDDING ANNIVERSARY – 28th July 1909 – WONNERUP HOUSE GEORGE LAYMAN (1838-1921) AND AMELIA HARRIET LAYMAN (nee Curtis 1842-1916). Photo 2166 from the BHS Photo Archive

Back Row L-R
Florence Edith Layman (Edie) nee Reynolds, wife of Charles Henry Layman (1868-1956)
Flora Juanita Webster (Nita) nee Layman, daughter (1876-1962) with baby Gemmell Layman Webster? (1909-1962)
Charles Henry Layman (Harry), son (1865-1926)
Nina Glindon Layman, daughter (1878-1937)
Stella Florence Layman, daughter (1874-1962)
Francis Layman nee Walpole, wife of Anthony Glindon Layman, (1871-1936)
Anthony Glindon Layman (Glin), son (1862-1936)
Kate Bayliss Cammilleri nee Layman, daughter (1867-1946)
James Fitzherbert Layman (Jim), son (1880-1912) baby Dorothy Cammilleri? (1909-2003)
Robert Alfred Webster, husband of Flora Juanita Webster nee Layman (1867-1950),
Leonie Ethel Layman?, daughter of Charles Henry Layman (1895-1977)
Frederick William Ponsonby Cammilleri, husband of Kate Bayliss Cammilleri nee Layman (1861-1943)

Middle Row L-R
Frederick Orbal Maitland (Orb), husband of Amelia Glindon Maitland nee Layman (1863-1955)
Amelia Glindon Maitland (Amy) nee Layman, wife of Frederick Orbal Maitland (1864-1947)
George Layman (1838-1921,
Amelia Harriet Layman nee Curtis, wife of George Layman (1842-1916)
Ida Agnes Layman, daughter (1871-1953)
Harriet Marion St Clair Layman (Clair), daughter (1869-1949)
Unknown woman,
Bruce or Arthur Layman, son of CH Layman

Front Row
Young girls sitting at front from left could be Cammilleri children (possibly May Glendon Cammilleri 1896-1970 and Kate Cammilleri 1898-1991) and Charles Henry Layman’s children on the right

Scan this QR code to open this page on your phone ->