Clara Southern (1860–1940), renowned artist, was born on 3 October 1860 in Kyneton, Victoria, the third surviving child of John Southern, a farmer, and his wife Jane (née Elliott), both of English descent. Clara was a boarder at Trentham State School and later attended the Minerva Academy for girls in Kyneton, where she demonstrated a talent for both drawing and music. She went on to study at Madame Mouchette's Melbourne studio before taking lessons under the guidance of Walter Withers. From 1883 to 1887, Southern furthered her artistic education at the National Gallery School in Melbourne, where she studied under G. F. Folingsby and Frederick McCubbin.
Tall and striking, with reddish fair hair, Clara earned the nickname "Panther" and developed close friendships with fellow students E. M. 'Jo' Sweatman and Agnes 'Mama' Kirkwood. In January 1886, she was admitted to the Buonarotti Society, a prestigious sketching club whose members included writers and musicians. A talented violinist as well as an artist, Southern was active in Melbourne’s cultural scene. From 1888 to 1900, she shared a studio with fellow artist Jane Sutherland at the fashionable Grosvenor Chambers in Collins Street, where she also taught painting. In 1907, Southern's landscapes won a prize at the Australian Exhibition of Women's Work, further cementing her reputation.
On 9 November 1905, Clara married John Arthur Flinn at St John's Anglican Church in Blackburn. The couple settled at Blythe Bank in Warrandyte, along the Yarra Valley near Heidelberg, where they built a cottage and later a studio. Southern’s home in Warrandyte became a hub for artists, with figures such as Harold Herbert, Penleigh Boyd, Sweatman, Louis McCubbin, Frank Crozier, and Charles Wheeler all drawn to the area. The region soon became home to an artists' camp. Clara’s sisters, Sarah (also a painter) and Dora, lived nearby, further fostering a creative environment. Southern’s works focused primarily on still life and landscapes, with her paintings of Warrandyte becoming particularly cherished for their lyricism and charm. She sought to capture the essence of the Australian bush, and her love for the area remained central to her work throughout her life.
Southern was an active member of the Victorian Artists' Society, serving as a councillor from 1901 to 1906, and exhibited regularly at its exhibitions between 1889 and 1917. She was also the first woman to be both a member and committee member of the Australian Art Association, exhibiting with the group in 1914 and from 1917 to 1919. In addition, Southern was a member of the Melbourne Society of Women Painters and Sculptors, the Twenty Melbourne Painters, and the Lyceum Club. In March 1914, she held a major solo exhibition at the Athenaeum Hall in Collins Street, showcasing 79 of her works, including The Bee Farm—which was purchased by the Felton Bequest in 1942 for the National Gallery of Victoria. Her final one-woman exhibition took place in May 1929 at the Austral Buildings in Collins Street.
Clara Southern passed away on 15 December 1940 at a convalescent home in Surrey Hills, Melbourne, and was cremated. Her work is represented in prominent collections, including the National Gallery of Victoria and the Ballarat Fine Art Gallery.