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Eirene Mort studied art in London, returning to Sydney in 1903. Three years later, she met Nora Kate Weston, whose skills complemented her own. 

In their twenties, Nora and Eirene opened a professional studio in the city, where they worked and mentored students, held exhibitions and sold their artefacts. Eirene was better known, as a designer and etcher whose work is held in Australia's leading collecting institutions, but she regarded their work as a collaboration, with Nora a skilled carpenter, woodcarver and metalworker.

These dynamic ‘New Women’ shared their lives as artist and artisan for sixty years. To their families, they were known simply as ‘The Aunts'.

About the author

Dr Sylvia Martin is a former actor and author of three biographies of Australian women and a book of memoir essays. She holds a PhD in Women’s Studies from Griffith University’s School of Historical and Cultural Studies. Her works have been shortlisted for the ISAA Book Prize, the NSW Premier’s Literature Award and the Kibble Award. She was the recipient of the Magarey Medal for Biography in 2008. Dr Martin writes about the private lives of often under-recognised, immensely talented women, who may by modern standards be considered queer.