Research played a major role in the creation of Kathleen O’Connor of Paris, and I learned a lot in the process. I had to. Narrative non-fiction is a new genre for me, and I knew I would need to be working from a strong foundation.
I also had a subject whose long life was lived in many places, and whose career would have to be examined from different perspectives.
Here are some of the resources I found particularly valuable.
Specialist art libraries
During the course of my research, I had the opportunity to visit the library of the Art Gallery of Western Australia; the National Art Library in the Victoria and Albert Museum, the Tate Gallery Library and the Courtauld Institute Library in London; and the Musée des Arts Décoratifs in Paris. The collections of these wonderful institutions include materials such as exhibition catalogues, collections of press cuttings, obscure recordings and publications, regional registers, dictionaries of artists—and probably many other things, but these are the ones I accessed.
Online archives
What would researchers in Australia do without Trove, the National Library of Australia’s searchable digital collection of Australian newspapers from 1803 to 1955? Thanks to Trove, along with the propensity of local nineteenth-century/early twentieth-century newspapers to report in great detail on just about every event that happened in the colony, I was able to get a sense of Kate’s adolescent years in Perth and Fremantle. Gallica, the online library of the Bibliothèque Nationale de France, was another source I used for locating press articles and reviews, although it is not a comprehensive collection of the national library’s resources.
Pay-for-view databases
I found it a sound investment to pay for a month’s subscription to ancestry.com in order to track genealogical resources relating to Kate and others. Similarly, a month’s subscription to an art auction database gave me access to several decades of auction sales, and to works of Kate’s I had not seen anywhere else.
‘Can you help?’
I placed a paragraph in this weekly column in the West Australian newspaper, asking for information from anyone who had known Kate or held her artwork. Although responses were few, each one of them was a gem—some wonderful anecdotes from a (then) young man who used to deliver art supplies to Kate; an artwork whose whereabouts I had not known of; a photograph of Kate that made me smile; contact from a family member; some details about the buying and selling of a much-loved painting.
Artworks
I’ve saved the best for last. I made a point of viewing as many of Kate’s artworks as I could locate during the course of researching her life, and the experience of seeing them up close was nothing short of thrilling. And I discovered something I had not known before: that the back of a painting—or at least of Kate’s paintings—has its own story to tell, in the form of inscriptions; old labels recording dates, prices, addresses, titles; exhibition history; sketches; even other works. The privilege of viewing these works in galleries, offices, store-rooms, vaults and private homes will stay with me as one of the most rewarding experiences of my writing life.
looking up/looking down 
I found this very interesting, Amanda. I’m intrigued by narrative non-fiction as a genre and wonder if it’s a possibility for writing biography, especially of family members from the 1800-1900’s. I’ll be doing some research!
Thanks for reading, Susan. I found the genre to be the perfect medium for this biographical work on Kate. There are so many ways of telling a story; I’m sure you’ll find the right one for yours. Good luck!
A fantastic post, Amanda — and to still have those firsthand connections to Kate.
Robyn
Thanks, Robyn. Yes, they were precious.
Loved reading this, Amanda. I imagine you would have been in your element, with so much research needed to write Kathleen O’Connor’s story. Narrative non-fiction is my favourite genre, both to read and write. I look forward to reading your book soon, but I’m in the middle of treatment for cataracts, so it will be a few more weeks. Can’t wait to read regularly again.
Thanks, Maureen, and good luck with the treatment!
Hi Amanda, on a recent trip to NZ, I spent three hours in a dungeon beneath Auckland’s National Library viewing archives for NZ transit camps. The staff are always helpful and go above and beyond. I love research x
How delightful, Rae! (And intriguing :-)). My research didn’t take me to Auckland but I spent some time in the Wellington National Library and in the art vaults at Te Papa Tongarewa. It’s such a privilege to have access to these wonderful public collections, isn’t it.