Background
Ethel was a daughter of Leonard Barringer (ca1844 – 11 August 1895) and his wife Fanny, née Page (ca1857 – 6 July 1920).
Ethel was a daughter of Leonard Barringer (ca1844 – 11 August 1895) and his wife Fanny, née Page (ca1857 – 6 July 1920).
She was educated at the Advanced School for Girls under Mission Rees George, and was a student of Hans Heysen and also of the Adelaide School of Arts and Crafts. She studied in London for several years and took courses in enamelling, jewellery designing, life work, and etching at the Street John"s Wood Art School and the Sir John Cass Technical School.
She died suddenly of a heart attack in Blackwood after having just completed her fourth year at the school, where she was popular with both teachers and students. Ethel"s brother Herbert Page Barringer married Gwendoline L"Avance Adamson, who as Gwen Barringer was a notable artist. The Ethel Barringer Memorial Prize for etching was named for her.
Her death came as a shock to members of the staff, who had been with her on the Saturday morning, when she was in excellent spirits, having just been congratulated on her work at an exhibition of the Women Painter-Etchers Society in Sydney.