One of the features of the Plaza at the Southern Cross Hotel in Melbourne was a fountain designed by Anne Graham. The Age interviewed the artist in May 1962 and reported that the fountain was in the shape of two spiral boomerangs, 50 square yards in area and covered by 1/16th of an inch mosaic tiles in blues and greens. The fountain was constructed by a party of 40 artists, art teachers and students, under the supervision of Anne Graham. The article also noted that she had studied the art of mosaics at workshops in Italy in 1960, under an Italian Government art scholarship. On her return, Anne had created two mosaics - one in High Street, Malvern of birds in flight and the other in Geelong of the Madonna and Child.
Anne Marie Graham was born in Austria in 1925 and arrived in Australia with her family as a 13 year old. She studied at the National Gallery of Victoria and the George Bell School and in the early 1960s lectured in Architecture at Melbourne University. In 2016, when she was 91, a retrospective of her paintings, Anne Marie Graham: A Survey 1956-2016, was held at the Without Pier Gallery in Melbourne.
The Southern Cross Hotel was opened on August 24, 1962 by the Prime Minister, Robert Menzies. It was built on the site of the old Eastern Market, on the corner of Bourke and Exhibition Streets. The Hotel was closed in April 1995 and completely demolished by 2003.
What happened to the fountain? Presumably turned to rubble like the rest of the Hotel.
Sources
Melbourne Artist is responsible for Mosaic in New Hotel - The Age, 1 May, 1962, p.8.
At 91, Melbourne artist Anne Marie Graham opens a retrospective by Hannah Francis - Sydney Morning Herald 5 August, 2016, online here
Anne Marie Graham entry - Australian and New Zealand Art Sales Digest, here
