Wooden Tray hand carved by Clair Layman
c. 1910Wooden tray hand carved by Clair Layman
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
Marion St Clair Layman was one of a group of local women woodcarvers that included Emily Princep and Mrs Yates; who worked with native woods and carved local flora and faunal motifs on household furniture and fittings.
Clair Layman wood carvings that can still be viewed in the Busselton area include a Fireplace Surround in Wonnerup House and another Fireplace Surround at the Busselton Woolworths, where it was relocated after being removed from a building demolished to build the carpark.
This tray is the Museum’s only documented piece of carving by Clair Layman. It was badly damaged by falling embers and soot in the 2018 fire at the museum. Museum volunteers spent over 10 hours restoring the tray to its current condition using a flicking process to extract the smoke and soot.
Western Australia
Australia
Busselton Historical Society
Busselton Historical Society
Other items from Busselton Historical Society
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Barbers Chair
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Rotary Butter Worker / Kneader
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Salmon Cleaning Bench
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Crown Raisin Seeder #4
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Model of the Barrabup Mill
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Universal Bread Maker # 8
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Sparkling Ginger Ale Bottle - Torrents Morawa
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Sparkling Lime & Soda Bottle - Torrents Morawa
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The Yelverton Bed
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Chastity Belt
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Proclamation of Banns - Captain John Molloy and Georgiana Kennedy
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Sleeper Cutters Dray Display
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
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